The Wow Factor

Abstract

Not only are there more female foreign correspondents now than ever before in high profile reporting jobs, but women reporting wars seems almost to be a vogue, believes the BBC's Johannesburg-based Africa correspondent and part of its reporting team in Iraq. "There is now a well-entrenched belief at a high level of media management that audiences want to see and hear women on their screens. If press coverage of media deployments is anything to go by, women reporting wars also has an added 'wow' value. In Britain and abroad, the media commented on our attire, our hair, our personal histories, our motives, and oh yes, our abilities."