Taken at our broadcast training event in pre-pandemic times

During November and December of 2020, Women in Journalism Scotand ran an online survey, collecting 92 responses from women working in media from right across Scotland. The results show that:

• 18% of women have lost their jobs and a further 29% fear losing their jobs within a year

• 38.5% of women freelancers have lost more than half of their commissions

• 61% said abuse directed at journalists had increased in the past year and 36% were abused while doing their jobs this year

• 56% have taken on extra workload and responsibilities as a result of the pandemic with no compensation

• 78% of women working in the media with children under 16 saw childcare responsibilities fall to them during the pandemic

• 50.5% said their mental health deteriorated during 2020 to the point it impacted their ability to do their job

Gender equality in the media has regressed in 2020

Gender equality in the media industry has taken a serious hit as a result of the 2020 pandemic, as the results of a survey run by Women in Journalism Scotland, supported by Gender Equal Media Scotland, show. The figures reveal significant job losses, overwhelming workloads and unmanageable caring commitments that have pushed some to cut their hours or give up work altogether.

With the majority reporting that the level of abuse directed at female journalists has increased this year, the net result is that more than half of women working in the media have seen a serious deterioration in mental health over the pandemic.

And, 50 years after the Equal Pay Act came into force, equal pay is still overwhelmingly the issue that women feel needs addressing most urgently, followed by online abuse. 

Catriona MacPhee, Co-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, said: “It has been quite heartbreaking to go through the results of this survey and read of the experiences of not just a few, but dozens upon dozens of women, who say they are barely coping.

“This has undoubtedly been a terrible year for everyone, but it’s clear that women have been disproportionately affected by cuts in the industry and by the regression of equality in the workplace and at home. This has serious implications when media reporting has never been more important.

“At the same time, while it’s extremely worrying to see an increase in hostility towards all journalists in 2020, women are being targeted more, particularly with sexist and personal abuse. We are deeply worried by this trend and believe that, as an industry, it’s time we joined forces across the board to not only stamp out unacceptable attacks, but to ensure proper support and protection is given to those being abused.

Alys Mumford, chair of the Gender Equal Media Scotland Coalition, said: “These stark survey results show that the challenges already facing women in the media in Scotland have been exacerbated by the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women.

“Already more likely to be in precarious employment, on part-time hours, or undertaking freelance work, this year has seen women in the media facing further job uncertainty, increased unpaid care work, and deteriorating mental health. 

“Black and minoritised women, disabled women, and women from other under-represented groups will be at even greater risk from the combined threats of the Covid-19 pandemic, and institutional sexism in the media.

“2020 has highlighted, perhaps more than ever, the necessity of good journalism. Unless media institutions change their structures to better support women – tackling sexism, examining workplace cultures, ensuring that childcare isn’t a barrier to employment, and taking action against online abuse – Scotland will not have the media that women need. 

“We are grateful to organisations like Women in Journalism Scotland who are working to highlight these issues, and look forward to working with them for a gender-equal media in the coming year.”

Job security and Commissions

Just under half (47.5%) of those in contracted employment have either already lost their job (18%) during the pandemic or fear losing it within the next year (29%). Some 59% of freelancers have lost commissions, and of these, two thirds have lost more than half their expected commissions as a result of the pandemic.This means that 38.5% of freelance women working in the media have lost more than half of their work in 2020. Several respondents also highlighted their observations that women from minority backgrounds had been particularly sidelined and marginalised during the past year. 

Given that the impact of these contract losses is likely to linger, this speaks to a longer-term issue of losing diverse voices in Scottish journalism. It also shows how precarious jobs in the media industry are just now, which adds an additional burden of stress to those still in the industry and a major disincentive for those seeking careers in the media.

The following quotes are extracts from the survey respondents: 

“I live alone, my income has collapsed, I've burned through all my savings and I'm not sure I'll have enough work after Christmas. I'm finding it exceptionally hard to cope or to see anything positive in the future.”

“I am not optimistic for the future as I feel there will be many more journalists chasing much fewer jobs and as a freelance, I will be at the end of a very long line with no real support to find paid employment...If I was a single-parent family I would seriously consider retraining as things are so precarious.”

“The number of job losses is worrying, especially cuts to part time positions which are predominantly held by women.”

Workload

Exactly 56% of respondents reported having been given an increased workload and additional responsibilities at work without being compensated in any way. Given the additional stressors and pressures on women journalists – such as childcare responsibilities and level of abuse, as detailed below – this is cause for concern.

“The workload has been absolutely immense, and we've been given hardly any support to work so hard while not seeing family or friends for months.”

“Before the pandemic, we were already stretched. I've lost a lot of colleagues in the past two years. We lost more to furlough and, eventually, redundancy. Trying to keep the production of a newspaper going when everybody is working at home is a lot more exhausting than I expected...I also think that we've seen the effects of trying to run publications on skeleton staff ... there's just no respite.”

Childcare

Of those respondents with children under 16, 78% reported that childcare and home-schooling responsibilities had fallen to them, which reflects wider societal gender norms. A third of respondents (31%) stated that their employer had been unaccommodating of these additional caring responsibilities. 

Equally damaging is the finding that 11% of respondents with children had to cut back on work or give it up entirely in order to fulfil their family responsibilities. Three quarters (79%) of those caring for children while working during the pandemic described this as difficult, but as having no other choice.

