An open letter backed by thirty high-profile campaigners is calling on Channel 4 News to rescind non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) claimed to have been utilised to ‘silence’ women.

Signatories include Carrie Gracie, the BBC’s ex-China editor who resigned in 2018 over unequal pay, and Labour MP Jess Phillips, as well as whistleblowers Zelda Perkins and Gretchen Carlson. Perkins famously broke her NDA relating to her experiences as an employee of Harvey Weinstein in 2018, and Carlson – a former Fox News anchor – sued her boss Roger Ailes for sexual harrassment. Perkins recently stated that ‘when used wrongly, [NDAs] become secret settlements used to hide wrongdoing.’

A former Channel 4 News employee recently revealed that the settlement agreement she signed on her exit from the company – containing a confidentiality clause – left her ‘traumatised and gagged.’ A spokesperson for ITN told The Guardian; ‘The settlement agreements used by ITN for employment matters are standard across many industries and include a whistleblowing clause enabling any individual to speak out about wrongdoing where it is a matter of public interest. 

‘The inclusion of confidentiality provisions is agreed by mutual consent, often at the request of the individual and their lawyer.’

The letter has attracted support from across the political spectrum, with the SNP’s Alison Thewliss, Labour’s Stella Creasy, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the chair of the women and equalities committee. MPs have reportedly seen ‘at least seven’ gagging orders related to the women employed in the Channel 4 newsroom – Labour MP Jess Phillips told The Guardian; ‘the silencing of women furthers the abuse, it’s part of the pattern of abuse. People don’t sign these things in a completely free-choice environment; where there is a power imbalance, you cannot say that.’

Aneesa Ahmed, a former Redbrick Editor-in-Chief who is currently working as a journalist for Mixmag, told Redbrick; ‘Entering an industry where I know people who are victims of sexual assault etc [sic] but are being silenced is scary. Journalism is supposed to hold people in power to account and to expose the truth, but NDAs and gagging orders do the complete opposite. Instances like this highlight the deep-rooted nature of elitism, sexism, structural misogyny and patriarchy within society.’

As well as those already in the industry, student journalists have been speaking to Redbrick about how this revelation affects their perspectives regarding the world of media. 

Lauren McGaun, freelance journalist and Head of News at the University of Nottingham’s Impact Magazine has previously worked with Channel 4. She tells Redbrick News ‘even though I was only at C4 [sic] for a week I didn’t notice that sort of culture towards women at all – although [it’s] not good the stuff that’s come out. A lot of the management there is men I think.’

Zeenia Naqvee is the Sports Editor of Liverpool Guild Student Media, and tells Redbrick that ‘it’s vile how ITN get away with [NDAs] […] ITN is such a big company it makes you think how this stuff goes on in smaller regional networks.’ Zeenia also adds that ‘it’s more worrying as a BAME [person] to be honest. It’s concerning for anyone who has a marginalised identity I’d say, so as a disabled Muslim and Asian female it is very worrying.’

Sanjana Idnani is Editor-in-Chief of Empoword Journalism and Deputy Editor of The Croft Magazine at the University of Bristol. Speaking to Redbrick, Sanjana tells us that ‘as a female journalist of colour, there are already so many barriers to entry. Hearing about this, like Zeenia was saying, just adds to lowering the morale about what it might be like [in the industry].’

Redbrick Print&Features Editor and aspiring journalist, Kitty Grant, said; ‘I think it’s really disappointing to see something like this from an industry I admire and would like to be part of. I hope things can change soon.’

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