It's Equal Pay Day. The gender pay gap has hardly budged in 20 years. What gives?
1. Why did I choose this story?
Looking through the Morning Edition on npr.org, this story stuck out among the several others I was considering. The topic of equal pay between men and women has always been something that I am eager to learn about. I've always wanted to understand the reasons why there is still a wage gap, even though we are in much more progressive times.
2. Below are a few questions that I believe the reporter might have asked her sources...
- Who is most affected by this randomness of unequal pay?
-Does this affect some groups more than others?
-What do you think the main cause is of women being paid lower salaries?
-What made you see the unfair wage gap?
-Does having a higher position in the workforce expose any new issues surrounding the wage gap?
3. Addressing how the journalists take on this project...
One very important consideration when taking on a story like this is who to interview. Going into this the journalist would have had to look for people who they know would be able to answer their questions, and give them real answers that provide the listeners with unique, or new context on the subject. For this story that includes, women in the workforce who are subject to the unfair wage gap. Or, it could include women in higher positions managing those who are being paid less. Another important aspect for journalists to consider is how they want to go about this subject... What story do they want to emphasize so that the idea isn't too broad? Journalists should always have a focused and informative story that doesn't dump an unnecessary amount of content on its viewers. For example, in this story, the journalist focused on how the wage gap has a lot of "grey space" and is very "random." Also, it discusses how many women are being paid or accepting lower-salary jobs because of child care. Lastly it is important for journalists to do research ahead of time so they can ask the proper questions, and be able to interpret the answers. This story's research was probably based upon, the wage rates between men and women and why there is a wage gap.
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