Network News Anchors to Remain All Male

(WOMENSENEWS)–Tom Brokaw, the 62-year-old NBC news anchor, announced this week that he will retire in 2004, and that his replacement will be Brian Williams.

The New York Times reported on Brokaw’s departure on May 29, noting that Dan Rather, 70, of CBS, and Peter Jennings, 63, of ABC, are also likely to retire in the next few years.

The reporters surmised that Rather’s replacement will likely be Scott Pelley, 44, or John Roberts, 45. They did not speculate about who would take over for Jennings. No women or people of color are apparently being considered for the jobs. Women’s Enews recently reported that women’s roles in television, radio and print newsrooms are shrinking. A study by the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Foundation found that women accounted for 24 percent of television news directors and 20 percent of radio news directors in 2001.

Outrage Update:

Last week Women’s Enews reported about a Washington, D.C., law that required married couples to give their children their father’s last name. Right as we reported it, Mayor Anthony Williams issued emergency regulations changing the law to allow parents to give their children either the mother’s or father’s surname.

“Parents should have the free choice to name their child as they see fit,” Williams told the Washington Post. “The new regulations will give the parents the options that they deserve to have.”