ITN – written evidence

A Television newsroom perspective

ITN is one of the world’s leading news and multimedia content companies creating news and factual editorial content on multiple platforms.

We provide the national news programmes for all three UK commercial public service broadcasters – ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and our news programmes reach more than eight million people every day. We have viewers worldwide through our partnerships with global news outlets and online partners.

We view ourselves as a serious heavyweight news company. We fiercely guard our independence and promote freedom of expression and produce hard-hitting dynamic news but we also work hard to stay within the boundaries of the law and industry regulations.

We take the issue of gender equality seriously both on and off screen. Having a balance of men and women at all levels from entry level to leadership is part of our DNA. We make every effort to ensure that we retain talent and create working conditions that makes it possible to nurture and progress our employees.

Half of our editorial staff across ITN are female (51%) and 58% of our presenters are female. In total 41% of ITN’s entire workforce is made up of women. We have some great female role models both on and off screen. From ITV News there is Mary Nightingale, who turned 50 last year, along with Julie Etchingham. Charlene White fronts ITV London and often presents national news programmes. At Channel 4 News Lindsey Hilsum and Jackie Long (both over 50), along with Cathy Newman help to make up a formidable reporting and presenting team. Emma Crosby leads the 5 News presenting team alongside Matt Barbet. Meanwhile, key ITN editorial staff include Cristina Nicolotti Squires at 5 News, the UK’s only female editor of a national television news programme, Rachel Corp, ITV News’ Head of Home News and Shaminda Nahal, Deputy Editor of Channel 4 News. Natasha Shallice is series editor of ITN Productions’ political show The Agenda.

The number of women aged 45 and above on and off screen in our newsrooms shows that our clients and our viewers both value and welcome the wisdom, authority and trust that comes with time. ITN is a meritocratic organisation and we expect the same high standards from everyone.

ITN is an equal opportunities employer and - as a member of the Creative Diversity Network – we encourage and actively seek a broad spectrum of people to work for us and make our award-winning programmes. Only by employing news teams that reflect the make-up of the UK population can those programmes appeal to a mass audience right across society.

Gender equality is compatible with freedom of expression and news organisations.  It’s not an area which lends itself to regulation by law or industry regulations – such measures can be brittle and unwieldy tools to deal with such a sensitive and developing issue. While there is industry regulation for discrimination against religion, disability, sexual orientation, transgender – there is not for gender.

The importance of news and editorial judgements and freedom of expression means that change should not be imposed top-down. Instead there is a need for greater industry awareness of the main issues in this area and for sharing of guidelines of best practice. Imposing law forcing gender equality is not easily compatible with editorial judgements.

The following responses are to specific questions posed by the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications.

Data 

1. What data exist (both in terms of absolute numbers and ratios) on gender balance in news and current affairs broadcasting for a) presenters, b) reporters, c) editorial roles, d) behind the scenes production roles, and e) guests invited as experts or authority figures? 

Throughout this document the following categorisation has been made regarding roles:

Presenters: includes full-time presenters and also reporter/presenters (including weather)

Reporters: include all onscreen journalists such as correspondents and special correspondents

Editorial: includes programme editors and news editors, ANEs, producers, planning editors

Behind the scenes production: includes camera operators, craft editors, studio operatives and graphics

Figures for ITN Productions include employees who work on current affairs programming only, such as Dispatches, not those employed in Commercials, Digital, Sport and other ITN Productions businesses.

Gender balance across ITN:

Breakdown of roles by newsroom:

All of the above figures are for ITN staff only – we have provided a separate breakdown of freelance workers within this document.

Freelance workers at ITN

ITV News and ITV London – 93 female freelancers are employed regularly across all functions of ITV News. The oldest is 68.  Nine of these are known to be over 50 but 28 freelance employees do not have registered ages as they are paid through limited companies.

5 News – 51 female freelancers in total are employed across all functions including 1 camerawoman and nine ANEs. 5 News is a very young newsroom and none of these staff are over 50.

Channel 4 News – 28 female freelancers in total are employed across functions including six producers and three reporters. There are also 4 freelance female floor managers and four women picture editors.

Contributors:

*these figures apply to live guests only and not contributors in pre-recorded news packages

On-screen guests for 5 News Tonight (July 2014)

Female– 48%

Male – 52 %

Women dominated topics such as education, parenting and health.

