Lynn Sweet, the Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, said Sunday that when it comes to reporting on Hillary Clinton, female journalists are not biased compared to their male colleagues.
Asked by CNN’s Brian Stelter if women reporters cover the Democratic presidential nominee’s candidacy differently, the veteran journalist’s response was simple.
“On deadline, there’s no gender” Sweet said. “You’ve just got to get the job done.”
Sweet told Stelter she was glad that he’d asked the question, in case people were wondering if female reporters are “throwing it.”
The answer, she emphasized, is “No, of course not.”
“It’s just enough to get the job done and this is a night of all nights where you leave everything alone. It’s a big enough job just to get the story done right and on deadline, especially if it’s a close call,” Sweet said.
Asked by Stelter if she thought a Clinton candidacy would have an impact for women in newsrooms that are still largely dominated by men, Sweet said that progress has already been made, especially in 2016’s election coverage.
“We have a lot of women out on the trail and that’s one area where there’s been a terrific equalization on gender,” she said.
However, Sweet emphasized that when it comes to high-level positions, there’s still a long way to go in achieving gender equality.
“There’s so much more to do on top management, no matter who’s president,” she said.