Women in Journalism Scotland is proud to be partnering with STV News to offer free broadcast media training to expert women, in a bid to help improve gender equality in the news.

About this event

This is a recurring workshop taking place several times a year for different sectors. The next event will be on Zoom from 7-8pm on Wednesday November 24. It is for those working in the third / charity sector and for unpaid carers.

You can apply to take part here.

Producers and senior journalists from STV News will provide a virtual training session for women considering being expert voices in the media. A number of STV staff will guide participants through an hour-long session, which will look at interview techniques and confidence building.

A recent study for International Women’s Day 2021 by Talat Yaqoob of Pass the Mic, Professor Karen Boyle and Melody House showed that over a typical sample week, just 30% of experts on television news were women, and in the wider media sample, just 24% were women. Women of colour accounted for only two percent of experts in the wider media.

Catriona MacPhee, Co-Chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, said: "These sessions are a fantastic way to make our media more accessible to underrepresented voices and to empower women whose experiences and perspectives should be heard.

"It's wonderful to see so many of the participants actively taking up media opportunities after completing the last sessions. We want to thank STV for committing the resources and time to offering this workshop."

STV News is trying to achieve a 50/50 gender balance in its news programmes and is very close to hitting its target. This project is part of efforts to support expert women and empower them to say yes when asked to take part in broadcast news interviews.

This session is open to journalists specialising in the charity / third sector and women working at all levels of the many professions related to this broad field.