Features
IWMF Announces 2008 Courage in Journalism Award Winners
The International Women's Media Foundation today announced the winners of 2008 Courage in Journalism Awards:
- Farida Nekzad, Afghanistan. Nekzad frequently receives phone calls and email messages threatening her life but remains committed to work toward a free press and greater equality for women journalists.
- Sevgul Uludag, Cyprus. A journalist for nearly three decades, Uludag has covered missing people and mass graves for both Turkish and Greek newspapers in Cyprus. She has received death threats and has been the subject of hate campaigns for her investigative reporting.
A third woman journalist has also won a Courage Award; her name will be released at a later date due to concerns for her safety.
The IWMF will also honor Edith Lederer with the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. Lederer, chief correspondent at the United Nations for the Associated Press, was the first female resident correspondent in Vietnam in 1972. She has worked on every continent except Antarctica since she began her journalism career in 1966.
This year's awards will be presented at ceremonies in Los Angeles on October 16 and New York on October 21. Award winners will attend a reception and panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on October 9.
- Click here to read the press release.
- Learn more about or help support the Courage Awards.
IWMF Names 2008-09 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow
The International Women's Media Foundation announced today that Jenny Manrique, a Colombian freelance journalist, has received the 2008-09 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship. The annual fellowship gives a woman journalist working in print, broadcast or online media the opportunity to focus exclusively on human rights journalism and social justice issues.
Manrique writes for Comunicaciones Aliadas, a non-governmental online magazine based in Peru that focuses on Latin American news, particularly human rights. She has covered subjects such as kidnapping, drug trafficking and refugees and hopes to investigate Colombian paramilitaries and their ties with multinational corporations during her IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship.
- Click here to read more about Manrique in the press release.
- Learn more about the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship.
- Help support this program.
Sally Sara Concludes Stint as IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow
Sally Sara, an anchor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, has completed her year as the 2007-08 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. She is now traveling in Asia conducting research for a new book. Before she left, Sara visited the IWMF and spoke about her experiences as the Neuffer Fellow.
- Watch video clips of Sally Sara talking about her time as the IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow.
- Click here to read more about Sara.
- Learn more about the IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship.
- Help support the IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fund.
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Leadership Styles and Power in Newsrooms
by Lindsey Wray
Being a good leader is like conducting a symphony: You don't necessarily know how to play each instrument but you do know how to make the instruments work together to produce music.
This image, according to Jill Geisler, head of the Leadership and Management group leader at the Poynter Institute, illustrates how leaders see the big picture and get their teams involved and invested in their work.
In terms of newsroom management, it's important to strive toward being a democratic leader instead of a controlling leader, said Marcy McGinnis, a former senior vice president for news coverage at CBS News. Democratic leaders possess integrity and inspire team members, she said, as opposed to controlling leaders, who can be inefficient and unfair.
Learning the difference between these styles of leadership is key to maximizing productivity. Here's a comparison from McGinnis to help make sure you’re effectively managing your newsroom to achieve the ultimate result: motivated employees who add just the right notes to the symphony.
Controlling
- Has absolute power
- Safeguards info
- Rules by fear
- Demands respect
- Takes personal credit, even for team accomplishments
- Supervises closely; micro manages
- Involved in all – even trivial – decisions
Democratic
- Has power but listens
- Shares info
- Rules by consensus
- Earns respect
- Shares success and gives credit where due
- Trusts team and relies on expertise of individuals
- Effectively delegates
This article was based on workshops conducted by Marcy McGinnis, a former senior vice president for news coverage at CBS News, and Jill Geisler, Leadership and Management Group Leader at the Poynter Institute, for the 2007 International Women's Media Foundation U.S. Leadership Institute in Chicago. For more information on the next leadership institute, visit www.iwmf.org/programs/leadership.
Lindsey Wray is the IWMF's communications coordinator.