Ellerbee Doesn’t Mince Words When It Comes to Women in Media

SAN DIEGO —  If there is a “bottom line” to her speech tonight at San Diego State University about the role of women in the media, Linda Ellerbee says it is this: “We haven’t come a long way, and we’re not babies.”

The position of women in the networks has improved little over recent years, said Ellerbee, whose 7 p.m. talk at SDSU’s Aztec Center will open a four-part series titled “How the Media Shape Our Lives.” Admission is $10; $48 for the series. (There are different prices for each event.)

“I don’t see substantially more women at the networks,” Ellerbee said. “I have yet to see a woman president of a news division. That’s where the power is, not on the air.”

The wry columnist/commentator/author was speaking from the New York office of her production company, Lucky Duck Productions, where she had spent the afternoon fielding calls about recently reinstated CBS commentator Andy Rooney. Not surprisingly, Ellerbee had an opinion on the topic.

“Networks seem to lose their courage a lot lately,” said Ellerbee, something of an expert on the subject. “I was bothered that they took the word of somebody who has been in the business only a few months over (Rooney’s).”

Ellerbee spent 12 years working in network television news, butting heads with a system that often seems only marginally receptive to women newscasters in general and downright annoyed by dynamic, sarcastic women such as Ellerbee. She spent 11 years working with NBC News, anchoring and writing the news magazine “Weekend,” in addition to documentaries and a regular feature series on the “Today Show.”

Her zenith at NBC was the critically acclaimed late-night news program “NBC News Overnight.” Ellerbee became a friendly and familiar tonic for viewers, wrapping up the day’s events with her now familiar sign off, “And so it goes.” A stylized, quirky program, “Overnight” was cited by the Columbia duPont Awards as “possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever.”

Undeterred by such lavish praise, NBC unceremoniously canceled the show, citing its small (but loyal) audience, providing Ellerbee with a harsh lesson. If she wasn’t clear about the thinking process of the networks after “Overnight,” it became crystal clear in 1986, when she left NBC to write and co-host “Our World” on ABC, an insightful and witty look at history.

Ellerbee won an Emmy for her writing on “Our World.” But the network scheduled the show opposite “The Cosby Show,” and then canceled it because of low ratings.

“It is the consequence of a larger problem when 12-million viewers are not enough” to keep a show alive, Ellerbee said.

She left network television after the demise of “Our World,” taking a well-targeted parting shot with the publication of her autobiographical book, “And So It Goes.” Revealing the quirks and humorous contradictions of the industry, “And So It Goes” spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 500,000 copies.

But she holds no bitterness toward the networks.

“I had time to learn the craft on their dime,” she said. “I had one of the world’s best Walter Mitty jobs. That’s a debt I can never repay.”

Mention Ellerbee these days and there likely will be a two-pronged response. The first often refers to a commercial she did for a coffee company with “Today Show” funny man Willard Scott, which boosted her recognition factor while damaging her reputation among some critics.

“It was not one of the proudest moments in my life,” Ellerbee said. “I did it simply for money to help my company, which is now doing fine. Under the same circumstances, I’d probably do it again.”

After mentioning the coffee commercial, people often question what Ellerbee is doing these days. The answer: quite a bit, thank you very much.

She writes a syndicated newspaper column, in addition to regular pieces for several national publications, including the new magazine “Egg.” Her Lucky Duck Productions, which she co-founded with Rolfe Tessem, recently completed its first production for television, “A Moveable Feast,” a look at American food for the PBS series “Smithsonian World.”

Lucky Duck is working on another project for “Smithsonian World.” Other projects in development include a humorous look at news programs and a documentary on American humor. Reuven Frank, who twice served as president of NBC News, recently joined Lucky Duck as a consulting producer.

Does she miss the immediacy and quirks of network news?

“I miss the research library,” she said with a laugh.

A year ago, she said, she missed the excitement of covering breaking news stories, such as the events in China. But she realized there was nothing stopping her from being in the thick of things, thanks to her column and writing outlets. When the Berlin Wall story began to break, she got on a plane and flew to Berlin.

Certainly one aspect of network news she doesn’t miss is its often-thankless treatment of women, which she will explore in depth in her talk tonight at SDSU’s Aztec Center.

Although the position of some women in the industry has improved in “quick jumps,” such as the recent advancement of Paula Zahn in ABC, “you don’t see women covering the big beats,” she said, nor are they being regularly promoted to executive positions.

“It’s the right thing to do, to not have sex be an issue,” she said.

When a woman does achieve some fame and success at the network level, it is almost invariably as a “sidekick” teamed with a man, she pointed out.

When she was hired for “Our World,” Ellerbee said she demanded top billing as a negotiating ploy, hoping to get at least equal billing with co-host Ray Gandolf. Based on salary, experience and her position as head writer, she thought she deserved top billing.

She was shocked when ABC actually gave it to her, citing all the reasons she had listed.

“Then ABC went to Gandolf and said it was done alphabetically,” she said, laughing at the memory.

Her advice to women entering the industry is typically to the point.

“Make sure you learn the craft,” she said. “Really learn it, everything--writing, shooting, editing, everything. If you rely only on looks and your ability to read a TelePrompTer, one day somebody will come along who doesn’t like your looks and you’ll be gone.”