Women journalists are therefore not only managing multiple roles to a greater extent than their male counterparts, but are also often being forced to negotiate the rigidity of their employers’ demands.

“Being the main childcare provider, I feel having to take time off to care for my children during lockdown impacted on how I was viewed in the newsroom. Instead of doing news when I came back I was pushed into features and those who had not taken time off were given bigger stories.”

“I felt isolated and scared. As a single parent, I also had to do all the homeschooling. I felt a heavy burden on me and felt very fearful about the future.”

“I have had to homeschool my children and work at the same time, sometimes doing the First Minister briefings. The news has changed throughout the day, and pages had to be re-written. I felt overwhelmed at times with no respite.”

Public Perceptions of Journalists

Nearly 60% agreed that people are more likely to rely on journalists to inform them of public health messages, contributing to a culture in which journalists are crucial to the dissemination of accurate, accessible information and advice. However at the same time, 43% of respondents believe that people think journalists are less trustworthy as a result of the events of 2020. 

“So many people despise you and what you do. Even family members talk about lying media, biased BBC. It's exhausting, dispiriting.”

“People accusing me of spreading misinformation, people being incredibly nasty in terms of the political stories I write.”

Abuse

Around 61% of respondents said that levels of abuse towards journalists had increased as a result of the events of 2020. In the context of greater societal reliance on journalists for public health guidance this figure is troubling, and prompts questions about what measures are in place to protect journalists, particularly women journalists who tend to receive more extreme abuse. 

Approximately 36% of women journalists responding to the WIJS questionnaire stated that they had received abuse of some kind this year whilst doing their job, either on social media, on the phone – and for nine women even in person. Our survey was open to all women working in the media, including in communications and in non-public facing media roles, but we believe that if that question was applied solely to public facing reporters the number would be significantly higher. 

When asked to detail the abuse they had received, many respondents cited sexist abuse, several reported racist abuse, and several said that members of the public had sought out private information about them or obtained their email address in order to send targeted abuse and to encourage others to do the same. 

A worrying trend within the responses was the repeated assertion of this abuse as “just the normal”,”Just trolling…from regular trolls”, “taking abusive calls ends up being par for the course”, “I have learned to manage abuse…”, “The usual ‘lying BBC reporter’ stuff.”, 

This shows that abuse has become normalised - viewed as inevitable even - and sadly, as an accepted downside of the job. Online abuse was repeatedly referred to as a factor in mental ill health. With active social media presences now seen as prerequisite for many public-facing journalists, it highlights the anomaly that while employers expect staff to maintain online presences, very few provide support in dealing with abuse or are actively tackling it. 

When respondents were asked what issues they wanted WIJS to campaign on their behalf about, online abuse was the second most popular topic cited.

“I had to completely delete my social media because of burnout.”

“I think the main challenge is in the online abuse women are subject to in the toxic environment of social media - and how that can lead to self-censorship and people leaving the profession (not to mention the impact on mental health).”

“The online abuse of women, particularly women from marginalised groups, is horrific. I don't know a single woman journalist who hasn't experienced it.”

“Armchair misogynists emboldened by world events.”

“Journalists shouldn’t be scared out of writing things but the culture of social media can create a situation where this is a factor in decision making. Even in editorial decisions I’ve witnessed this being a factor and it absolutely shouldn’t be.”

Mental Health

Given the pressures outlined above such as lack of employer support, loss of jobs, increased workload and increased abuse in the workplace, it is unfortunately not surprising that half (50.5%) of respondents described their mental health as having been impacted to the extent that they were unable to do their job to their usual standard. This is significant and deeply worrying, particularly in light of the fact that just under half of respondents are working freelance, and therefore are unable to access any kind of employee mental health benefits.

“Feel burnt out constantly writing and reading Covid-19 related content.”

“Overall my mental health has been affected as I work entirely from home and one bleeds into the other and into my free time...There’s been times I’ve been writing till 3am when that never used to be the case. It’s not good for me but I seem unable to manage my time or keep within sensible hours when I’m spending my entire life in one room.”

“Really struggling to focus on work/getting work when I am just trying to survive.”

Menopause

40% of affected women said that the symptoms of the menopause impacted their ability to do their jobs, with 91% of those saying that their employer had not been flexible or accommodating of this. 

This indicates that employers’ understanding of menopause and support for women going through the menopause is a critical factor in women’s ability to perform their work to the highest standard.

Equality as a casualty of 2020, in the words of women in the media: 

“Equality being one of the first things to regress as a result of the stresses of 2020, particularly with regard to domestic responsibilities.”

“Sadly it is still difficult to progress your career as a female within journalism. When I started out there were hardly any women involved, it became better over the years but sadly we are back at almost square one. I'm still the only female in conferences more often than not. Despite award-winning female voices, positions of power are held by far more males. Childcare, maternity, part time working are all still huge issues. Countless examples of downsizing newsrooms where women part time workers are adversely hit. I question whether this will ever be resolved.”

“Having to deal with the same nonsense I was dealing with in 1995.”

“Sexual equality you think would have been addressed in the 80s but we are struggling with the equality even today in 2020. There is more conversation but less change. It’s not enough to talk about what needs to change and attitudes towards the change more actions.”

For more information contact Women in Journalism Scotland Co-Chairs Catriona MacPhee on 07768103643 or Jan Patience on 07802427207 or at wijscotland@gmail.com.