On-screen guests for ITV News (July 2014)

Female - 41%

Male – 59%

On-screen guests for Channel 4 News (July 2014)

Female: 35.9%

Male: 64.1 %

2. How do these data break down by age? 

3. What other research helps to paint a picture of gender balance across news and current affairs broadcasting? What concerns arise from the facts presented by this research? 

As an organisation ITN reviews new research and considers whether there are any learnings for ITN.

Regulation 

4. What legal and regulatory obligations affect broadcasters in relation to gender balance in this genre? To what extent are those obligations observed or circumvented? 

Women are legally protected from discrimination at work by the Equality Act 2010. The law protects women from being discriminated against due to their gender in the following areas: employment terms and conditions; pay and benefits; promotion and transfer opportunities; training; recruitment; redundancy; dismissal.

ITN has its own Diversity and Equality Policy which is published to all staff, the purpose of which, in addition to complying with anti-discrimination legislation and associated codes of practice, is to promote diversity and equality in the workplace, to increase awareness of the need for equality, and to make it clear to all employees what behaviour is expected and the forms of conduct that are unacceptable at ITN.

ITN complies fully with its legal obligations. Terms and conditions of employment and pay are in no way based on gender, and we actively seek to recruit, develop and retain a gender-balanced workforce.

Self-regulation 

5. What, if anything, are broadcasters doing voluntarily to try to achieve gender equality in this genre? 

Although not a broadcaster, ITN is active members of a leading group in the Creative Diversity Network that encourages a broad spectrum of people to work in television. We want journalists at every level to reflect society itself - across gender, age, and cultural backgrounds. With a truly diverse news team every member has a voice and this reduces the likelihood of excluded voices and negative stereotypes.

To further this ambition, ITN established its first ever Diversity and Inclusion Forum this year. Made up of staff of all levels from across the business, the aim is to promote diversity and make sure that ITN is an inclusive place to be, irrespective of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religion. We review our statistics and agree initiatives to promote diversity and improve representation across all areas of the organisation. 

6. How successful are broadcasters’ voluntary initiatives and are they sufficient? 

For ITN, voluntary initiatives have been a success. We have found that involving managers, administrators and individuals in discussions about changes to working patterns has worked. Increasing the ratio of female staff has been brought about by changes to working practices including job-shares, part-time work and working from home which are part of the culture at ITN.

In due course the staff remaining become role models and senior figures within the company for others to follow. Some of television news’ most senior female figures work at ITN.   The main Editor of our biggest news service ITV News, Deborah Turness moved on in 2013 to become President of News with the US Broadcaster NBC. Deborah is not only the first woman to hold such a senior position at a US broadcaster but also the first Briton.

Meanwhile, Cristina Nicolotti Squires is Editor of Channel 5 News – the only woman in the industry to hold such a position at a national TV news programme in the UK. ITN has some fantastic female role models on screen too, including News at Ten presenter, Julie Etchingham, who was the first woman to receive an RTS Presenter of the Year award in 2010.

The lack of women within ITN’s camera departments is reflected throughout the industry and we continue to look for ways to address this. It is often a great asset to be able to send an all-female team to sensitive interviews involving victims of sexual abuse, FGM or domestic abuse. A better gender mix would also contribute to a better-balanced culture within the camera department.

As an example of ITN-led initiatives, ITV London has introduced a trial scheme where a female reporter will mentor a more junior female journalist on the team to help improve their skills - filming, scripting and editing.

7. When participants in news and current affairs broadcasting are chosen on “merit”, what constitutes “merit” and does this appropriately reflect the levels of female expertise in society? 

Contributors to news programme should be well informed, articulate and authoritative. Sometimes the contributor is a regular face on the programme, often booked the day before to discuss a particular issue. Sometimes they are suggested by the organisation or charity who they speak for.

If a participant is live, then we expect them to be fluent, professional and aware they are talking to a pre-watershed, teatime audience. If they are a clip, they are often from an organisation considered to be the most authoritative voice on that particular issue - a professional body, a government minister, a leading lobby group, a well-known campaigner. Journalists invariably work to tight deadlines, and the safest option is often the more regular contributor.

If the issue is about FGM, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, childcare costs or family budgets then the expert is often a woman. Women are seen to have expertise in these areas and their views are trusted to be based on experience and longstanding commitment to the issues. They are judged to have 'merit' to speak with authority on those issues.

