On a beautiful spring afternoon, just a day after successfully defending her dissertation and high on receiving her doctorate, Kim Garris, assistant professor of communication/journalism, shared the importance and relevance of her research into women in television newsrooms. She apologizes for the mess in her office — a mess most others would view as tidy. It takes only moments before it becomes clear she has opinions and passion for the subject.

Having been a success in television, Kim is well on her way to achieving heights in her second career, that of teaching. And her years in the media spotlight gave her the bridge between the two.

“In one of my first doctoral classes, I remember the instructor said not to discount signs of academic pursuits. So when I read an article about women in television, I could tell immediately the author was someone who didn’t have insider knowledge and I thought, ‘I can do better.’”

This germ of an idea led to years of research and a newly minted Ph.D. degree for Kim. It has also led to a whole host of questions and areas ripe for further research. It has spilled over into the classroom as Kim’s students are learning more than production and news reporting. They are learning the status quo doesn’t have to be that way and they can be the agents of change.

Think about it. The normal career path in television involves constant moving into larger and larger markets. These jobs mean relocating for the entire family. Kim’s research shows often times the men gave little or no thought to this relocation process, while women could be said to obsess over each career decision. Women would put children and family first sacrificing the career fast track. Yet, Kim found little evidence this moving around, called churning, is necessary to have a successful career in television. Additionally, this mobility works to hide the numbers of those who actually leave the profession.

Most startling of all her findings, Kim related, was the rationalizations women made these choices for economic reasons. She rapidly runs through a number of scenarios where this doesn’t hold true, covering daycare costs and second incomes in a heartbeat. It really “bugs” her that women think they are saving their children by opting out. She said she sees it as putting all their eggs in one basket, one that usually never gets men fully involved in their home life. And, she feels, is not fair either way.

Other things she found prove equally at odds. Men will leave work early for whatever reason without giving a thought to what other people think or the perception it might leave. Women on the other hand worry about how it looks if they leave to take care of a family matter or attend a child’s game. They often worry even after putting in more than a full day’s work.

When Kim interviewed women who were successful in the television news field she found they had support either in husbands that took over some or all of the family role or a manager who was flexible, or both. For women in these circumstances, employers got a motivated, hard-working employee willing to make sacrifices.

Kim’s research leads her to believe the content of programs and segments is affected by the lack of women in newsroom management roles, an area she hopes explore further.

Women also prove to be isolated in television especially as they move into management. Local television stations often will have a woman but with few positions in management, she is the lone female representative.

“People talk about the glass ceiling and in many cases think it has gone away. It’s alive and well in television management,” Kim ruefully remarks. Statistics start flying from her mouth: “Do you know there are more women than men in comm/journ school and in entry-level positions? Women in their 20s make up 52 percent of the newsroom, yet women in their 40s make up only 3 percent. What’s going on?” Leaning back in her chair, she takes a breath and admits she was on her soapbox again.

Kim does see hope for the future. Technology has worked to level the playing field between large and small media markets and as a result it is possible to limit career moves and still be successful. She also is encouraged by changes wrought within the information technology field that could serve as a model for mass media. “IT had a similar problem and realized they were losing valuable assets so they developed innovative ideas to get women back and created policies to make this part of the IT culture,” Kim said.

For herself, speaking of her media career, Kim noted she chose not to move since she had the job she wanted as the morning anchor. But she did notice she was questioning the news content and sometimes found management didn’t appreciate her thinking. “I felt I could contribute in a different way,” she said.

“It was always in the back of my mind I thought I would like to teach,” Kim acknowledged. “It was part of a plan although I didn’t know I would end up at Shippensburg.”

Lucky for Ship, Kim brings real-world experience and pride to her classroom. “Students who go through my production class can get a job anywhere and start producing segments.”

The class, showcased during the Middle States reaccreditation visit, has students working in teams to produce a half hour show. Each week a team tapes a segment using the exact conditions they would find in network television stations. Students work at various jobs on different segments, broadening their experience.

Kim is proud of her students and their work. She works hard to create an informed citizenry. She wants them to be media literate making them better consumers and more responsible producers. She is just as proud, perhaps even more so, of their ability to ask why? Is this the best? And as she puts it, “changing the world from within” by sending out her own “infiltrators.”

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Kim Garris

Assistant professor, Department of Communication/Journalism

At Ship: since 2004-05

Area of expertise: mass media, television reporting and production

Interest in field: role of women as decision makers in television

Hobbies: Music (almost majored in it), plays acoustic guitar, canoeing, hiking, biking, fishing, camping, appreciation of nature, family outings

Personal: Originally from Jacksonville, Alabama, married to an FBI agent, two children