KHOU 11 news director Sally Ramirez was a guest on an episode of Women on Deadline and said journalism is in her blood. Ramirez says in the interview she started writing for the school newspaper back in second grade and believes journalism is a public service.
The podcast, hosted by television photojournalist Carolyn Hall (KING 5 Seattle, KTVA and KTUU Anchorage) and reporter/fill-in anchor Sierra Starks (KSBW Salinas, California and KTVA Anchorage), describes itself as covering "her" experience in TV news.
Here is a small portion of Ramirez's interview which addresses intersectionality in the newsroom:
Host: So then if I ask what are this what are some of the biggest challenges you face as a woman in this industry. Do you think you could answer that?
Sally Ramirez: That's a really great question. I am sure that I have, but at the time I may not have realized it. Like I said, I'm a double minority so to speak. I'm a female and I'm Hispanic, but I just sort of never let that get in the way.
I think that very early on in my career when I was a young producer, I did have some of the talent in particular...I won't mention the name or the station, but I do remember a meteorologist who said to me, 'You are not going to tell me what to do.' Even though my role required that I, you know, sort of lay down, here's what we're doing, here's where we're going and this person told me I wasn't going to because I was younger and because I was a woman. But that, you know, I overcame that clearly.
But so I have have that, but I really personally feel that I've never encountered it necessarily one on one where someone, you know, had said something in meetings. I'm always very professional. People are professional around me. So I have not...I've been very fortunate because I do know that some women have had instances where it's not been a good situation for them. I don't know if it's just my personality. I tend to be...I like to say I put my nose into things I probably shouldn't but I just...it's just how I am. I just focus on getting what I need to get done and move forward trying to accomplish that.
So I think that there are stereotypes that women in management...news management I have I faced this where if you have to talk to another talent for example, if I'm a woman, I've heard, 'Oh it's harder to work for a woman boss.' I really take offense to that.
I've never had that case. You know there's a lot of like oh, that women managers may be harder on other women. I don't...I personally, and I hope that this is, you know, what my team would say, is all the people that I've managed, I don't think that's right. I don't think that we there's all the jealousy or the fighting or the this or the that that I read about some times and some of the blogs and some of the things I think that's unfair. I think that we are really professional and that we really do look out for each other. It's always based on performance.
But if it's a woman, you know, disciplining or critiquing another woman, I do think that there's that little bit, sometimes that people think, oh it's because they're harder on them because it's a woman, or it's there's a jealousy factor or something like that which I do not think that is the case at all.
You can listen to the entire episode right here.
Also interviewed is KPLC Lake Charles, LA news director Jenelle Shriner. If you've been in Texas TV in the last few years, you will probably recognize Shriner's name from her roles as a former KPRC 2 executive producer and KVUE Austin assistant news director.
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