The full results can be viewed here: PDF Summary, Excel sheet showing full responses

(Top Row L-R) Heather Kane-Darling, Kirsty Wark, Catherine Coyle, Gina Davidson

(Bottom Row L-R) Halla Mohieddeen, Sally Hampton, Melanie Reid, Donalda MacKinnon

One of the subjects we are asked most about at Women in Journalism Scotland is mentoring.

That’s why we’ve decided to launch an inaugural mentoring scheme, building on the success of a similar initiative run by our partner organisation Women in Journalism UK.

Our aim is to link up emerging Scotland-based journalists with some of the most successful women in the industry.

Eight influential mentors have agreed to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation of journalists. They span print, broadcast and radio, and are on hand to provide guidance and advice.

We’re thrilled that the mentors for our inaugural year are:

Donalda MacKinnon, former director of BBC Scotland

Donalda has recently retired from her post as director of BBC Scotland. She was responsible for 13 BBC centres, with more than 1,000 staff. She sponsored work-to-advance career progression for women and improve workplace culture. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Donalda began her career as a teacher. She has held various board-level roles, is a certified executive coach.

Melanie Reid, columnist, The Times

Melanie Reid began as a graduate trainee on The Scotsman in 1980 and held senior positions at the Sunday Mail and The Herald. In 2007 she joined The Times and since 2010 has written Spinal Column in The Times Saturday magazine. She’s been columnist and journalist of the year at Scottish and UK Press Awards. In 2014 she co-wrote, with Gregor Fisher, his memoir The Boy from Nowhere. Her own best-selling memoir The World I Fell Out Of was published in 2019 and won the Saltire Prize for non-fiction.

Sally Hampton, consumer magazines publisher, DC Thomson Media

Sally Hampton oversees a diverse portfolio of UK and Scottish interest magazine brands. Her role involves identifying opportunities to grow existing DC Thomson Media titles through innovation and expansion – and launching new products across a variety of platforms. Most recently, she was a key member of the team that delivered Platinum magazine, one of the biggest launches in consumer magazines in recent times. Sally is currently chair of PPA Scotland.

Halla Mohieddeen, principal presenter, Al Jazeera 

Halla Mohieddeen is a principal presenter with Al Jazeera in Doha. Before moving back into 24-hour international news, she launched STV News Tonight, bringing local, national and international news to a Scottish audience. She has a wealth of international experience, working as a journalist and presenter in Asia, the Middle East, mainland Europe and Scotland. 

Heather Kane-Darling, lead editor, speech and topical programmes, BBC Scotland

Heather’s been in Scottish radio for 20 years; starting out as a trainee broadcast journalist rising to group head of news before moving into programming. Currently she is a lead editor at BBC Scotland overseeing speech and topical programmes for BBC Radio Scotland as well as working across multi-platform productions. She previously worked in the commercial sector, running radio stations across the UK as group programmer for Communicorp UK for brands including Capital, Smooth and Heart. 

Kirsty Wark, Newsnight anchor, BBC

Kirsty Wark has built up a reputation as one of the UK’s most formidable and versatile television journalists. She is best known as an anchor on the BBC’s flagship news and current affairs show Newsnight. Kirsty has several major accolades to her name including BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, Journalist of the Year and Best Television Presenter.

Catherine Coyle, assistant editor, Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine

Catherine Coyle graduated in law before deciding to write. She combined the two, editing FIRM magazine (a lifestyle mag for lawyers), got a grounding in grassroots journalism at The Big Issue in Scotland magazine, and freelanced along the way before finding her natural home at Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine where she is assistant editor. 

Gina Davidson, deputy political editor, The Scotsman

Gina Davidson has been a journalist for more than 25 years, working across newspapers and television, and after a brief sojourn in Scottish politics, she is back in news as deputy political editor at the Scotsman. She was named Journalist of the Year in the 2013 Scottish Press Awards and was last year the recipient of the Nicola Barry Award. 

We believe mentoring has the ability to change the future of journalism. That future features a more confident, diverse workforce, a greater prevalence of female voices and more women in senior positions.

Eight early-to-mid career journalists will be chosen to take part in a year-long programme, which will include at least an hour a month of their mentor’s time, most likely on Zoom or by email. WiJ Scotland defines a mid career journalist as someone who feels they still have space to grow in their career and has specific goals they feel a mentor would help with.

To apply to have your media career shaped by this opportunity, fill in the below application form by 4 December 2020. Applicants must be a member of Women in Journalism Scotland.

If you are not yet a member, join here. We are sorry but in this first year, we are not able to accept applications from students. However, we hope to be bringing more career focused events to student members in the coming year. We hope to be able to expand this mentorship in future years to be able to accept more people onto the scheme.

Speaking about the scheme, Women in Journalism Scotland chairs, Catriona MacPhee and Jan Patience, said:

"We hope this scheme will help to level the playing field for eight up and coming women journalists, who, evidence shows, sadly still face discrimination in terms of pay and promotions.

"There are many hugely talented women journalists working in Scotland and it's really encouraging to see how readily those in senior positions are willing to give those who are starting out a hand up.

"We hope these pairings will prove fruitful to both sides and help the mentees reach their full potential, whether that be in securing the job they've always wanted or achieving a happy work life balance."

Applicants to the pilot mentoring programme will be selected by a panel led by WiJ Scotland co-chairs, Jan Patience and Catriona MacPhee. The panel will closely study all the answers to the questions posed in each application and base its final decision on the journalists proving how much they would benefit from the programme. An additional factor will be which applicant best fits the skills and experience of the eight mentors currently lined up.

