the microphonophobist from the bush.

[Rimeriter]

Ladies, this is an extract from ABC Rural.


It’s an outrage.

There’s a scurrilous disease running rampant in our country areas and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

It’s called microphonophobia and it usually presents itself something along these lines:

ME: “Hi It’s Flint here from the ABC, just thought I’d give you a call about your new cropping/stock/farming system, it sounds really interesting...”

Need to know more ?

Well, read on -


THEM: “It is! It’s saved us x% on our inputs and increased our profit by y%, it’s really innovative because we’ve done x, y and z and that means a, b and c and now we can do l, k and j and….”

ME: “Wow, that sounds great. Would have you have time to do an interview about it?”

THEM: “What…. Me? Oh…..no, I don’t know much about it. You’ll have to speak to my husband.”

I have this same conversation almost every single week. And I’m not alone. Several of my colleagues have mentioned the same thing to me:
Rural women are microphone shy.

Not all of them, it’s true. There are some wonderful women putting themselves out there on the radio. But a large proportion of female farmers suffer severe microphonophobia.

***

Maureen, any particular thoughts ?
Jim.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Speaking medically, Jim (and as an urban man), I would venture to suggest that their fear has less to do with the microphone per se, and more to do with its power - its ability to tranmsit their voice into thousands of living rooms (and tractor cabins). If you were able to reassure these same women that the microphone was switched off, and therefore nothing more than an inert lump of metal, I suspect you would find their fear would rapidly dissipate.

That'll be three hundred dollars, thank you.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Most rural women I had the pleasure to meet were clued up, hands on and pretty smart ladies. but a lot of the blokes it seemed were it appeared unaware of this and so I suspect that the ladies are perhaps just preserving the myth of men ruling the roost and they are being women who allow the husband to think that all ideas put forward are his

I think in cards you call it not showing your hand

But then again I could be wrong

[Neville Briggs]

Only three hundred Stephen. You should have studied to be a barrister instead

Jim , Maureen
I think these country ladies are not fearful but very wise. Talking to journalists is something to avoid unless one is very well prepared ( i.e. knows the questions to be asked ) or experienced. So your comment Maureen about not showing the card hand , I think is spot on .