Being a female in the workplace isn't always 'Peachy'. Fighting the sexual advances in the workplace...

I attended a conference in India last month and there was a forum about being a female in the workplace and it detailed the need for more women in executive position. Though I agreed I never really understood what a lot of women go through in order to reach the top. For one thing, the harassment or discrimination that one may face can be incredibly disheartening.

At the conference I was faced with the unfortunate circumstance that some of my male counterparts were unable to look past my 'anatomy and physiology' to take me seriously within the field. Instead of approaching me professionally they proceeded to flirt and make sexual advances towards me, thus straying from anything remotely related to journalism. At one point during the conference I was in the presence of an award winning journalist who had great tips working in the field, but to my dismay he wanted nothing more than an opportunity to have sexual relations with me. Mind you I’m a 19 year old college student not a prostitute. I did not travel to India to "hook-up". I traveled to India to better myself as a journalist and meet people who could help me and give me advice.

It was incredibly discouraging for me when some of the men were at times transfixed by my breasts and curves. They referred to me as the "goody-goody" American at one point because I repeatedly turned down their advances. It was an eye-opener for sure. I was unaware that one of the qualifications for maintaining strong, 'personal' ties involved a positive response to the phrase, "Will you get naughty with me".

As I gain more experience in the workplace I sincerely hope that I do not run into more awkward, disrespectful, and disheartening situations like the one I faced in India.

That little "blurb" did not overshadow the fact that India was an amazing opportunity and I definitely experienced more good than bad.

'Irina Samokhina speaks of government harassment against the media in Russia' by Shakia Harris

Irina Samokhina (Russia), CEO of Krestyanin, described state run newspapers as 'monopolist' in Russia and discussed tensions between the media and the Russian government during the Press Freedom Roundtable.

In Russia the state has the right to establish its own media. Samokhina said that there are 63 newspapers established by the state in the region of Rostov. She said that the state uses its media ties to further oppress the independent media and take advantage of taxpayers.

"State newspapers use taxpayers money which means that we somehow compete with ourselves," said Samokhina. "The only way to compete with these newspapers is to use content."

Working for the independent publication Krestyanin, she said she initially wanted to focus on educating people in rural and country areas and provide information that wasn't published in the state-run newspapers.

"Our main mission is to educate and protect the people," said Samokhina. "We were happy initially because this created a healthy competition. Unfortunately our mission has become stronger. Dissertation in Russia is such that media is feeling huge pressure from the state. For many years the state has created a very special policy towards the media."

Hyderabad, India

The MOST AMAZING experience of my life. Much thanks to God and Western Kentucky University for making it possible :)

Dow Jones CEO: 'Free costs too much' by Shakia Harris

The first session of the World Newspaper Congress kicked off with talk of perhaps the biggest ongoing conversation amongst the media around the world: how to pay for the digital content the news industry creates.

Les Hinton, CEO of Dow Jones & Co., told the Congress that charging for online news is a must, and companies need to find more ways to improve their ad sales to survive. Paul Jansen, CEO of SPH search at Singapore Press Holdings, said his biggest mistake was initially going free in the infancy of the Web. Andreas Wiele, of Axel Springer AG in Germany, said the industry must come up with models to allow print to measure efficiency, or advertisers will "go away."

Righting past mistakes

The media industry must completely reinvent itself to increase productivity, quality and profits, Hinton said. Charging for online news is a must and companies need to find more ways to improve their advertisement sales to survive.

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