Sky News is the leading TV news channel in the United Kingdom. It is based in Isleworth, England and broadcasts to a global audience. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Sky news had 18.8 million viewers. This is slightly lower than its figures at the start of the decade.
Sky News’ slogan is ‘first for breaking news’. The network covers politics, entertainment and business. It has also expanded to a digital operation. A free Android app, Sky News: Breaking, UK & World, allows users to keep up-to-date with all the latest news.
Sky News is a part of Sky plc, a publicly traded company. It is headquartered in Isleworth, England, and is available by cable, satellite transmission, and via the Internet. As of January 2018, it had over 12.6 million viewers.
Sky News began as a joint venture between two companies. ITN and Sky fought to dominate the news sector. By 2004, Sky News had a 40% share of the market. Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corporation, wanted to develop Sky News as a more conservative news channel. However, his son James was unwilling to give it up.
The death of 11 journalists at the Charlie Hebdo offices on January 7th, 2012, and the subsequent attacks on the magazine, were a major turning point for Sky. Sky reporters spent 10 months thinking about how they covered the event. They learned the value of eyewitness media, as well as the importance of contacting sources in the scene of a developing story.
Breaking a metaphorical barrier
The glass ceiling is a metaphor for the barriers to advancement that women face in the workplace. It is a nebulous but arguably real phenomenon that prevents qualified women from climbing the executive ranks. This may be an empirical phenomena, or it could be a cultural one. But one thing is for certain: the best way to tame it is to put some skin in the game. And that is exactly what Kamala Harris did when she became the first Black woman to hold the position of vice president. She did so by introducing a plethora of pro-women policy and hiring measures.
Unlike the physical walls of yesteryear, a glass ceiling is a metaphor. For example, women may be well qualified to hold a high office but not all that keen on it. Or, they may be eager to take their rightful place in the corporate ranks but lack the requisite chutzpah to do so. Likewise, men may be the pipsqueaks in their respective departments but may be stifled from the top rungs of the hierarchy. Whether the glass ceiling is in effect or not, there is no escaping the fact that female representation in management and leadership positions in American corporations is abysmal. Fortunately, there are organizations like Women in Leadership and the National Women’s Law Center to champion the cause. One other thing to do is to hire a well-trained diversity and inclusion officer (DI). Hopefully, these efforts will pay off in the long run.