Unless a news programme builds up a list of regular contributors, it's often left in the hands of press officers and PR teams to supply experts and participants - especially if the contributor is needed with very little notice as often happens in news. Across all our news programmes news gatherers consistently add to our database of contributors on various issues. This process helps us to be able to choose from a bigger and deeper pool of expertise which fully reflects the diversity of society.

At ITN we don’t have a quota system and we can’t create experts – but we do try hard to ensure our programmes reflect life. One of the issues here is there is the relative under-representation of women in British public life and authority figures – particularly in the area of business. Figures released by BIS in March led to warnings the government may miss its target of 25% female representation on boards of FTSE 100 companies by next year. This has an impact on how we wish to report on economics or city issues. Similarly, issues arise in politics, law, the military and religion. Choice of interviewees can also depend on who is put forward for interview.

8. Are there any significant commercial initiatives in response to this issue, e.g. agencies providing contributors, or directories of women experts? Are these initiatives appropriate? If so, what are the barriers to their success? 

None of ITN’s three newsrooms pay agencies for gender-based directories or contacts. As an organisation we believe that building up an internal pool of contributors and ensuring it's a balanced list is the most appropriate and effective method of keeping our output relevant and interesting. This involves conscious efforts to keep lists up-to-date and newsrooms tend to be fast moving. There is often very little time in newsrooms to spend time discussing who our best contributors are. Editors of programmes can play a valuable role here, noting the strong contributors and adding them to an internal list, making sure that list is lively and balanced. Directories of contacts based on narrow lists - whether they're based on gender, race or creed feel limited in scope, and artificially imposed.

We have made serious efforts to “refresh” our list of on-screen experts. In ITV News, every specialist producer has been encouraged to seek out new contacts to better reflect the UK demographic. This includes more female, and more ethnically-diverse experts appearing on screen. We are aware of women-only contacts lists available to news organisations. However, we do see merit in experts who can be associated only with our own programmes, and so become familiar and trusted faces.

Other genres, especially serious factual broadcasting 

9. Are these concerns particular to news and current affairs broadcasting? Does this genre have a particular and different responsibility to reflect accurately the levels of female expertise and authority in society? Do news and current affairs broadcasters have a responsibility to reflect their audiences? How should these values be determined? 

In addition to our three national news programmes and regional news programme, ITN Productions makes regular current affairs programmes such as Dispatches and The Agenda. In addition, our production teams specialise in fast-turnaround documentaries after major world events such as the Malaysian Airlines MH170 crash. The nature of our production work is such that the majority of people who work on these programmes are freelance. The below are full time employees of ITN Productions broadcast division.

From August 2013-August 2014 the following freelancers worked on Series 5 of The Agenda, one of ITN Productions’ flagship current affairs programme.

Since Series 1, The Agenda production team have undertaken to put forward equal numbers of male and female guests in every programme broadcast. In Series 5 (Series 6 begins in October) 20 men and 20 women appeared on the show as guests. Female contributors who have appeared on The Agenda are a diverse mix of age, experience and profession. Casting for female contributors is a very extensive process, as we maintain a 50/50 ratio of men and women on the panel and strive for a balanced discussion. Having committed to this gender balance from Series 1, the production team are attuned to researching strong female contributors.

Abroad 

10. Does the issue exist in other cultures? If so, is there evidence that any other culture is more successful in representing female expertise and authority both on screen and in the production of news, current affairs and serious factual broadcasting? If so, how? 

As a company based in the UK ITN is not in a position to comment on the representation of Women in News in other countries and cultures.

Women in ITN’s history

Women have always played a significant part in ITN’s production and management teams. The following is a selection of examples that demonstrate this throughout our almost-60-year history.

• ITN’s first ever broadcast in 1955 was a lunchtime news insert presented by a woman reporter: Barbara Mandell.
• ITN’s early senior team included Jo Hodgson, the Chief Sub Editor, and well- known reporter Lynn Reid Banks.
• News at Ten was launched with two studio directors – one a woman: Diana Edwards-Jones who became ITN’s chief Director for many years. 
• In 1982 Sue Tinson became the first woman in Britain to edit a national news programme.  On her first night editing News at Ten, the Director, the Chief Sub-editor and the Floor Manager were also women.
• Over the years there have been many exceptional women reporters at ITN as well as a series of women newscasters who became household names including Selina Scott, Anna Ford, Julia Somerville, Carol Barnes and Fiona Armstrong.
• At Channel 4 News, the greatly respected Elinor Goodman was Political Editor for many years and, in 1995 Sara Nathan was appointed Editor.
• Deborah Turness was editor of ITV News for almost a decade until 2013 when she left to become president of NBC News.
• The current editor and deputy editor of 5 News are both women, Cristina Nicolotti Squires and Cait Fitzsimons.

