There is disbelief, most justifiable, within the arts community about *journalist* Krista Erickson's "interview" with Margie Gillis on SUN TV. Approximately one minute into SUN's "investigation into arts funding" it became very clear why several other artists had declined the invitation. To say that Ms. Erickson was abrasive, unprofessional, condescending and bordering on hostile is entirely accurate. It's easy to give in to the extreme anger and disgust at the incredible disrespect showed to a woman who is not only a pillar of Canada's artistic community, but is also one involved in humanitarian endeavours. Watching Ms. Erickson be completely unkind while insisting that Canadians are compassionate was bizarre to be certain, and the fact that this irony was apparently lost on her is confounding to say the least.
When I saw this interview, however, my initial feeling of shock and outrage soon gave way to sadness and pity. I saw beyond the confines of that interview and found myself thinking of the machine. If SUN TV is anything like FOX News in the States - and seeing that it's referred to as "FOX North" that's a pretty safe bet - it's a male-dominated environment populated by [supposedly] educated men and telegenic, Barbie-like women whose 'intelligence' is suspect and who appear to be there to boost ratings with their [supposed] attractiveness. Now, of course a woman can be both physically beautiful and intellectually brilliant - that goes without saying. However I don't get the impression that that's the case with the female anchors at FOX (the brain power of some of the men is questionable too) and I'm not getting it from the current incarnation of SUN TV either. I supposed this should not be surprising, as this is the company whose actual newspapers are so lacking in substance that they still need to sell them by putting a Sunshine Girl on page 3. And shockingly - not - Krista Erickson was a Sunshine Girl WHILE in her current position! Wow. Not only does that make you wonder about her own judgment, but it also makes you realize how much respect her own bosses have for her. Or was it even her judgment at all? Was it a directive from above? I don't know, but it's weird. Perhaps I'm wrong, but most news organizations would NOT appreciate their anchorwomen posing for pics who sole objective is to reduce them to sexy bimbos. But SUN TV seems to think that presenting their female anchors as serious reporters isn't all that important -- as long as they're purdy!!
As I watched Ms. Erickson come out like a lion and pounce, and I winced, I immediately recalled an interview with Eve Ensler in which she talked about women who try to assert their power within a patriarchal framework. She spoke of how women can become bigger bullies than men when in positions of power (either real of perceived), because it is the only way that they can earn the respect of their male colleagues. We all know that this is often true. Compassion is seen as weakness. A "real" reporter goes for the jugular, asks the tough questions, and "tells it like it is". I thought of Eve's observation that women who are trying to climb the ladder in sexist environments feel that they need to prove that they "are more man than the men are". That is EXACTLY the vibe I got from Krista Erickson, and as objectionable as I found her, I found her far more pathetic. I tend to often be pulled in the direction of the wounded bird, and my focus very quickly shifted from her attack on Margie Gillis to her own most apparent desperation.
What I sensed in Ms. Erickson was a woman who really really really really really wants to look like a balls-to-the-wall journalist, and who decided to use someone she thought she could dominate without too much push-back -- an artist who many view as elite and esoteric - as her sacrificial lamb in achieving that aim. I don't know if Krista finds herself too often at SUN TV in the position of interviewing someone that she can completely rake over the coals, and it was like she'd been waiting for this opportunity for ages. It was like "Look at me!" "I'm hot but I'm feisty too!" "I do serious research!" "I'm hard-hitting!" "I can be tough on women!" "Supertough!!" "Take me seriously!" "I'm not weak I'm not weak I'm not weak!" And it was so, so pitiful to watch.
A Google search on Krista Erickson makes me much more curious about what is going on inside her head and what her motivations are. I firmly believe that nothing happens in isolation; everything is influenced by a history. Finding out about the controversy surrounding Ms. Erickson when she was at the CBC and the result of that is interesting. Seeing her repeatedly cited for her looks rather than her reporting is interesting. Knowing that she's gone from the most prestigious news organization in the land to SUN TV is interesting. Seeing what she chose to do to Margie Gillis is interesting.
I feel very sorry for this woman. If you're not into modern dance Ms. Erickson -- fine. But whatever happened to respect for difference in taste and opinion? Whatever happened to actually trying to LEARN about what you don't understand, rather than condemning it because it falls outside your scope of comprehension? I don't know if you're trying to reclaim a career gone south, or desperate to prove to those who reduce to you to your looks that you're more than that - but I don't think that your hostility was really about Margie Gillis at all as much as it was your own issues.
Krista, if you don't understand the words that Margie uses, that's not HER fault. Perhaps you're just not that bright. Perhaps you've been given a free ride because of your measurements. Perhaps you are smart and just really frustrated that people want to screw you more than they want to hear you. Maybe you're afraid that you aren't good enough. I don't know. But if you want to be taken seriously as a reporter, attacking another woman whose creativity, success and inventiveness you should be celebrating is not the way to do it. The last time I checked, "compassion" - which you kept coming back to you in your interview - doesn't involve being a bitch. Take a lesson from Margie, who was a class act in the face of your ugliness. And to SUN TV -- if you have the kind of hierarchy and work environment in place that makes a woman who was [presumably] once deemed capable by the CBC feel the need to reduce herself to this type of conduct in order to be seen as a good reporter -- you are - quite simply - a disgrace.
Sincerely,
TT (one hell of a proud artist)
No comments:
Post a Comment