According to a 2017 report on the status of women in U.S. media, our news anchors are overwhelmingly male; men outnumber women as anchors three to one. Andrew Tyndall, who tracked an entire year of nightly newscasts, determined that only 32 percent of on-air correspondents and reporters for CBS Evening News were women. (To date, only Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer have ever been solo anchors.)
As CBS decides who will fill the seat of former Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, the Women’s Media Center is urging them to choose a woman and play an active role in covering the gender gap in news anchors as part of their #HireHer campaign.
Here are just 12 women anchors that could well fill the post.
#1: Connie Chung
Chung is an Emmy and Peabody award winner who has worked at CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN. Chung interviewed President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
#2: Carole Simpson
Simpson was the first black women reporter in Chicago. Simpson helped her network make policy changes in terms of hiring and pay equity. In addition, Simpson has reported on social issues such as racism, violence against women and children, and teenage pregnancy.
#3: María Elena Salinas
Salinas is the co-host of the award-winning “Noticiero Univision” and has received an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award for covering some of the most challenging stories in modern journalism.
#4: Judy Woodruff
Woodruff has spent more than three decades at NBC, CNN and PBS. She was awarded the 2017 Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism.
#5: Gayle King
King is currently a co-anchor running CBS This Morning. She has hosted several programs and interviewed all kinds of personalities in business and political sectors.
#6: Norah O’Donnell
O’Donnell is a co-host of “CBS This Morning” and contributes to “60 Minutes.” Prior to that, she served as CBS News’ Chief White House Correspondent. She was named “Broadcaster of the Year” by the New York State Broadcasters Association in 2014 and received the Excellence in Journalism award from the American News Women’s Club in 2015.
#7: Elaine Quijano
Quijano has worked for CNN as well as CBS News. She covered the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Columbia disaster, the re-election of George W. Bush as well as 9/11. She is currently working as an anchor of CBS Weekend News.
#8: Soledad O’Brien
O’Brien has served as an anchor and special correspondent for CNN. She has also produced award-winning, record-breaking and critically acclaimed documentaries on several important issues.
#9: Kelly O’Donnell
O’Donnell was appointed NBC Capitol Hill Correspondent in 2007. Prior to that she served as White House correspondent for NBC News.
#10: Dana Bash
Bash is a congressional correspondent at CNN. She was honored with the prestigious Dirksen Award by the National Press Foundation.
#11: Christiane Amanpour
As an assistant at the international assignment desk for CNN, Amanpour faced criticism from being put on air due to her accent and dark hair. However, she gained notice for her 1985 report on her home nation of Iran, winning the DuPont Award.
#12: Andrea Mitchell
Mitchell is NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent and covers intelligence and national security issues. In 2015, she was recognized by New York Women in Communications with the prestigious Matrix Award for her excellence in broadcast journalism.
You can participate in the WMC campaign by signing their petition and using the hashtag #HireHer on social media to show CBS the diverse array of female candidates they could choose from as they fill Pelley’s post.
