BBC denies sexism over reporters' payLeigh Holmwood

Friday December 8, 2006

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1967982,00.html

A BBC executive involved in setting salary levels for news correspondents has defended the corporation against charges of sexism after it was revealed that female reporters earn on average £6,500 less than their male counterparts.

The deputy head of newsgathering, Jonathan Baker, said that the sex of a correspondent "absolutely isn't a factor" when it came to deciding pay, but conceded that "the figures might seem to point that way".

"There are always many factors to take into consideration," he said on the BBC's news website editors' blog.

"These include experience, level of contribution to the news output, performance and profile. The hardest area to put your finger on is talent - that element of individuality, personality and star quality which people bring to the air waves."

He said the disparity between men and women correspondents came about because a majority of the BBC's senior correspondents were men, and hence were paid more than their more junior colleagues. However, he admitted this was "an issue in itself".

It was revealed this morning that female reporters on the BBC's flagship television news bulletins earned on average £6,500 less than their male counterparts.

Citing figures released under the corporation's freedom of information scheme, The Independent said the average female news correspondent working for the BBC1 1pm, 6pm and 10pm bulletins was paid £59,050, compared with £65,625 for a male correspondent. The average age of a female correspondent is 41, while it is 46 for men.

Separate figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that in the past five years the number of BBC staff earning more than £100,000 has risen threefold.

My opinion: I think that everywhere women get discriminated because of their sex. Even as a career women or as a mother women are still not in control. I believe that women who do have jobs and are striving for high status jobs are effected by the GLASS CEILING. This means that women can only achieve to a certain extent. As a sociology student i have also researched that men prefer employing male staff as they are more reliable They feel as though there is no piont hiring females as because assuming they will have children and leave the job anyway. Even though BBC are supposed to me mainstream this article shows that traditional ideologies are not completely gone and that we do live in a patriachal society. I think it is very hard to change this although some women do work hard in their jobs such as celebrities singers etc.. however to become notices i feel as though women have to be EXCEPTIONALLY good and good looking in order to get noticed. Issue's like this encourages women to either work twice as hard or just be models objects of the male gaze. Hopefully this will all change. women like the ones in the BBC are starting to take action towards this sexist treatement.

Audience profiling:

- when advertisers ar keen to define target audiences so that they can establish the right ideologies to make the target audience want the product.

Demographic Profiling:

- most basic forms of identification
- Age, Gender, Geographical area, Class, Economic Class, Religion etc...
- Simplistic ways of defining an audience because it assumes that everyone in a very broad group has the same attitudes.

ME: 17, female, west london (southall) working class, hindu

Psychographic profiling:

- market research categories an audience in terms of needs and motivation rather than simple demographic factors.
- the emotional quality of the brand gaining importance as the markets get cluttered with brands which are not well differentiated in terms of physical attritubes.

The four C's
-Cross Cultural Consumer Charateristics -
-categorises in terms of aspirations in terms of the audiences needs and wants.

Mainstreamers - largest group. They are concerned with stability nd security mainly buying well recognised brands and consuming mainstream texts.

Aspirers - Seeking to improve themselves. Buy high status brands names which they consum, absorbing in ideologies of the products as well as their own and believing in that their status is established by this consumption.

Suceeders - people who feel secure and incontrol in position of power. they buy brands which reinforce their feeling of control and power.

Reformers - actively consume eco-friendly products and buy brands which are enviromentally friendly supportive and healthy. By products that establish ' caring and responsible' ideology.

The individual - highly media literate, expects high production adverstising and buys product image, not product requiring high profile, sophisticated compaings.

Me: Already i spot a problem with this as i do not fit into ONE. there are a few i fit into. for example i do noy purchase branded clothes becuse to me a jumper is a jumper its there to kep you warm. A fone is a fone simply there to ring and recieve calls not to watch television or browse the internet. Therefore i consider myself a succeeder. I also think i am a reformer. being a veggiterian has had a influence on this as i like looking after the world. i walk to school , i dont like taking cars tubes or buses. i buy my make-up from the body shop as its proved not tested on animals. I aspire to be like the middle-upper class however i dont do this through buying big brands.

Lifestyle marketing:
-YUPPIES young upwardly mobile professionals.
- DINKYS double income no kids yet.

The LifeMatrix Segments:
- Tribe wired: digital, free spirited creative young singles.
- Fun/Atics: Aspirational, fun seeking active young people.
- Dynamic Duos: hard driving highly involvement couples.
- Priority parents: family values, activities, media strongly dominate.
- Home soldiers: home centric, fmaily orientated, materially ambitious.
- Renaissance women: Active, caring, affluent, influential mothers.
- Rugged traditionalist: traditional males values, love of outdoors.
- Struggling singles: high aspirations, low economic status.
- Settled elders: devout, older, sedentary lifestyles.
- Free birds: vital active altruistic senoirs.