The number of women gracing BBC1's 10pm news bulletin is diminishing. James Robinson reported in the Observer recently that there were 40% less women reporters on screen on the bulletin when compared with last year, writes Natalie Whelan.
In response to these allegations of sexism, BBC1 10pm news editor Craig Oliver told this week's edition of BBC in-house magazine Ariel: "You can only play with the cards that you're dealt." So why are there so few Queens in the BBC News deck?
Men have dominated the media for years. But as a young journalist, I was under the impression that the balance had shifted towards a more level playing field. Or even to one where women could be more successful, if Ms Kaplinsky's recent pay deal is anything to go by.
More than 70% of students on my broadcast journalism course were women, and if this indicates a possible nationwide trend, then soon the industry could be dominated by reporters armed with lip-gloss and a microphone.
Female journalists receive much more attention than their male counter-parts. But it normally isn't for the quality of their journalism and instead concerns trivial details such as their cosmetic choices.
In television, aesthetics are important, but interestingly the male form does not warrant the same press or public attention. Instead, men are perceived as more authoritative and have a longer shelf life - grey hair on our girls is most definitely not regarded as distinguished. Perhaps on-screen longevity is the reason the BBC is reducing the number of women in bulletins.
However, Craig Oliver does have a point in that journalists and their reports should be selected based upon merit and not gender.
Currently, eight out of nine of the specialist editors at BBC News are men. All are respected journalists whom excel in their chosen field. Therefore, it should by extension have been unnecessary for so much attention to be paid to the appointment of Evan Davis' replacement as BBC economics editor - Stephanie Flanders, an equally knowledgeable and respected journalist.
TV news output should not be decided by the gender of the reporter. If a man's report is good, then it should go in the bulletin and the same for a woman. It would be an extreme measure of equality if news content were required to be split equally between the sexes.
The problem is that too much emphasis remains placed upon gender. When I produce a report, I want it to be praised or criticised because of its journalistic content, not on my gender.
If more women are coming into the industry it won't be long before the gents are outnumbered. Then, if the ladies take over the Ten, it will certainly be interesting to see if the BBC is still accused of sexism.
Natalie Whelan is on a work placement with MediaGuardian and is about to graduate from a three year broadcast journalism university course