On 17 November, WIJ Scotland will host an online event with Audrey Gillan. The award-winning journalist will discuss a career that's taken her from the East end of Glasgow to London, Iraq and Washington, covering some of the biggest news stories of the last 20 years.

As a multiplatform journalist covering major court cases and conflicts, Audrey has witnessed some of the darkest, and most resilient, sides of human behaviour. What makes her work so compelling is that she's also an expert in picking out the humanity, the glimmers of hope and the black comedy in her subjects.

Her ground-breaking study of homelessness, told through lives and voices of errant couple Tara and George, is a masterclass in interviewing as well as how to tackle a hugely complex and age-old subject in fresh way that really connects.

The six-part series won Radio Programme of the Year at the 2019 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

Audrey's most recent podcast, On the Ground, retells the story of her time as an embedded journalist in Iraq when her squadron was attacked in a fatal friendly fire incident.

She returns to the traumatic incident and applies forensic investigative journalism to find out what really happened and what impact it had, not just on the soldiers she bonded with, but on herself.

Audrey will be interviewed on her career, her podcasts and what makes compelling audio journalism by WiJ Scotland Co-Chair Catriona MacPhee.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Sign up here

In February, 27 members of Women in Journalism Scotland took part in our second ‘Branch Into Broadcasting’ training day. Below one of the participants, WiJ Scotland committee member, Hannah Baird shares her experience and the tips she learned.

WiJ Scotland is committed to improving female representation as commentators and experts, as well as supporting members with their careers in media.

WiJ Scotland Branch into Broadcasting training at BBC and STV studios in Glasgow came about after a previous session had been a roaring success, with many of the women emerging as a ‘voice’. Some of these women, now prominent commentators, had previously always refused requests to go on air due to lack of confidence.

At the training, STV Chairman, Baroness Margaret Ford, addressed the group to share some useful advice:

“In a world of fake news, it has never been more important for public broadcasting to step up.

“Form opinion based on fact and in context as this allows balance and proportionality. In that regard, the voice of women is critical – we have different experiences to men.

“Diversity of thought and experience is so important in public policy and news.”

I work in communications. I need to be able to give feedback and advice on broadcast interviews and to really understand something, you need to experience it. So, over the course of the day, I took part in three interviews – radio, television and a panel discussion.

I watched my interviews back which was incredibly helpful. I recognised what I did wrong, and how to correct my mistakes, as well as what I did right. Watching my body language was interesting – I didn’t realise how seemingly insignificant things, such as looking up when I’m thinking, look so exaggerated. These insights are invaluable for presenting at work too.

Being surrounded by clever, charismatic women gives you a sense that you can achieve anything. Taking part in the training in a supportive group with a common goal felt empowering.

You have to fake it ‘til you make it – you don’t grow in your comfort zone. Volunteering to be interviewed in a studio by journalists I hear on the radio and see on television was a massive confidence boost. I’d even thought about not going, and other women told me they were thinking the same that morning.

Top Tips from the Training

• First things first, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the show you will be on. Before an interview you can predict, or even ask, what will be covered. Ask who you will be interviewed by, ask who you will be on with and please ask about the fee.

• Don’t be afraid to cast some hooks. To get interviewed, contact producers and bookers and use your contacts.

• Watch and listen to shows you may be asked to appear on so you know the format.

• You might want to get a system in place at work to avoid going to HR every time you are asked on a show as you may not always have time.

• When preparing what you are going to say, consider who is listening and what you want to say to them.

• When you are being interviewed, remember people want to relate to you. Humanise it.

• Prepare and practise your key messages. Have a goal.

• In addition to having in-depth knowledge on what you’re speaking about, be aware of current stories and breaking news in case the interviewer asks for your opinion.

• You may want to prepare a sound bite for a pre-recorded interview. A sound bite should be short. It’s killed if it’s overloaded. Think of when you’re eating. One bite. It’s small. Sound bites can be akin to advertising slogans. For example, Boris Johnson’s ‘let’s get Brexit done’.

• Remember, silence is better than ‘um’ and ‘em’. Don’t be afraid to say you have to think about it if you’re not live.

• You want to have a strong eye line to camera. Don’t look up, down or away if you’re unsure. This can make the audience think you’re avoiding the question.

Breathe Deeply and Stop Apologising

At the latest broadcasting training, Professor Ros Steen led a voice workshop. Ros believes “the voice is deeply connected to who we are.”

It was remarkable to listen to our voices at the beginning and end of Ros’s workshop. We all did a short speech at the start. Almost all of us apologised at some point. Apologising for imperfection is totally unhelpful when we are trying to present ourselves confidently. We need to stop apologising.

Ros said: “Other people can’t give you confidence, it’s an inner thing. People can compliment you and encourage you, but you need to conquer confidence yourself.”

She went on to explain: “Real confidence comes from the inside and the ability to stand in yourself and transmit who you are and what you have to say from there. Some of your transmission will be conscious but some will be unconscious, and we need to become aware of those aspects by working on ourselves, our body and our voice.”

She also talked about how the voice works; the voice comes from the whole body, not simply the throat.

Voice is part of the muscular system of the body. How the voice is held and used automatically affects how it sounds. How we breathe is crucial. It is the support for our vocal tone – what our voice is carrying as opposed to what our voice is saying.

