Take Back The (Network TV) Night
The New York Times' Bill Carter has a great piece out on the lack of women writers on the staffs of late night television shows. from the article:
In many ways, television today is about women more than men. More women watch television than men; female producers and writers have had huge success in prime time and daytime; in January, women will occupy two of the three seats as anchors of network evening newscasts. But there is one glaring exception: very few women make it inside the writing rooms for late-night television hosts, despite that women make up a larger proportion of their audience than men.
Irin over at at Jezebel used Carter's article to break down the number of women writers per show. The results: "The Jay Leno Show": Zero. "Late Show with David Letterman": Zero. "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien": Zero. "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson": One, apparently (his sister). "Jimmy Kimmel Live!": One. "The Colbert Report": One. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart": Two female writers just added. "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:" Three out of "about a dozen." Among Late-Night Writers, Few Women in the Room (New York Times) Guess How Many Female Writers There Are On Late Night? (Jezebel)