Press Forward is ready to address the issue everyone’s been talking about but no one has fixed: Newsroom harassment

Job scarcity, unpredictable hours, power imbalances on staff, deadline pressures. For decades now, the fast-paced, high-stress culture in newsrooms has created conditions in which abuse of power and sexual harassment may occur. But it’s only recently that the bad behavior is getting the attention it deserves. Thanks to a landmark 2014 study by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), we now know that nearly two-thirds of female journalists will face harassment, most likely in the workplace, and it won’t be reported. Coupled with a recent survey of journalists showing that most news organizations are failing at onboarding their staff with awareness of sexual harassment policies, one organization is dedicated to finally changing this dynamic. Launched in March 2017 by current and former journalists, Press Forward is an independent nonprofit initiative whose mission is to eradicate sexual harassment, elevate women in the workplace and foster civil, equal and safe work environments. Though Press Forward has received small donations from the McClatchy Foundation, the Wall Street Journal and Atlantic Media, the work right now is largely self-funded. Here, we talk to Press Forward’s co-founders, Dianna Pierce Burgess and Carolyn McGourty Supple, about harassment in… Read More

Sexual harassment has been in the headlines since October, driven by women’s reactions to the high-profile outing of Harvey Weinstein as a serial sexual predator. Read More

Sexual assault and harassment: Two topics that have gained significant attention since the #MeToo movement. For this webinar, we spoke with Daffodil Altan, producer of the Frontline/Univision documentary Rape on the Night Shift, Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation, and our very own Nina Sachdev, MIF's communications director. Read More