I'm Mad as Hell - and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore
Why reporting of women needs to change
You don’t need to be a father of daughters to find this reporting sexist and offensive
Do you remember your favorite professor from college?
Mine was Richard Roth, who taught News Writing & Editing. Although I didn’t pursue a career in journalism, I’m forever grateful to Professor Roth for teaching me about the craft of storytelling and discipline of journalism.
When a journalist writes a story, they have the ability to not just inform but to influence. Sometimes a writer hits us over the head with their message – other times they do it subtly, gently giving us a nudge and shaping our views without us even realizing it.
Professor Roth’s classes sharpened not just my writing, but also my thinking.
And while some aspects of journalism may have changed since I studied it, some rules still apply.
Seek truth and report it.
Minimize harm.
Act with integrity.
That’s why one story really fired me up last weekend.
One of the most read UK newspapers ran a story about two men who’d won a sex discrimination case at J. Walter Thompson, after (the headline read) a “gay female director vowed to ‘obliterate’ Mad Men reputation of being full of ‘white, straight men.’”
Though the headline was provocative enough, the thing that grabbed my attention was the images underneath it. The first was a man casually dressed in a blue t-shirt and light trousers. Next to him a sideview of a thin woman in a black bikini, lounging by a pool. Inset was an image of a woman walking down a white staircase (the kind you see in the Greek islands), looking effortlessly chic in a black dress and sandals.
I was immediately confused.
What was this story about?!
The newspaper provided bullet points (for the TL;DR crowd) summing up the story. It said Chas Bayfield and Dave Jenner won a sex discrimination case against agency J. Walter Thompson. The second point said Jo Wallace was appointed as a global creative director to help the company lose its ‘boys club’ reputation.
But why is there a picture of a woman in a bikini in a story about a legal case? And who is Jo Wallace – and how does she fit into this story?
Here’s her life story
The story revealed that Jo Wallace is a creative director with a 20+ year career working for a variety of agencies. She graduated in 1999 with a First (the highest honours degree you can achieve in the UK) in graphic design and advertising, and worked as a creative writer for companies such as The AA, Tango, Pot Noodle, and Guinness. She also founded ‘Good Girls Eat Dinner’ where inspirational women share their stories and advice.
And, doing my own research, I also learned that she’s won a ton of awards.
Saying she was appointed to ‘lose the boys club’ reputation sells her short. Yes, she can help their gender diversity, but presumably she was also hired because she can help their business.
But I was still wondering what she had to do with the discrimination case.
It goes back to 2018 – and a “very disappointing” gender pay gap report
In April 2018, a gender pay gap report revealed that the median pay gap at JWT was 44.7 percent.
And in May 2018, the article says Wallace ‘jointly held a diversity conference called Crisis: The Mother of All Change. She “introduced herself as a gay woman” and told the conference: “One thing we agree on is that the reputation JWT once earnt, as being full of ‘white British, privileged...etc…’ has to be obliterated.”
The gender pay gap report and the Crisis conference are relevant, as the conversations and actions after this are noted in the tribunal discrimination case.
But, a quick fact check (done by me) revealed two important points:
Wallace didn’t ‘hold’ the conference. She spoke at the conference. The conference was held by Creative Equals.
The tribunal noted there was “significant controversy” about certain slides used in the presentation and the accompanying commentary, but also described the speech as mostly “uncontroversial, if also hard-hitting.”
And here’s a third important point (buried in the story):
Wallace didn’t write or make that speech on her own.
The story later reveals that the presentation about JWT’s gender pay “was written and presented by creative leaders Jo Wallace and Lucas Peon.”
Lucas Peon is later mentioned in the tribunal case Baysfield and Jenner won. But the article doesn’t tell us Peon’s backstory – or show a single photo – despite his role in the case.
Instead, it focuses on Jo Wallace.
The article tells us where she was born, her parents’ names, and that her father is an engineer (no details on her mother were provided, aside from her name). We are told that Wallace is gay (four times), and lives with her fianceé in a £1.2 million house in ‘trendy’ east London. (Ed – That may sound like a palace, but anyone familiar with London house prices knows that £1.2 million doesn’t get you a mansion with a tennis court, home theatre, and a live-in butler.)
We learn that Chas Bayfield lives in Cricklewood (no adjective to describe it is shared, so I don’t know if it’s ‘trendy’) and no house value is provided. We learn that he is married to an Australian occupational therapist, and the father to a 12-year-old. No details of his parents or their professions are mentioned – nor where he grew up or studied (or grades received).
We are told Bayfield created a Blackcurrant Tango ad that was ‘hugely popular in the 1990s,’ but few other professional qualifications are mentioned in the article.
And, since a picture tells a thousand words, let’s talk about the photos.
In addition to the bikini and holiday photo at the top of the article, the article shares three pictures of Ms. Wallace and her fianceé, another casual picture of Ms. Wallace (that looks like a holiday snap) and yet another picture of her wearing a bikini top (this time, coupled with shorts).
Of the seven photos of Ms. Wallace presented in the piece, only one appears to be in a professional setting.
The story includes two photos of Mr. Bayfield – fully clothed – and smiling in one.
We also see three photos of the Tango ad Mr. Bayfield made, but there are no photos of Ms. Wallace’s work.
As I was reading Ms. Wallace’s life story, I was waiting for how this all linked to Bayfield and the tribunal case.
What happened between them that put her front and centre in this story?
She must be a big part of the tribunal case, right?
Wrong.
The last paragraph of the lengthy article provided a quote from Wunderman Thompson:
‘No claim was brought against Jo Wallace in relation to the events that took place within the J. Walter Thompson business in 2018. She did not dismiss the claimants, and was not involved in the redundancy decision-making process.’
Hold up.
If she’s not part of the tribunal claim, why is she dominating this story?
The JWT employees who are mentioned in the events that took place at the tribunal are Lucas Peon and HR Director Emma Hoyle. Yet, we have no photos or family background on either of them.
Instead, we have the personal details and photos of an experienced female creative director. We know where she grew up, where she lives now, and what her dad does for a living.
And what she looks like in a bikini.
Jo Wallace may have dominated the column inches, but she is NOT the story here. As the article reports, she didn’t dismiss the claimants. She wasn’t involved in the redundancy decision-making process. No claim was brought against her in the tribunal case.
But now she’s on the receiving end of vitriol – being blamed for men losing their jobs. People have written horrible things about her (including a truckload of comments that are sexist, misogynistic, and homophobic).
Because some journalists didn’t do their job.
This story is a painful reminder that no matter what women achieve professionally, there will always be people waiting in the wings to tear us down. The truth will be sacrificed to push an agenda – along with our names and reputations.
And it’s not OK.
Journalists are supposed to seek truth and report it. Minimize harm. Act with integrity.
This article wouldn’t have passed in Professor Roth’s class 20 years ago.
And it doesn’t pass now.
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Beth Collier lives in London, but grew up in a small town in Indiana. Both of her parents raised her to work hard, be kind, and use her brain. She’s never burned a bra. Why would she? Bras are expensive.
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