“Good Girls Revolt” at The Montclarion
Could history repeat itself? Specifically with the roles and positions of gender in journalism? Amazon’s new series, Good Girls Revolt takes place in 1969 and is about three women who work at “News of the Week.” While working there, they realize that women don’t receive the same treatment and positions as the men do at the paper. Throughout the series, Patti, Jane, and Cindy fight for equality at the publication and even sue for sex discrimination.
Montclair State’s campus newspaper has been printing since 1928. Out of the last 24 years at The Montclarion, a long list of men held the place of Editor in Chief — 17 to be exact. This leaves the women with eight of those titles, including the two co-editors-in-chief that The Montclarion have this year. From 1993 to 2008, men dominated the Editor-in-Chief position. It wasn’t until 2009 when the first woman in the past 16 years took on the role. From then until now, with the exception of 2010, women have taken over as Editor-in-Chief at The Montclarion.
Associate Professor of Communication and Media, Tara George, has overseen the campus newspaper for about a year and a half. She feels the best person for the job should get the job, no matter the gender. Some issues she questions are if women are getting paid the same and if they are rising to the top job.
“Are they coming in and getting stuck or are they making it up to senior positions,” said George, who spent much of her career at the New York Daily News.
George also expressed her concern that sometimes she feels there are not enough men in the newsroom at The Montclarion. She also compared “Good Girls Revolt” to college newspapers today. “I think what you see in college organizations is a reflection on the times,” she said. “To have young women running operation is an indication that young women feel that they can run things which, quite frankly, is awesome.”
Senior Deanna Rosa is one of the two Co-Editors-in-Chief for the 2016–2017 school year at The Montclarion. Although in charge of the paper, she sometimes feels as if her power is undermined. “There are definitely times, where as a woman being in charge, that I feel a little bit threatened and that I don’t have as much power and what I say doesn’t hold much weight because of my gender,” she said. Despite her feelings, Rosa is hopeful for the future of younger girls who wish to pursue journalism or any career. “As we see women taking more leadership roles, hopefully there will be less insecurities and when young girls see women rising up and taking jobs that used to only be for men, hopefully those insecurities will go away and we will be able to take charge and not feel bad about it,” she said.
From a male perspective, Managing Editor Thomas Formoso, a junior, has been with the paper for three years and he believes it’s fantastic more women are in charge. “If you have the commitment, have the motivation and have the skills to perform [in] that position you should be very much entitled to be in that position as anybody else,” he explained. Formoso believes discrimination still happens in the workforce and finds it absurd. At The Montclarion specifically, Formoso said he wouldn’t necessarily call for an even 50/50 split amongst genders for future editor positions, but he wouldn’t mind it either. “I hope to see anyone who wants a position to not be discouraged from doing it,” he said.
Senior Emma Cimo is the Sports Editor at The Montclarion. Having a position in a male dominant field makes her feel proud, especially having a man as her predecessor along with a majority of her writers being men. “No one takes you seriously when you know sports [as a woman] but when you get positions like this, it’s great to know people do take you seriously that you know what you’re talking about, “ she said.
After realizing the genders the of Editors-in-Chief over the past 24 years, Rosa said that she would like to see some change for the future of the paper. “I’d like to see it vary…Part of me is saying heck yeah women are taking over, but another part of me is saying that’s not right either, it should be kind of equal.”
Formoso feels anyone should express their own individual stories and obstacles just like the group of women in “Good Girls Revolt” did. He said hearing others speak about their perspectives can make for better stories. “It’s important to see the other side of the story or else people will live in oblivion if their story never gets out. It’s important for anybody to speak out about any obstacles they have to overcome.”
The two Co-Editors-in-Chief will stay in their positions until the end of the year when the members vote for next year’s Editors. Will a man takeover or will the women’s six-year streak continue?
