Courtney Lowery offers a different perspective on how digital media is affecting journalism:
“I’ve been hit on by sources, told “attagirl” by one of my reporters, and just this week had a freelancer sign off in an email with “thanks darlin.'” That kind of condescension I’ve become accustomed to. But not once, in all of my gatherings and professional duties, have I felt as insecure, small and disrespected than I did at a conference meant to support women in this business. Whether it was because I was young or because I do my work online, the overwhelming reaction I got was one of contempt.”
“I got this from the generation of female journalists I’d looked up to. These were the women I emulated, the ones who taught me how to challenge a power structure and how to buck the trends and not give someone else the power to dictate my career. They were the ones who had blazed new territory for me and given me the knowledge and the confidence to do what I wanted and could do, not what someone else told me I could do. And there I was, being scorned for doing exactly what they taught me to do all along.”