Commentary

Do Away With Women-Only Rankings In Entertainment. Rank Them Alongside Men.

This is dangerous terrain to take on, the kind ice road truckers face. But here it goes.

Not incidentally, the History channel has a popular series about those truckers, which was launched by Nancy Dubuc, who reports to Abbe Raven, who works in part for Anne Sweeney.

All three are ranked in the top 13 of the just-released Hollywood Reporter's Women In Entertainment Power 100 rankings. That follows a CableFax rundown of the most powerful women in cable.

Power rankings are great. It's going to be interesting watching how many years (decades?) Mark Zuckerberg stays at the top of Vanity Fair's New Establishment, and check how far up Brian Roberts blitzes next year.

But isn't it time to stop women-only rankings -- at least in entertainment? Sports, science, construction, and some aspects of technology? Sure and probably still needed. Power rankings celebrate how far women have come, perhaps with an undertone about still-closed doors.

In Hollywood, 30 Rock and studio lots, women also deserve the kudos. Wouldn't it be better to do it by ranking them alongside their male counterparts?

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That's the ultimate compliment for them -- and the entertainment business itself. This is not to say women don't face challenges in the business that men don't.

It is true there may be one more ceiling to crack -- the CEO of one of the Big Six. CBS, Disney, NBC Universal, News Corp., Time Warner and Viacom all have men at the top.

But give it five years. Nancy Tellem may have been in line at CBS had she not taken a slightly lesser role -- of course, she still might be. If Bob Iger leaves Disney, isn't Anne Sweeney in the mix? Judy McGrath at Viacom?

But below that CEO line, females have top roles at just about every other area of the business. And that includes the traditionally white-shoe areas of network sales and prime time, and movie studios.

Network sales! Where maybe only 20 years ago a couple of guys would meet at 21 and hash out an upfront deal over a stiff one. Women now run the operations at ABC (Geri Wang), CBS (Jo Ann Ross) and NBC (Marianne Gambelli). And had Fox gone with Jean Rossi recently, it would have been a clean sweep at the Big Four.

Network programming. There's Nina Tassler, who not only heads entertainment at CBS, but keeps it consistently the top-rated network in prime time. Above that, Sweeney -- the most powerful woman in the Reporter rankings -- oversees all of ABC and its stations, as well as the Disney Channels around the world, while serving as a member of the A&E board.

Cable networks are female prime time. At A&E Networks, Abbe Raven - the Reporter's number five -- is the CEO. Nancy Dubuc (number 13) has turned the History channel into a big-time destination for males. Now, the two have been entrusted with resuscitating Lifetime.

At NBC Universal, where cable networks are the growth driver, once Comcast takes control, Bonnie Hammer and Lauren Zalasnick will run them all. At Discovery Communications, women run TLC, Animal Planet, Planet Green, The Hub, Science Channel and the upcoming Oprah Winfrey Network.

Even ESPN, with a reputation of not exactly being female-friendly, has a woman CFO and Rosalyn Durant heading its growing ESPNU network.

Before this turns into a list itself, it must be mentioned that Amy Pascal -- who is number two on the Reporter's list -- is co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Donna Langley has the same role at Universal.

Also in production, the emerging major hits "Modern Family" and "Glee" are from the 20th Century Fox studio, which is co-led by Dana Walden.

And Walter Cronkite's old seat? Katie Couric has been there since 2006, albeit with so-so ratings.

Where Peter Jennings thrived? Welcome Diane Sawyer.

The Reporter and other female power lists do call attention to thriving women. Wouldn't stacking them up with men do a better job of that?

3 comments about "Do Away With Women-Only Rankings In Entertainment. Rank Them Alongside Men.".
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  1. Lynne Tierney from Nightly Business Report, December 8, 2010 at 3:08 p.m.

    Completely agree. Maintaining a separate power list keeps women "separate," and implies we're not really equal.

  2. Shari anne Brill from Shari Anne Brill Media Consulting, December 9, 2010 at 1:57 p.m.

    Well said David. The Power lists should be gender neutral period.

  3. Janet Stilson from Stilson Strategies, December 9, 2010 at 5:52 p.m.

    I believe there's still a need to rank powerful women alone, as well as in the company of men. I've just written my own blog posting on the topic here: http://stilsonwrites.typepad.com/blog/ Thanks for the inspiration, David.

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