Murdoch’s News Corps newspapers demanded ‘sexist’ approach from photographers, inquiry hears

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in Australia instructed its photographers to click pictures of only conventionally attractive young women and asked to avoid clicking “pigs in lipstick”, a former company employee claimed in a parliamentary enquiry. “This meant the photo would run in the earlier pages of the paper if the subject was attractive.” Ms Rogers said during her tenure with Sunday Mail, an acting pictures editor told her to avoid her they did not want any photos of “pigs in lipstick,” as a reference to middle-aged women or overweight women, which she said she found “extremely derogatory”. “Which meant that women who were over 35, were overweight were not photographed for the paper.” “While employed at the Cairns Post, I was encouraged to take photos of attractive young women, with instructions such as, “Get a photo of a yummy mummy,” or, “Get a photo of a pretty bagpacker,” I was never ever told to get photo of an attrative man,” she said. Ms Rogers also said the editors believed by printing photos of women they considered attractive on the front page, they could boost their sales among women because women “like to look at attractive women.” The editors, she said, were also discouraging printing photos of Australians from minority communities unless it was an “ethnic specific story”.