Clearly, there is so much more to a great media interview than words. As well as impacting our speech, body language speaks volumes. For example, when you’re slouched and sitting making yourself look small, your body language is effectively telling people you’re not important. Instead, sit up straight and uncross your legs.

With pointers and practise you can master media interviews.

Catriona MacPhee has a list of women in the WIJ network who are available for media interviews as commentators and experts that we give to producers. Please get in touch with her if you would like added to the list. WiJ Scotland members are also able to add themselves to the online WiJ Scotland Members Directory. Get in touch with Wij Scotland to find out how: wijscotland@gmail.com

In February, Tasnim Nazeer attended our ‘Branch Into Broadcasting’ training day held in the BBC and STV studios in Glasgow. Just five months later she made history as the first hijab-wearing woman to anchor a Scottish news report. Below she explains how it came to be and why she’s launched a petition calling for better representation in the UK media.

I have been a freelance journalist for over 10 years working across print, radio and online, and have always wanted to transition into TV broadcasting. However, I knew from the onset that this is generally a competitive sector of journalism to get into and one that would require a lot of hard work and dedication.  In addition, my lived experiences of facing discrimination made things even more challenging. Hearing stories of other freelancers who had felt that they simply couldn’t progress due to issues such as identity and race was very disheartening.

I was starting to wonder whether I would ever be able to break through the ‘glass ceiling’ that I felt I had been under for so long, but continued to persevere. Over the years I had built up a portfolio of multi-platform journalism work and despite having opportunities to guest commentate on TV I was considering how best to transition into an actual reporting role.

I decided to attend the Women in Journalism ‘Branch into Broadcasting’ day which I think was a fantastic experience to learn, network, meet other fellow journalists and Heads of News. It was there that I made a point to introduce myself, which I think is important when wanting to pitch stories and connect. It was also invaluable to get experience in the studio at BBC Scotland and STV. I would highly recommend the WiJ Scotland event to others looking to branch into the sector as it gives a good feel as to what broadcasting entails.

Following the broadcast training day, I then used the time I had during the lockdown to seek out stories, contacts and access and to see whether there would be any potential in covering those stories and pitching to contacts who I had met on the day. Once the lockdown had been lifted and restrictions were eased  I approached STV News with one of my stories and the rest is ‘history’ (quite literally).

July 2020 was the month I did my first TV report for STV News at Six. It was said to have been the first time a hijab-wearing TV reporter anchored a news report in the history of Scottish TV. It was a real personal achievement for me,  because I was uncertain whether it would ever happen prior to this opportunity. I still remember how happy my family were watching the report back as they know how much I have longed to see this day.

I was grateful that STV took me on purely for the story and the potential to do the job rather than see identity as a barrier and the fact that they are committed to supporting any freelancer the same way. In addition, talking about my experience saw my inbox inundated with messages from people all over the UK sharing their own challenges of trying to break through the ‘glass ceiling’.

I decided to start a campaign  to help others by calling for better representation in the media so that it more accurately reflects the national portrait of this country. I want everyone to feel that they can succeed and not be held back because of issues to do with  race, faith, gender, disability or any other factor. I know there are a lot of broadcasters who are investing in diversity and inclusion initiatives and have already taken action to facilitate better representation but there is still a lot more work that needs to be done. I hope that this campaign will ensure that broadcasters reflect on its talent and further see  actionable change.

One thing I have learnt from this experience is that as journalists there may be times when we have to create opportunities for ourselves, take risks and persevere in order to progress. I wish all the members of WiJ Scotland success in progressing in their respective sectors of journalism and hope that together we can see better representation and diversity in the newsroom. 

Please do sign the petition  and share the hashtag #betterrepresentation to show your support - hopefully more journalists will achieve equal opportunities in the media.

I first heard about Ajay Close's new novel, What We Did in the Dark, from the author herself when she came to Anna Burnside's home Salon a couple of years ago. The novel under discussion that night was Ajay's 2017 novel, The Daughter of Lady Macbeth but at the time, Ajay was deep into her research for what became What We Did in the Dark.

After we had discussed The Daughter of Lady Macbeth, Ajay told us the story of Scottish journalist, Catherine Carswell and her tumultuous – and doomed – first marriage to artist Herbert Jackson. I had heard about Carswell and had even read her novel, Open The Door, years ago but it was obvious as Ajay spoke that the story of this doyenne of what was then called The Glasgow Herald was the stuff of fiction. I itched to know more.

I used to read Ajay's pristine features in Scotland on Sunday in awe. Now I read her novels in awe. She was the obvious choice as a guest for the inaugural WiJ Scotland Salon now that Anna's home Salon has flitted to a new home.

Unfortunately Covid-19 has put paid to this Salon. For now. Watch this space for a new date in the autumn. In the meantime, Ajay has written about the writing of What We Did in the Dark for your delectation...

Jan Patience, co-chair Women in Journalism Scotland

Ajay Close on how she wrote What We Did in the Dark

It began with a passing mention in Wikipedia. Catherine Carswell’s first marriage ended in a landmark divorce case. Her husband, Herbert Jackson, spent the rest of his life in a lunatic asylum.

I knew there and then I had the makings of a novel, a fact-based fiction like my suffragette novel A Petrol Scented Spring. It would mean interviewing descendants of the main characters, research in libraries and archives, foreign travel. Almost like being a journalist again (in the good old days), only without deadlines – and with licence to invent what I couldn’t find out.

