Heels, microphones, and unlikely heroines: comparing the female broadcast journalist in the fiction of Sparkle Hayter and Kelly Lange

This work examines the image of the female broadcast journalist in two series of novels by journalists Sparkle Hayter and Kelly Lange. Using their main protagonists Robin Hudson and Maxi Poole as guides, this paper analyzes and compares their image of the female broadcast journalist in the 21st century. Because images of journalists in fiction have an immense influence on how the public perceives real-life journalists, it is important to examine the fictional characters, how they function within in a predominately male profession; their relationships with men, journalistic ethics, and the popularity they possess throughout their careers. A larger picture of female broadcast journalists in today’s society should then emerge. By focusing on stereotypes such the “sob sister”, “the babe” and “one of the boys” projected by the female television journalist, Robin Hudson and Maxi Poole provide a picture of how modern-day journalists are perceived today and how that image has changed over time. Both authors’ own personal experiences in the newsroom and their representations of female broadcast journalists in New York and Los Angeles are then compared.