Closing statement

ITN is committed to improving the number of women working within its company and has made significant improvements and changes in recent years. Crucially, there is a clear commercial imperative to ensure an appropriate gender balance and diversity throughout ITN’s workforce.

Gender equality is part of the culture of a news organisation – on and off screen – and it continues to evolve. Culture in editorial news rooms is created primarily by ethos and practices - not law. It is nuanced and subtle. It is difficult / impossible to impose a culture – particularly in the area of news where editorial judgements, freedom of expression and editorial control are equally cherished and need to be protected.

Changing culture and practices by guidance, sharing of best practice and greater awareness in the media industry is the way forward rather than imposition of laws or regulation that may fetter editorial control and freedom of speech.

Looking at the position of women in news should not be a purely quantitative study, as a number of our most senior management and production positions are held by women – with three women on ITN’s senior management team – and some of our most high-profile on-screen roles are held by women over 50, including our multi-award winning International Editor for Channel 4 News Lindsey Hilsum and ITV News presenter Mary Nightingale. Of the 16 news editors in ITV News, eight of them are women.

While we have made significant progress in retaining women across ITN in senior decision-making positions it is clear that some areas, such as camera crew, require further attention. There are significant editorial advantages to being able to field an all-female crew when needed for certain stories. Channel 4 News’ Lindsey Hilsum has spoken of the additional access that women reporters can gain, particularly in conservative cultures where women may not feel comfortable with a male journalist.

There is no doubt about the commercial value that having women as equal players and members of ITN. As an organisation we are committed to ensuring that women are supported throughout their careers, being as flexible as possible around family commitments and obligations, in order to get the best out of our staff.

To be successful in any career requires sacrifice and adjustments to be made. The shift in attitudes in society regarding the sharing of childcare responsibilities, for example, has helped women to return to work and continue to progress and ITN’s workforce reflects that. Flexible terms of employment such as part-time working and more regular hours have helped here. Increasingly, it is not just women but male employees who are choosing to avail themselves of these options.

The media sector continues to be a good place for women to work. Appropriate policies are there to ensure that women are able to build their careers and there are good role models to follow. Our female employees are not looking for special treatment, indeed, many would feel uncomfortable if there was. What we are committed to providing is a level playing field so that no matter whether male, female, young or old, the best person does the job.

We asked women employed across ITN to provide us with short case studies of their experience.

Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Editor, 5 News

I’ve worked at ITN for 20 years and I’m convinced that the very nature of the company has allowed me to develop a career that’s spanned so many different parts of the business as well as different circumstances in my life outside work.   From field producing around the world, running Home Newsgathering to editing News at Ten and now running 5 News, my gender has simply not been relevant. In fact I get quite exasperated when asked how I’ve managed all this and a work life balance. It’s a question that is rarely, if ever, asked of my male colleagues. Men and women do have different ways of working and I do think there’s a tendency for some to see determination and directness in women as aggression rather than strong leadership. Now I’m at the top, my style is one of collaboration and consensus. That might be seen as a woman’s way of working. But to me, it’s just who I am.

Jackie Long, Social Affairs Editor, Channel 4 News

At the time I was offered the job of social affairs editor at Channel 4 News three years ago, I was working part time at the BBC and had five children under 11.  My reaction and that of many other women, some I barely knew, who came up to congratulate me, said quite a lot. Rightly or wrongly we were all stunned - that someone who'd been part time and had children (quite a few of them) was being offered a really good, senior role. And I think what that illustrated for me was a certain nervousness which still exists in the industry among women, that having children means the end of a career - or certainly a period where you can feel side-lined. It's all credit to Channel 4 News for not doing that. It is genuinely a place where I don't ever feel that whether you're a male or female reporter is a factor in assigning stories. We have a really strong cohort of women reporters, camera crew and producers. I think we all need to work harder at accommodating flexible working which I believe is becoming as much an issue for men as it is for women who are parents. We've got our first job share operating at Channel 4 News and I have no doubt that there will - and should - be others. I also think there's still work to be done across the industry at large to prevent older women dropping off air. But then as I approach 51 perhaps I would say that wouldn't I? 

