| From the inception of broadcast news, white males dominated the airwaves. Large audiences became accustomed to obtaining the latest news from white males. However, in the late 1960s, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) began to include women in its equal employment opportunity (EEO) rules, thus ensuring federal impetus to female representation in all areas of the broadcast news industry. As their numbers increased, some female newscasters experienced age and gender discrimination.Broadcast news executives place more importance on a female anchor's youthful appearance, reflecting a show business appeal, than on professional journalistic capabilities. This phenomenon has resulted in illegal termination or demotion of female broadcasters once they started to lose their youthful appearance. Although there are a number of anecdotal and stereotypical answers for the discriminatory actions female newscasters face in the broadcast news industry, there are no concrete solutions. The fact remains that men are allowed to age gracefully on air, while women are considered unattractive, as they grow older. As a result of these discriminatory practices, there have been more gender and age discrimination claims filed within the last few years.Although various discrimination laws have been enacted to prohibit unlawful employment practices, it may be necessary to seek other legal remedies when appearance is the issue. In 1983, Christine Craft became the first female to file a gender discrimination claim in the broadcast news industry concerning age and appearance. In 1999, Janet Peckinpaugh filed a similar lawsuit alleging gender and age discrimination against Post-Newsweek. Janet Peckinpaugh set monumental legal precedents for women seeking refuge from discriminatory employers in the broadcast news industry. The Peckinpaugh and Craft cases were analyzed to determine why they had different judicial outcomes. This study determined the legal remedies female newscasters may use when filing gender and age-related discrimination lawsuits. The study also evaluated other non-industry cases of unlawful employment practices concerning grooming, dress codes and appearance standards. |
