They were journalists, and then they died...

In the past two months, two of the most influential people in my life as a journalist have died. And I hadn’t met either one of them.

For twenty years Doris Anderson served as the editor of Chatelaine magazine. With Doris at the helm, Chatelaine became a more than the stereotypical women’s magazine of the fifties and sixties. Moving beyond just recipes and household tips, Chatelaine became a vehicle for social change, carrying groundbreaking articles about gender equality, divorce and abortion rights.

And as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Charter of Rights, it is with gratitude that I remember Doris Anderson. Feeling that the Charter undermined women’s rights, and pressured by the government not to talk about it, she resigned as head of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. That inspired an uprising of women across the country. And the result is the short but significant Constitutional clause that states that men and women are equal under the law. Doris Anderson died on March 2nd.

Like Doris, June Callwood was a pioneering member of the press. She started in the newspaper business when women were the typists, not the journalists. We know her as June Callwood, and not June Frayne, because in the forties, The Globe and Mail didn’t employ married women. So she used her maiden name. Doris had the stigma of being a working single mother. And June had the stigma of being a working married woman. The operative word there being “working.”

June died on April 14th, which happened to be my six-year anniversary as an employed journalist. No other person has had a greater influence on my career. In 2002, June delivered the first Dalton Camp Lecture in Journalism. It was broadcast on IDEAS that fall, and a friend gave me a cassette copy. I’ve listened to that lecture countless times, and each time, my passion for journalism is renewed. Addressing students at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, she spoke about journalism being at the heart of democracy. And said that “the profession of journalism enjoys its finest moments when it speaks against oppression and greed, but journalism does a glorious job of celebrating the triumphs of human spirit that elevate us all.” Through all that June accomplished, the awards, the foundations, it is that lecture that most endeared her to me. She said that you don’t have to be a journalist to be a good person, but you have to a good person to be a good journalist. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. And now she’s gone.

And I’m left wondering to whom the next generation of women journalists will look for guidance. Who will be their mentor? To whom has the torch been passed? And you know, I can’t think of a single person in the same category of Doris and June. They were peers, and yet peerless.

Sure, there are female colleagues that I admire and look to as mentors, but it’s not the same. I’m not sure why that is. Doris and June paved the way for us, breaking down barriers that seem ridiculous by today’s standards. Today, we take for granted the open doors for which they cut the key. And I fear we’ve stopped to rest on their laurels. We’ve come a long way baby, but there’s still a long road ahead.

When she was 15, Judy Maddren wrote to the CBC asking for advice on how to become a broadcaster. She received a polite letter in reply saying thanks but no thanks, there were several fine gentlemen already performing that role. She’s now the host of CBC Radio’s World Report. And on occasion, fine gentlemen fill in for her.

To see how far we have yet to go, we need look no further than the news events in the days surrounding June Callwood’s death. Belinda Stronach announced that she was stepping down from politics. Love her or hate her, no other politician in recent years has been scrutinized as closely as Ms. Stronach. Even the sponsorship scandal could be forgotten when the sexy blonde was in the room.

Don Imus, a nationally syndicated American radio host was fired making racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. And only days after June’s death, a shooting in Virginia was thought to be a domestic dispute, an event so common it wasn’t important enough to lock down the campus of Virginia Tech.

I have a male colleague who completely disagrees with me. Who feels that there are so many women journalists today that the focus is diffused, that there isn’t one person to look to, and that I should celebrate that fact. I do celebrate that there are so many women journalists, and there are many that I look to as excellent writers and broadcasters. That said, there isn’t anyone on a national level that I would hold up as a mentor. June Callwood stood out among the masses because she used her position of influence for the greater good.

I looked to the generation of trailblazers, and come from the generation of Promo Girl and Contest Girl. I have colleagues who hide their pregnancies for fear their contracts won’t be renewed. It wouldn’t hurt to take a step forward.

June Callwood and Doris Anderson were feminists before feminist became a bad word. The definition of feminism has since been hijacked. These days, if you’re called a feminist, it’s like being called religious – both sound radical and exclusive.

So, perhaps in moving forward, we should adopt a new term in the fight for equality. Today, I declare myself a Junist. A person defending the principles of Junism – the theory that all people are created equal, that good journalists are thorough and accurate and that kindness should prevail above all.