Speak Up!

Come on, my sister bloggers, let's show these boys what we've got! [Of course, the much larger issue that's been circulating lately is on women's [lack of] representation on editorial pages, not in the blogosphere, but this article offers up at least one good strategy for increasing our influence in any contest of opinions.]

At the "Women and the Media Conference" this past Saturday in Cambridge, Mass., hosted by The Center for New Words, Nelson said the solution is
"cross-pollinating" efforts with a continued push for space for women in the
established press as well as in Internet news outlets and blogs.

The Web blogs so popular with Generation Y--and now deemed worthy of press credentials by the White House--are the cyberspace answer to individual
newsletters, cable-access shows and ham radio. All of these offer a wide-open
range for opinion makers to bypass gate-keeping editors who seem to "just say
no" to the women who come along...

..."Given how corporate media is, for us to expect The New York Times to change is not going to happen," said AlterNet's Chaudhry. "We need to empower ourselves with blogs. Not only will we have our voices heard but we have access to the kind of women we want to read it."

Female bloggers need to link to each other and other outlets of women's opinions, print journalists need to support each other's editorial efforts and keep making noise by sending in queries, well-researched and written columns and knocking on the big doors at least as often as do the men.

Instead of disappearing into the back of the room again, we must push the issue. Though many female journalists are opining 1,000 illuminated points of view in the media galaxy, unless we cluster our stars together into a fireball, we will not be seen by the major telescopes.

--From a Women's eNews story by Michele Weldon