Carswell was a successful 20th century writer. Three of her six books are Scottish classics. A New Zealand academic has written a critical biography and edited two volumes of her letters. It’s easy to get a sense of her: self-doubting, charismatic, intellectually curious, strikingly goodlooking all her life.

Putting fictional flesh on the bones of an obscure portrait painter like Herbert Jackson was always going to be more of a challenge.

He died in 1929 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Dumfries, but the process of erasing him from the record began much earlier. No one wanted to be reminded of him, not his mother and sister, and certainly not his wife. He can be glimpsed in the distorting mirror of Carswell’s first novel, Open The Door, as the pathologically jealous Mario Rasponi, killed off in a motorbike accident shortly after marrying the author’s alter ego Joanna. There are 12 lines (out of 245 pages!) about Carswell’s first marriage in her autobiography Lying Awake. Neither book tells us much about Herbert.

I knew why. The life-changing Bad Relationship. The one you analyse endlessly – he was this or that kind of nightmare, but how much was I to blame? – until your friends are sick of hearing about it. I have one of those in my past (many women have) and I can’t write coherently about it any more than Cathie could. But I was perfectly placed to tackle her story.

Journalism was a big part of both Herbert’s and Cathie’s lives. In 1905, with a husband in the madhouse and a young child to support, she started working for the Glasgow Herald (the paper I wrote for 90 years later). Herbert’s father, Mason Jackson, was art editor of the Illustrated London News. Thanks to him, several of Herbert’s paintings were reproduced in early 20th century periodicals. This was a massive stroke of luck for me, and not the only one.

Sifting through a bulky folder in Liverpool University Special Collections, I came across a snapshot from 1903. Four art teachers sitting on some steps. One was dark-haired, saturnine, smartly dressed but tough looking, with a broken nose and narrowed stare. Suddenly Cathie’s whirlwind marriage made more sense.

I have a long-dead journalist to thank for my biggest lucky break. Three years after Herbert was taken away to an asylum, Cathie went to court to get the marriage annulled on the grounds that he had been mad on their wedding day. The Times court reporter was a commendably thorough chap. I owe more than half my 300-page novel to his coverage of the three-day case.

Their courtship was romantic but very short. On honeymoon, Cathie found out who she had married. He slept with a pistol under his pillow, convinced his former friends were plotting against him. He believed he was followed by spies and informers, the newspapers defamed him, the American multimillionaire J Pierpont Morgan was his enemy, his food was poisoned… Strangest of all, he was sure he was impotent, despite what he and Cathie were doing night after night. When she told him she was pregnant, he accused her of adultery with the Prince of Wales and tried to strangle her.

You couldn’t make it up! Or rather, I didn’t have to – and, knowing how bizarre the facts were, I really had to raise my game when making up the rest.

What We Did in the Dark is published by Sandstone Press, £8.99.

It started in a taxi in March 2014, with four top burdz speeding home from a jolly dinner with a fifth. We noted, through the Aperol fumes, that Aye Write was on. Why don't, one of the others slurred, we all go to Jean Rafferty's event?

"Thassa great idea," I managed to get out. "I will organise this."

Then I went home and fell fast asleep. On waking up, I discovered Jean's event was that morning.

Despite the banging head I managed a second thought. Why do we need Aye Write? I know Jean. She was an award-winning journalist before she wrote novels and started the original WIJ Scotland back in the 1990s. I know at least four people, plus me, who want to hear her talking about her new book. Let's cut out the middle man and do this in my living room.

And so we did. I invited some chums and introduced Jean. She read from her novel Moira, Beyond Saddleworth, I got the Q&A started, then everyone else piled in. Jean claims I'm the only person to ask if Moira kept her wig on while she was having sex. I can't believe that this is true. Surely everyone wants to know about that?

Afterwards they all wanted to know when we would do this again and who the next writer would be. And so what I grandly christened my book salon was born.

It ran, intermittently, until the start of 2019.  We covered novels, short stories, essays, memoirs, political polemics, poetry. There were so many great guests: Jim Naughtie, Chris McQueer, Kirsty Wark, Katie Grant, Kaite Walsh ...

Lesley Riddoch had us singing Freedom All Come Ye after reading from Blossom, her thinkaround possibilities for an independent Scotland. Donald Murray was meant to be reading from Herring Tales, his fascinating fish-based history, but turned up with a load of his poems and read them instead.

Mark Douglas Home faced some tough questions about why a sparky female character from his first novel was absent from number two. He described it afterwards as "a terrifying focus group, with wine."

Why did I stop? Boring reason - I had the builders in and the house was a guddle. Bigger reason - I felt uncomfortable that I was asking writers to turn up and perform as a favour to me. Even as I plied them with soup, cake and wine, it felt like a bit of a cheek. But I didn't feel comfortable charging my pals either.

My workaround was to ask everyone who was coming to bring a donation for Maryhill Food Bank. And while their donations were magnificent and generous, it did not feel like enough.

Then WIJ suggested reviving salon in a slightly more organised format. I bit their hand off.

In its new iteration it will still hit the sweet spot between a domestic book group and a formal book festival. The lovely venue for the first event, The Outwith Agency  in Glasgow's Govanhill, is homely and cosy but we won't be disturbing my children with too much laughing. (Yes, that happened.)

