How does a woman succeed in the ever-transitioning field of mass media?
Two women, at the top of their game in media discussed their philosophy on winning at the Alliance of Women in Media-Chicago Affiliate’s Salute to the Gracies held May 10 at the N’Namdi Gallery in Chicago.
Angela Ingram, vice president of communications for Clear Channel Radio, is one of the most powerful and respected women in media. Ingram says it’s a mistake to get involved with the rat race of radio.
“My secret to winning is humility and prayer,” Ingram says. “If you’re humble and you pray about it, it will come to you. I don’t seek anything, I wait and allow it to come to me, if it is for me, then I’ll get it.
“I think as women we sometimes feel that we’re entitled, and in this industry it’s not about entitlement, it’s about performance, and if you work hard, the credit will come.”
Yet another pitfall is to think that you must bully your way to the top of your game. In reality, that’s just not the way to go, Ingram advises.
“You can’t force anybody to promote you, you can’t force anybody to hire you,” she states. “It’s about performance, if you perform, it will come, it’s like the movie, Field of Dreams, build it and it will come.”
Ingram, who serves as president of the Alliance of Women in Media-Chicago Affiliate, adds that you can definitely increase your odds of success by networking with like-minded media professionals.
April Davis, producer of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Oprah Radio, as well as a variety of additional short form content that airs on both Oprah Radio and across the other Sirius/XM channels, was the winner (with Katie Gibson) of the Outstanding PSA Award for Oprah’s No Phone Zone initiative.
Davis said the key to success was to draw from her own experience on the job, and to do what is required; that no job is too big or too small when it comes to building your career.
“In 2008, I got into a really bad accident with some guy that I still believe was distracted, because he sped through a red light and spun my car around,” she says. “So when this [Oprah’s No Phone Zone] initiative came along, I was thinking that I could use my experience to help other people realize that driving and talking and texting, [was dangerous] … and we won.”
