Storyology spotlight: Cathie Schnitzerling
After more than two decades in newsrooms around Australia, Cathie Schnitzerling shares her insights on regional news and combatting sexual harassment in the workplace.
Editor of ABC Regional Queensland and founding member of Women in Media, Cathie owes her passion for regional news to her upbringing in ‘the bush’.
Born in Bourke, raised in Thargomindah and studying journalism at Toowoomba’s University of Southern Queensland, Cathie has long been passionate about regional news, despite only reporting in the metropolitan media.
“There is a huge division in the news — what resonates in a metropolitan area will often not make a difference in the regions,” Cathie said.
“In the regions what is newsworthy will be the news that you can use because for the ABC particularly it is often the one source of information that reaches them.”
Reporting for Channel Nine and working as Director of News at Network Ten, Cathie said that metropolitan news is largely irrelevant to those living in rural Queensland.
“News content has changed dramatically, there is a proliferation of CCTV, car crashes, and hold-ups at service stations but none of it actually means anything,” she said.
“Increasingly the ABC has put more of its focus into rural communities and quite amazing stories about the culture have come out as a result.
“These stories do not necessarily resonate with metropolitan audiences but it is journalism and it is meaningful.”
Cathie mediated the ‘Power Shifts’ panel at Brisbane’s Storyology 2018 festival, which included Catherine Fox, Rachel Hancock and Bri Lee, and took on the delicate issue of covering the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.
But these movements are not the only power shifts Cathie has seen over her years in the media.
“When I started at Channel Nine, I was one of two women in the newsroom,” she said.
“Back then it was pretty commonplace for jokes to be made about your breasts or sexual prowess, these jokes were incredibly raw and intense but they were never made about men.”
She said this kind of harassment passed off as humour.
“You would just have to wear the jokes, it was part of what it was, and while it can make you more resilient I am very happy to say that it does not happen as much — although it does still happen.”
Cathie said that the key to curbing sexual harassment in any industry is having more women in leadership roles.
“Because there are more women in senior roles, younger women are more willing to come forward and say what has happened to them if they experience sexism in the newsroom and be confident that action will be taken, and that their voice will be heard,” she said.
“At the ABC, 58 per cent of regional reporters are women and we work really hard to ensure that there is a balance of perspectives and voices.”
In her role of Regional Editor, Cathie endeavours to make sure that any case of sexual harassment that is reported is investigated.