Our first guest author, Ajay Close, appeared in my front room twice and was a roaring success. She's a former journalist - I worked with her at Scotland on Sunday back in the day. Her new book, What We Did in the Dark, is about Glaswegian journalist Catherine Carswell. There will be a collection for Beauty Banks.

I can't wait.

The first WIJ Salon will take place on the 19 March. Find out more about the event and reserve your tickets here.

Why Beauty Banks?

There was always a collection for Maryhill Foodbank at the original salon. This time the collection will be for Beauty Banks, an incredibly cool charity founded by journalist Sali Hughes and beauty PR Jo Jones. They collect toiletries, beauty products, sanitary towels and tampons and distribute them to food banks, women's refuges, homeless shelters and other organisations that help people who can't afford the very basic essentials needed to keep fresh and clean. All donations are kept locally and dropped off to one of their partner organisations. Our collection will go to Glasgow South West food bank.

So if you are coming, please bring a donation if you can. Sanitary products, soap, shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, wipes are all welcome. Miniatures from hotel rooms are good too - some clients like small bottles. Any left over press samples, PR gifts, left over Xmas sets - bring them along.
Direct donations are also great - Beauty Banks has a sweet deal with Easho, a bulk toiletries supplier, which gets them the maximum cleaning power for their donations, and cuts down on postage and packaging waste. It's all on their website www.easho.org.uk.

To kick-start the new year, we invited professional organiser Kate Galbally to talk to us about how to be better organised. Kate, one of about 400 professional organisers in the UK, works mainly with female decision makers.

From dealing with overwork and exhaustion to grappling with your slothful side, Kate’s advice will help you declutter your space, manage your time and focus on what’s important.

Here’s my top ten takeaways from the session to get you going.

1.    Declutter

Organise your home, your office, your diary, your computer and your finances. Get rid of the excess.

2.    Ditch the overwhelming to-do lists

I was sceptical at first. But it makes sense. Take a diary-led approach instead. If things are scheduled, they tend to get done.

3.    Just do it

If a task is going to take two minutes or less, just do it. Don’t put it on a to-do list. I’m applying this thinking, when possible, to tasks that take 15 minutes or less. So far, productivity levels are through the roof.

4.    Tag it on

The easiest way to introduce a new habit is to tag it onto an existing habit.

5.    Set a timer

The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method Kate recommends. Pick a task. Set a timer to 25 minutes. Work until the timer sounds. Take a five minute break. Repeat four times, then take a ten-minute break. You could, of course, work for longer bursts. This technique encourages concentration and helps to manage distractions.

6.    Delegate

Think what tasks you could remove from your diary. It may be worth paying someone else or using Trint to transcribe interviews, ordering your food shop online or sending your ironing out.

7.    Adjust notifications

Working in a reactive job, turning your phone off isn’t an option. However, it’s worth considering muting social media and group chats that ping throughout the day.

8.    Systemise

Consider what processes you can put in place. If you travel a lot, you could create a packing list to remove the thought from preparing to go away. Or, if you find yourself forgetting to pay bills, have a house ‘in-tray’ so anything requiring action is in one place.

9.    Compartmentalise

When organising physical items or tasks, group like with like to save time.

10. Think of the benefits

Feeling disorganised can take a toll on wellbeing. It can also have a knock-on effect on others, impacting relationships and colleagues. Being organised, on the other hand, makes me feel like a powerhouse of productivity.

Writing this, Nigella’s Sunday Times Style column from earlier this month came to mind. Nigella wrote ‘I have learnt to accept much about myself, not all of it entirely desirable, and one of those things is that I am messy. Actually, it goes further than that: I am a mess magnet.’

If you really can’t get on board with Kate’s advice, at least you can embrace the chaos in good company…

Hannah Baird 

Women in Journalism Scotland are encouraging amazing women journalists to enter the Scottish Press Awards to redress the gender balance

In 2017, there were 64 men shortlisted for awards at the Scottish Newspaper Society’s Scottish Press Awards, and just 18 women. In 2018, 56 men were shortlisted compared to 18 women. In 2019, there were 64 men to 18 women.

Things are not getting better.

NB. These figures do not include the Nicola Barry award which was set up in 2018 and is only open to women journalists.

At Women in Journalism Scotland we know of hundreds of talented women journalists right across Scotland who should be recognised for the high quality of work they produce, but who don’t put themselves forward for these types of awards.

The period following Christmas and New Year can be a financial struggle for many. We want to help to remove barriers for women who might be put off nominating themselves because of the entrance fee, and are offering to cover the cost of ten women entries into any categories other than the Nicola Barry award.

To enter the lottery for having your fees covered by Women in Journalism Scotland, email wijscotland@gmail.com.

We’ll let the winners know on 11 January.

We are too often our own worst critics and often reticent to put ourselves forward thinking that our work isn’t ‘good enough’. But it’s vital that women enter these awards to redress the balance, recognise the incredible women in journalism of Scotland and to inspire young women to become journalists, changing the male-dominate nature of the industry.

That’s why we’re also asking people to nudge women journalists to enter using the following template tweet:

I think @XXX should win the YYY category at the Scottish Press Awards for her work: ZZZ

#WIJS2win

We can also provide support. If you’re considering entering but not sure which of your articles to submit, get in touch and we’ll happily provide a sounding board.

For full information on the awards and how to enter, visit the Scottish Newspaper Society website.

