Cultural critic, cable news pundit, author and CEO Goldie Taylor OmniMedia, LLC, has some keen observations to share regarding women in media. A former executive consultant with CNN Worldwide and NBC News, external communications strategist for several Fortune 500 companies, current editor-at-large for the Grio.com and managing editor of The Goldie Taylor Project, Taylor can recognize opportunity. It’s a talent more women must master. One last thing: she’s a former U.S. Marine, as well.
The Women’s Media Center’s Progressive Women’s Voices trains women to report news at the grassroots level. Are programs like this effective? Do media parent companies like (Comcast or Cox, for instance) really give credence to such efforts?
Those programs are indeed effective. NBC News has a very successful News Associates program from which the organization benefits greatly. CNN’s video journalist training program is similar. Aside from education, nothing is as valuable hands-on experience and this represents a tangible investment. When full-time positions are available, I would challenge those news organizations to look to those ranks for talented people who are passionate about their charge.
Has the scandal involving Rebecca Brooks at News Corp. diminished the professional advancements of women media executives globally?
No. Women face the same uphill battle in news today as we did before the Brooks incident. Ms. Brooks no more represents the values of women around the globe than I do of African Americans. She was one woman who made a series of unfortunate mistakes—ones I am certain she would take back if given the opportunity. I am personally familiar with a bevy of women who do the right thing every day in the highest levels of news organizations, setting a standard and paving the way for more women. I certainly do not believe Ms. Brooks has the personal power to undo those gains, nor do I think news executives will question the role of other women based on her travails.
A new Mercer survey reveals that organizations worldwide lack a strategy for developing women leaders. What are your thoughts on this?
It simply does not surprise me. But that cannot serve as an excuse for emerging women. It’s up to us to discover and form our own networks, to invest in our own talent and to capture the right opportunities. We can then use our collective leverage to bring strategies that recruit, motivate and retain more women.
Do you have a mentor or advisory board? If so, how long have you had this guidance?
I have always relied on my personal “Board of Directors”. Some are marquee, household names and captains of industry, while others are people you wouldn’t know if you stumbled into them on the street. They are my “believing mirrors”, people who from very early in my career thought I might be able to deliver something valuable. Collectively, they became my personal stewards. In the time since, in a few instances, the roles have changed and I have moved from protégé to mentor. But for me, it’s about continuous learning and applying the scholarship, no matter where I find it.
How important is it to create and/or maintain a career/family balance?
It’s critical. The more health and balance you can create in your family life, the more enriched you are as a professional and vice versa.
What is your daily media diet? What news sites do you visit most often, and why?
I am the fabled “news junkie.” I am up at 5:30am with Willie Geist’s ‘Way to Early’ show on MSNBC and then Morning Joe. Before I head off into the day, I have skimmed no less than five news sites. My smart phone and iPad are set-up with push alerts, so I don’t miss a thing. There are multiple televisions in my office and in the evening, there is at least one cable news program. Sometimes I suffer from sheer overload and will turn off the spigots for a week to ten days at a time. NPR is playing when I cook! But I have to say of all of my sources, Twitter is like a central IV line.
