Simpson said she “never had a mentor because I was one of the first African Americans and first women in the U.S. to broadcast the news.” She learned the ropes, she said, “by knocking my head against the wall.” Today, Simpson makes it a priority to “mentor as many young people of color and as many women as I can, because I know how it might have helped me had I had a mentor.”
Read Carole Simpson’s Q and A.
IWMF Live
featuringCarole Simpson, ABC News
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Welcome to IWMF Live. Today's host is Carole Simpson.
Carole, an IWMF board member, is anchor of World News Tonight Sunday and an Emmy award-winning senior correspondent for ABC News.
Hardev Kaur: As a minority and someone who has reached a senior level in the news organisation, and especially in a male dominated organisation, how do you overcome the biases and prejudices from the male workers who may not be as good in their job as you but still make it difficult for you to do your job?
Carole Simpson: Combatting prejudice from male colleagues has been a continuing problem in my 35 years as a journalist. I choose to ignore their taunts or embarass them by repeating as loudly as I can some demeaning remark they may have made to me. That has happened so many times and the men embarassed so many times that it rarely occurs now.
Heather Cheng: I'm concerned about not being able to have both a succesful journalism career and a family. What is the best way to balance starting a family with establishing a career and "ascending the ranks"? What about when you are pregnant, is it detrimental to the future of your career if you have to leave to take care of your baby? Can you come back to the same position and continue moving forward?
Carole Simpson: I started my career before I was married and had children and, therefore, had some credibility as a journalist before starting a family. I can’t tell you that it’s easy wearing 3 hats: the hat of motherhood, the hat of wife/homemaker and the hat of career. Sometimes I would feel like I was in a three-ring circus and that I wasn’t doing justice to any of them, but my children are now grown and successful, I am still married to my husband of 36 years, and I think that the best advice I can give to you is to marry the right man. A man who supports your career and is willing to share household and childcare responsibilities.
Angela Kamugasa Nsimbi: 1.How can a female freelance journalist break even in the world of journalism? 2.Can you give tips on how one can benefit from mentoring? 3.Why is mentoring important? 4.What were the challenges you faced while covering the historic events of Martin Luther King's campaign?
Carole Simpson: I'm sorry, I don't have any advice about the freelance world. However, your questions about mentoring bring up an important issue for everyone. I never had a mentor because I was among the first women journalists in the United States. So I had no one from whom to get advice. That's why I have made it part of my mission to mentor young people who come into the field and want advice on any number of matters. I think that it is important for someone young in this field to find a more experienced professional who can not only counsel them, but also open doors. I have made calls on behalf of many young people I felt had potential and my name was enough to get them in the door. That's helpful. But then it's up to the person to secure the job with their talents and skills.
Inna Nikolova, Sofia, Bulgaria: How do you manage to maintain such an incredibly optimistic attitude to reporting on deadly serious social and gender problems and, at the same time to look so charming and relaxed after spending most of your (probably long) brilliant career in the media in, according to you, knocking your head against the wall? You don't have to answer, just smile, please.
Carole Simpson: BIG SMILE to you, Inna. Thanks for the compliment, but it is difficult to appear optimistic and warm when what we are reporting is so tragic and sad. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. Thank goodness I don’t have to knock my head against the wall anymore. I’m a grown-up now.
Viviane MOUHI (AIP Côte d'Ivoire): Mrs Carole Simpson, I want to say in my country, informations are not always very clear, because journalists work for their political party. There are committees like "Union des Jounalistes de Côte d'Ivoire" to help them be very good but they don't change. I want to do something which can improve the profession in Côte d'Ivoire but I don't Know how to start alone. Can you advise and help me? Thank you very much for your help. Viviane.
Carole Simpson: Viviane, it's very difficult to do things alone. I would suggest that you contact IWMF's African Women's Media Center in Dakar (info@awmc.com) and ask to join the network of women journalists around Africa who can offer you advice and suggestions and moral support. But until your country (I am saddened by the events occuring there now) has a free press, it's going to be very difficult to make any significant improvements.
Doreen Moapare: I'm a journalist/news anchor/current affairs presenter for Botswana Television (BTV). Its very difficult for women who come from countries like mine (Botswana,..Southern Africa), to make it in the international scene. Oportunities are minimum,..and penetrating the international market has proven a challenge. How does one market themselves for international success?
Carole Simpson: Leave Botswana. I have been to your beautiful country, but I have to admit that it’s small and many people around the world have probably not even heard of it. I would suggest you go to places where a lot of television is done for the international audience. Many large news organizations have bureaus or stringers in places like Johannesburg, Nairobi, Dakar or even London. I think your expertise in southern African affairs might be very attractive to news organizations with a serious commitment to international news.
Jess O'Flaherty: Dear Carole, Is it really as cut-throat in the broadcast business (especially at the top) as they say it is? If so, how have you overcome the fierce competetiveness and pressures from so many angles (society, executives, etc.) to stay on top? I'd like to know because I've only been in broadcast for a few years - and in a small shop at that - and I'm interested to know what may be in store as I move up.
Carole Simpson: Jess, hold onto your hat, girl! Yes, it is cut-throat in broadcast and becoming more so as budgets are cut and competition from cable and DVDs and CDs are eroding our audience. So those that have "made it" are hanging on for dear life. To succeed in that kind of environment one has to be competitive, a self-promoter and a hard and dependable worker. Executives are less likely to get rid of journalists who are the best at what they do. You're young now and that's what broadcasters are looking for in the 21st century. People like me are considered dinosaurs. So the best preparation for what lies ahead is by being one of those who is the best.
