Women and the Media forum, 7 March 1989

This forum examining women journalists’ experiences in the media was organised by Margaret Henry and coincided to celebrate International Women’s Day in 1989. Taking place on the 7^th of March at the David Maddison Clinical Sciences building, the forum invited women working in both print and broadcast media, and hailing from Sydney and Newcastle. Kristen Williamson (journalist, screen and television writer) talks about the importance of media ownership and diversity for women in the business; Wendy Bacon (investigative journalist, political activist and academic) looks at the dominance of the Murdoch press, issues of censorship and double standards for women; Julie McCrossin (broadcaster, journalist, activist and comedian) talks about the problems of freelancing, subject matter and representation; Nicky (local 2NUR broadcaster) encourages women to take more ownership over public radio; Mary Body (NBN television presenter) shares her experiences as one of the first women on television for NBN Newcastle; Margaret Doyle (arts broadcaster from ABC Newcastle) talks about the conditions for women at the ABC; Felicity Biggins (journalist, broadcaster and academic) talks about her time as a cadet at the then Newcastle Morning Herald; Lynette Burns (journalist and academic) talks about her time working at the Maitland Mercury newspaper and the ‘boys club’ of print media organisations.  The recording of this forum provides a valuable and entertaining look at women working in media at the end of the 1980s. Despite the wholescale changes in technology and patterns of media consumption that have occurred in the intervening 30 years, the subject matter and issues raised in the forum remain sharply relevant today.   

0:00:19: Kristin Williamson

0:17:39: Wendy Bacon

0:51:12: Julie McCrossin

01:18:52: Nicky from 2NUR

01:25:15: Mary Body

01:34:09: Margaret Doyle

01:41:29: Felicity Biggins

01:50:28: Lynette Burns

02:01:21: Margaret Henry closes forum

The Margaret Henry Tapes are a collection of audio cassette tapes that were donated by her family to the UON after her passing in 2015. Margaret Henry was a history lecturer at the UON in the 1980s. The cassette tapes have been digitised and made freely available to the wider global research community.

The collection of Margaret Henry Tapes capture many public meetings and issues facing Newcastle, such as rebuilding after the earthquake in 1989, women’s issues and recordings exploring diversity and equity. The collection is an incredible legacy to Margaret Henry. The original audio tapes are held in Special Collections at the Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle (Australia).

You are welcome to use the sources for study and personal research purposes. Please acknowledge as Courtesy of the “Margaret Henry Tapes, University of Newcastle (Australia)" For commercial requests you must obtain permission by contacting Special Collections.

If you are the subject of the stories, or know the subject of the stories, and have cultural or other reservations about the stories available on this website and would like to discuss this with us please contact Special Collections.

If you have any further information on the audio files, please leave a comment.

These sources are provided free of charge to the global community thanks to the generosity of the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund. Information about the Vera Deacon History Fund is here uoncc.wordpress.com/vera-deacon-fund/ And you can directly donate here: dotnet.newcastle.edu.au/donations/