Katie Fox Jour 200 Professor Henry December 2nd 2014 The Obstacles Barbara Walters Overcame When you hear the name Barbra Walters you automatically picture a successful woman who has interviewed hundreds of people worked for the best broadcasting companies and has had one of the best jobs in the United States but in reality she has to overcome many obstacles to get where she did in her career Barbara Walters is an extraordinary woman One who made history in television and put herself in the spotlight even though she was working in a male dominated field trying to stay positive on her difficult journey to become one of the best journalists Working with many big names in the media Walter s was able to connect with celebrities on a personal level and make a well known name for herself even though times were harsh when she was getting started on her future job Throughout her experience of becoming a famous journalist Barbara Walters ran into a few bumps in the road some of which include being a woman in a male dominated society not being considered good enough or pretty enough to be aired on national television as well as constantly being verbally abused by the press Even though Barbara Walters had to overcome numerous challenges throughout her career she eventually became very successful and was able to achieve her lifelong goals As a child Barbara Walter s was not very close with her father because he was always working Growing up during the Great Depression families were going through difficult times Walter s grew up in a house where one minute her family was extremely wealthy and the next minute they were in major financial debt This put a damper on her throughout her childhood She grew up very insecure and shy because of her family background Scott 237 Walter s did not enjoy having to go through such roller coaster like times but it shaped her to work hard and aim for her goals Her learned from her father that it is important to work hard and strive for your goals but she also learned that is it important to find the right balance between work and leisure In the year 1953 Barbara Walters graduated Lawrence College and was looking for a job This was the period when there was not yet a common understanding of equal rights between the sexes and women were not treated the same as men At first Walters had an exhausting experience trying to make her stance within the journalism and broadcasting business Her breakthrough is quite amazing since she made it at a time when women had not yet gained acceptance as talk show hosts or new anchors beginning her ascent in the early 1960 s Scott 236 During this time it was tough for women to get a role in the broadcasting business Today there are women both in front and behind the camera who play the predominant role Marlane 92 Equality among the sexes was a big deal during the twentieth century but sooner or later society realized that everyone needs to be respected equally no matter what gender It was very difficult for Walter s or any woman for that matter to get a job but Walter s was lucky to have family connections who were willing to offer her jobs in her intended career field Back then women were lucky if they were able to get a job and today some women have amazing leadership roles such as being the boss of a large corporation Over the years Walter s has experienced the highs as well as the lows of being a woman and trying to pursue her dreams Walters was not accepted by all of her colleagues who were male so instead of quitting she fought through the rough patches Walter s admitted that what annoyed her the most was the fact that women couldn t do things men could do in 1961 Hutchinson 293 Working with only men Walter s stayed resilient and held her head high The one coworker that made Walter s feel insecure about herself day by day was Frank McGee It was publicly known that Walter s and McGee did not get along but they were forced to work together Barbara Walter s stated when I was a co host with Frank McGee he had an agreement that if we were in the studio I couldn t ask a question until he had asked three Hutchinson 294 McGee decided on this agreement because it took a long time for him to accept that he was going to be working with an intelligent women who was good at her job Even though this was not actually an agreement between the two coworkers Walter s did not have a say in the absurd decision McGee feared that Walter s would take away his position especially since she was the only female in the company and everyone she worked with was male Working with Frank McGee made Barbara Walter s try even harder to get acknowledged and only motivated her to shine even more Barbara Walter s journey to become a journalist is still discussed by many people because she had such a tough time being acknowledged by the people she worked with and her career did not come as easily as many individuals imagine it did Barbara Walter s was well known for her hard work and determination and with that she was making a million dollars a year By earning such a significant amount of money she was given the nickname Million dollar baby by viewers and coworkers Unfortunately for Barbara making a lot of money came with the consequences of being mistreated The reason why people specifically men were so upset that Walter s was making so much money was because she was a woman and the men she was working with were not making nearly as much When Barbara Walter s started making big money The late comedian Gilda Radner of Saturday Night Live did a spoof of Walter s being interviewed about her new ABC million dollar job in which she exaggerated Walters s muddy speech and slight lisp resulting in Walters s new nickname Baba Wawa that made many viewers take her less seriously Scott 244 If being outnumbered by men in her career wasn t enough Walter s also had to hear harsh comments said about her left and right Being made fun of constantly was something Walter s had to overcome especially since she was not always outspoken Not only was Barbara Walters criticized for being one of the only women in a male career but she also did not have the looks that people perceived a woman should have if she is constantly surrounded by men Being beautiful is something that society has always considered important especially for talk show hosts or news anchors because you are the face being shown on multiple televisions around peoples homes doctors offices and all over the nation