Yolanda Arenales: What are the opportunities for Hispanic women journalists in the USA? (Particularly for those who write/speak more fluently in Spanish) Which kind of media do you think is more promising for them (TV. newspapers, radio...)?
Carole Simpson: Yolanda, you are in luck. Now that Hispanics have become the biggest minority group in the USA, the opportunities are everywhere. I must tell you that in Miami and Los Angeles the Spanish-speaking stations have the largest audiences. Telemundo and Univision are seen all over Latin America and big stars are being made in this hemisphere by Hispanic journalists.
Lettie G in Botswana: Hi Carole-First I just wanted to thank you and the amazing women you work with on the Carole Simpson Leadership Institute initiative and to express my sincere regret at not being able to meet with you in person during the different times that I met with your colleagues. The CSLI changed my life forever in 2000 and there hasn't been any looking back on my part since then. Thank you for a life-changing experience
Carole Simpson: Oh, Lettie. You have made my day. My dream for CSLI was to have participants come away with the experience you describe. I too am sorry I didn't get to meet you, but perhaps someday. Please know that your remarks today are further evidence of why I need to keep finding more money to finance the AWMC project. My best wishes for your success.
H. Rose: What were the some of the early lessons you learned that have stuck with you through your career?
Carole Simpson: I learned early on that my sex and my color were going to be obstacles. I have what I call "the double whammy," confronting people who don't like me because I'm a woman and those who don't like me because I am a person of color. So I knew that I would have to face discrimination and that I would have to fight it. I have fought it by reminding my employers that equal opportunity is the law of the land in this country. And I have had sometimes to raise the specter of legal action. It doesn't make you any friends, but it - in a very pointed way - reminds employers of their obligation to meet the letter of the law. You would think after being one of the first women and African-Americans in this business that some of the prejudice would have stopped. It has not. I fight on.
eliza sanchez: Dear Carole, I too think its important to find a mentor, but I am hesitant to ask the successful women I know to spend their time helping me. I know how busy everyone is and I hate to impose. Do you have any ideas for how I can approach potential mentors.
Carole Simpson: The time I spend mentoring young people does not take away from my time at work or with family. Sometimes they will follow me on assignment, sit in on an interview, help me pull research, and go out to lunch. Those are things I have to do anyhow, but the people I'm mentoring can observe my style of doing things, ask questions about it, and I'm getting to know them. And then, when it's time for that person I am mentoring to need a helping hand, I can be there for them. Also, it should be pointed out that men can be mentors and I would simply pick out someone I thought was sympathetic and ask them to tag along.
Syrie Elan: Dear Ms. Simpson, What do you look for in a woman you mentor? How does one go about getting a good mentor and developing that symbiotic relationship? Thank you, Syrie
Carole Simpson: Syrie, please refer to my answer to Eliza.
phyllis neff: How can we encourage our editors in the United STates to focus more on international issues. I travel a lot and realize that American news is so focused only on what happens in this country and leaves the rest of the world out.
Carole Simpson: Until the mid-1980s I think the major network news programs did a fairly good job of reporting foreign news. But then, corporations bought the networks and news became just another profit center. We were expected to make profits and cut budgets and personnel and among the first things to go were our overseas bureaus. We became focused on covering stories which were close and cheap and that, of course, meant things happening here at home. We seem to have learned our lesson after 9/11 and now are paying a lot more attention to what's happening overseas. Maybe if we had done a better job before, we would not have been so surprised by a terrorist attack.
Claire: When I watch you on the news, you always seem to have such a caring attitude toward the people you interview. I can't help but think you must be a very nice person. I'm wondering if it's difficult for you to separate your work life from your private life?
Carole Simpson: First of all, I like people. I always learn from them. Whether they be homeless, or heads of state. So when I interview people, I may appear caring because I really do care what they have to say and what their stories are. I don't separate my private life and my work life because I am a news junkie so when I'm not at work, I still am reading papers and watching news on TV.
diane allison: Carole -- You have such poise and presence on air. Is that something that comes naturally to do. How can a young broadcaster learn that kind of on air technique?
Carole Simpson: I think what helped me most with voice delivery and presence was the acting experience I had throughout elementary school, high school and college. I did it for fun, but I found that it was remarkable preparation for becoming a broadcaster. I have advised many young women to take some drama courses or speech courses to develop their voices which, for women, can sometimes be high-pitched and unsuitable for broadcasting news.
Rosie J.: Carole -- You mention "hitting your head against the wall" a number of times. Doesn't seem like a very effective strategy. I work in an environment where I'm surrounded by men -- supervisors, co-workers, assistants. Over the years, what tips & techniques have you employed to effectively deal with men?
Carole Simpson: I should say I am knocking my head behind closed doors. Early in my career, I found the most effective strategy in dealing with men was to make them feel that they were helping me. Men love to think that they are smarter than we are. Tsk, tsk. I asked them questions that I knew the answers to. I asked their advice when I already knew what I was going to do. And they seemed to feel like big-shots when some young, inexperienced woman was seeking their help. It was purely a strategy. I would play dumb and they could feel superior and then they became friendly. They liked me. I wasn't like some of what they would call "uppity women" who think they know everything.
Thanks to Carole Simpson for joining us today on IWMF Live!