Charlene White, Presenter, ITV News

When I first started at ITN one thing that struck me was having Deborah Turness in charge at ITV News. I had never worked with a woman at that level before, and I was genuinely in awe of her. She was confident, supportive, kind, and made tough editorial decisions each and every day. And for her to then go to become the President of NBC News really does make you realise the possibilities available to you.... even as a woman.

The impact of seeing brilliantly creative and successful women in the workplace can't be underestimated. I've been at ITN for 7 years, and I've never been made to feel as though my views are less important because I'm female. But I have worked at other large media organisations where I have. Because I don't yell or shout in the newsroom, or strut around with a testosterone-filled macho demeanour, to some that made me less of a journalist and less intelligent. And in those situations I've preferred to simply not work there. I've been working in the industry for far too long to still be battling to be taken seriously as a woman.   

But no organisation is perfect, and the fact that if and when they happen a woman will host ITV’s Leaders’ Debate is ace... especially as the main election programmes on all the major channels will be hosted by men in 2015. Hopefully in the next election, the landscape will be different. 

Mary Nightingale, Presenter, ITV News

TV newsrooms have changed a great deal since I began work 25 years ago, when a news editor superimposed the face of a female colleague onto a page three model, and stuck copies on every wall. When she objected she was told she “couldn’t take a joke”. Such “humour” simply wouldn’t be tolerated today. Now there are more women at every level. My former boss Deborah Turness is brilliant and inspirational, and Cristina Nicolotti Squires is another great example of a talented woman who has made it to the top. Both combine strength with humanity.

The environment at ITV News is always supportive and encouraging. However TV news is still a highly competitive - some might say testosterone-fuelled business. We all jostle to get there first, and when a big story breaks you sometimes have to fight to make your voice heard.

I believe there is a particular pressure to being a woman on television. The level of interest in our appearance is as high as ever - with certain parts of the media delighting in highlighting “flaws”. Recently a tabloid wanted to run an article on what it deemed my “brave decision to go grey”. Actually there was no grey. I, like my female colleagues, devote money and time to maintaining my hair colour. Not to do so would prompt a story. No male newscaster would have to consider that.

I am frequently asked whether I fear being dropped when I get too old for TV. I may be naïve, but I don’t believe that will happen. Audiences want newscasters who are experienced and credible, and broadcasters increasingly value that too. I am already the oldest female newsreader on terrestrial TV. I have been on British screens for more than 20 years. I hope my continuing presence will help to demonstrate that television has moved on.

Ronke Phillips, Senior Correspondent, ITV London

I first walked through the doors of ITN in 1987. Back then it was a very male, very white and a very middle-class company. There were only two black journalists in the newsroom; one a female producer, the other Trevor MacDonald.  The majority of black female faces back then were cleaners or canteen staff.  As a professional black woman it was a lonely place to work.

After a gap lasting several years when I worked for other broadcasters, I returned to ITN in 2004. It was now a very different organisation.  Although there was (and still is) more to be done to attract people from ethnic backgrounds, there were definitely more women and now they were in management, editorial and reporter roles. Deborah Turness had just been appointed Head of News. She was still relatively young and whether it was intentional or not, her appointment sent out a message which said, “women are finally being taken seriously’.

The last decade has seen an increasing number of young women building their careers at ITN.  There seems to be no problem attracting them at entry level, the challenge is retaining them after they have had a family. It is not easy juggling a job in a busy 24-hour newsroom, which understandably has to have shift patterns to accommodate its output. 

There are now several women who seem to have returned to ITN part-time or on job-share arrangements without their careers stalling but this is an area which still needs attention. There needs to be more family friendly shift patterns and flexible working. There also definitely needs to be a new narrative; too often working part-time equates to being less committed, which simply isn’t true or fair.

I am now the Senior Correspondent at ITV London News and work regularly as a reporter for ITV national news.  It is a role I have earned through hard work and commitment but it is still a credit to ITN that it has had the courage to reward me with this title.  I am always introduced on air with the words, “Our Senior Correspondent, Ronke Phillips....”  The volume of letters and emails I get from young girls, both black and white, is testament to the powerful message this sends out to aspiring female journalists.

1 October 2014

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