Newseum Releases Report on Sexual Misconduct in the Media and Launches New Initiative to Combat the Problem

The Newseum released a report on its groundbreaking Power Shift Summit held on Jan. 9, in which more than 130 newsroom leaders, editors, reporters, educators and advocates participated. The report, “The Power Shift Summit Report: Ending Silence and Changing Systems in the Media Industry,” identifies seven key Power Shift Principles, lessons learned from the summit about workplace imbalances that protect the powerful and intimidate and silence others, especially young women. The report found that sexual misconduct and workplace discrimination are inextricably linked, workplace incivility and bullying are gateways to harassment, and change must be remedied through strong harassment reporting and training systems combined with women’s leadership, supported by both men and women at all levels of an organization. 

Capitalizing on the momentum generated by the summit, the Newseum Institute is launching the Power Shift Project, a major new initiative on behalf of women in the news industry. Jill Geisler, the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago, will help guide the Power Shift Project as the newly appointed Newseum Institute Fellow in Women’s Leadership.