The categories available for individuals to enter are:

• SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER of the Year Winner and Runner Up

• NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER of the Year 

• ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST of the Year

• YOUNG JOURNALIST of the Year 

• INTERVIEWER of the Year

• Political Journalist of the Year

• Columnist of the Year

• LOCAL/WEEKLY SPORTS WRITER of the Year

• SPORTS COLUMNIST of the Year

• Sports Feature Writer of the Year

• Sports News Writer of the Year

• Financial/Business Journalist of the Year

• LOCAL/WEEKLY FEATURE WRITER of the Year 

• Feature Writer of the Year

• PODCAST of the Year

• VIDEO of the Year

• Scoop of the Year

• LOCAL/WEEKLY REPORTER

• Reporter of the Year 

• THE NICOLA BARRY AWARD

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Nicola Barry was one of Scotland’s most successful and best known journalists and authors. She died in January 2017 at the age of 66. In a career spanning over 40 years, Nicola won around 30 UK and Scottish press awards, mainly writing about social issues. She won Columnist of the Year while at the Press & Journal in three consecutive years. Nicola worked for almost all Scotland’s main newspapers, including the Edinburgh Evening News, the Scotsman, the Scottish Sunday Express, the Daily Record and the Press and Journal. She was Editor of The Big Issue. During her career as a newspaper columnist and features writer, Nicola was driven by a passion to help the underdog, to give a voice to those who had none. 

The Nicola Barry Award is open to all women journalists of any age working in print and online media in Scotland deserving of recognition for their work in issue-led reportage or commentary. This reflects the late Nicola Barry's passion for standing up against injustice in the workplace and in the wider world through her writing.

This annual prize was first presented at the Scottish Press Awards in 2018. It goes to the journalist whose submissions most effectively highlight injustices, curbs on freedom or other forms of discrimination. These were topics Nicola regularly confronted in her life as a journalist. The award came about after Nicola’s husband, Alastair Murray, approached Women in Journalism Scotland’s committee asking if it could explore ways of ensuring his late wife’s legacy in journalism would continue while supporting other women in the profession.

It was won in 2018 by Dani Garavelli and in 2019 by Karin Goodwin

DANI Garavelli has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Nicola Barry Award at this year’s Scottish Press Awards ceremony.

This new peer-led prize aims to encourage the kind of elegant prose and campaigning reportage for which the late Nicola Barry, an award-winning columnist and feature writer, was renowned.

The award has been established by Women in Journalism Scotland, and was presented to Ms Garavelli, a freelance journalist who writes a regular column for Scotland on Sunday, by Nicola Barry’s husband, Alastair Murray. Nicola Barry died in January 2017 at the age of 66.

The runner-up was Sunday Post reporter Marion Scott.

Presenting the award, Murray, who is also a journalist, said: “It would be easy to ask for an award for every journalist who dies, but there are so few of us who could legitimately be described as exceptional, brilliant even. And those words apply to Nicola Barry.

“She was an ardent feminist long before it was fashionable and an advocate of women’s rights. She spoke out against injustice in the workplace and in the wider world through her columns.

“I see many of the same traits in the writing of Dani Garavelli, who in her writing, combines insight and passion with equal fluency.”

Women in Journalism Scotland co-chair Libby Brooks said: “Nicola Barry was a much-admired columnist, and in Dani Garavelli we found a writer whose depth of analysis, range of subject matter and quality of prose likewise set her apart.

“It’s acknowledged that Garavelli is one of the finest columnists writing for the Scottish press today of either gender. Never polemical for the sake of it, always intelligent and considered, Garavelli’s approach to her chosen subjects is as humane as it is illuminating.”

Of runner-up Marion Scott, Brooks, said: “Nicola Barry made it her business to amplify the voices of those who had not been heard by the establishment or the public.

“Marion Scott’s tenacious reporting of the Denise Clair rape case, from its early days, was a prime example of doing just that, and sticking with a story despite the odds. In the end, she saw her subject win a significant legal victory, which has set a challenging precedent for rape law in Scotland.”

Shelley Jofre, Investigations Editor at BBC Scotland and co-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, said: “This award is exactly the kind of thing which Women in Journalism Scotland was set up to achieve.

“Since our launch by the First Minister in November 2016, our membership continues to grow. We’ve held a series of successful events aimed at helping boost the skills, knowledge and confidence of women journalists working across Scotland.

“Stronger Voice for Women on Air training events have been held in both Glasgow and Dundee, and WiJ Scotland has been a partner in the BBC’s prestigious Expert Women Scotland programme, an integral part of the broadcaster’s aim to achieve a 50:50 gender balance by April 2019.

“We have also held networking events across Scotland, with more in the pipeline. Our aim is to create an easy-to-access database of women experts which we hope will become the essential go-to guide for all broadcasters in Scotland.

“Since WiJ Scotland started up, there has been a sea-change in the way in which women’s voices are heard. As an organisation, we will continue to lobby for change and, most importantly, offer support for women in the media at every stage of their career.”

John McLellan, director of the Scottish Newspaper Society, said: “Having worked with them both, Dani Garavelli is a very worthy first winner of the Nicola Barry Award.

“I know from personal experience that Nicola was a very special talent and her empathy for the dispossessed, vulnerable and excluded shone through in her writing.

“The SNS is delighted to be working with Women in Journalism to encourage new female writers and to keep Nicola’s memory alive.”