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The tyrannical reign of Sue Sylvester is back.

Jane Lynch tweeted earlier this week that women who have high voices may want to try lowering their pitch because they can become “annoying” if they’re too high.

“If you think I’m being sexist then I don’t know what to do with you,” she writes.

I love women. I AM a woman. Our voices are higher than men’s voices. Women's voices can get into the annoying area if it gets too high. If you’re doing a podcast, consider lowering your pitch a tad. If you think I’m being sexist about this then I don’t know what to do with you.
— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) July 25, 2022

While no one has given me the designation of Arbiter of Sexism, I would argue this is a pretty obvious case of ye olde Internalized Sexism. Did she use the word “shrill?” No. But “shrill” is definitely implied.

I am tired of having this conversation. This very newsletter comes from a company called Vocal Fry, which, yes, is a cheeky play on the vocal pattern associated with people like Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian.

There is no podcast voice. I have a podcast voice. You have a podcast voice. Anyone can have a podcast voice!

B.A. Parker said it best:

We’re not gonna talk about vocal fry in 2022. That’s over. That’s done with. It’s the voice we’ve got. To lower it for people who don’t wanna hear it anyway is a waste of everyone’s time.
— B.A. Parker (@aparkusfarce) July 26, 2022

Opportunity Alert for BIPOC high school/post-secondary students:

JHR is accepting applications for their Enhanced Access for BIPOC Youth in Canadian Media initiative. High school students can apply for a 12-week summer co-op, though it’s unclear if they’re still accepting applications for that, and high school graduates and post-secondary students can apply for a 20-week co-op. You can read more about it in Anita Li’s newsletter.

Other media stories we’re reading this week:

Study Hall reported that the private equity firm that bought MEL Magazine has laid off all their staff.
Erin Overbey was fired from the New Yorker, and it’s worth reading her thread where she details her concerns around racism and sexism at the magazine.

Okay extremely Cool Job Alert: Ubisoft Quebec is hiring an audio director to oversee audio content for their video games. While the salary range isn’t listed, they advertise a hybrid/flexible work mode and six weeks of vacation in your first year. Practically European!

Another Cool Job Alert: if you’re known for your perfectly balanced playlists, Spotify is hiring an editorial lead for Canada. Make playlists for a living! There are probably other parts of the job but making playlists seems like the important part.

The Globe and Mail is hiring a podcast producer for the Globe Content Studio, their content marketing arm. This posting has been up for a few weeks, so get an application in if you haven’t already!

The Globe is also hiring a few editorial positions: a personal finance reporter for the Report on Business, a reporter in the Ottawa bureau, and an opinion reporter.

CBC Radio is hiring a full-time associate producer for a one-year contract on Unreserved. Apply by EOD August 5.

CBC Radio is hiring a permanent, full-time associate producer for The Sunday Magazine. Apply by EOD August 7.

CBC Radio is hiring a permanent, full-time associate producer for The Current. Apply by EOD August 9.

CBC News Network is hiring a permanent, full-time associate producer for Rosemary Barton Live. Apply by EOD August 9.

CBC Nova Scotia is hiring a permanent, full-time reporter/editor assigned to Information Morning. Apply by August 9.a

If you’re a post-secondary student, you can still apply to the Toronto Star’s radio room internship. Best to act fast! School will be back in session before you know it.

One final reminder to apply for the Canadian Association of Journalists’ mentorship program! You have until August 3 at 5 p.m. to apply. Arif Noorani, the director of CBC Podcasts, is a mentor in this round, so if you’ve been trying to break in there… Now may be your time.

CW: This week’s recommended podcast is about diet culture, and references eating disorders. Please feel free to skip over to the end of the newsletter. If you’re looking for resources on eating disorders, you can go to https://nedic.ca/.

If you, like me, were a big fan of the criminally underrated sitcom Happy Endings, you’ll be thrilled to know that Casey Wilson is hosting a new podcast, Fed Up. She is a delightful narrator.

Fed Up tells the story of the dramatic fall of the diet for the age of Instagram called F-Factor — F standing for fibre in this case. Fibre, according to F-Factor, is the key ingredient for weight loss. Only two episodes have been released so far, but the drama of the story is between one influencer, Emily Gellis, and the founder of F-Factor, Tanya Zuckerbrot. We haven’t quite gotten to the lawsuit yet, but the conflict is there: Emily meets Tanya, later tries out crackers recommended by the diet, and suffers immediate gastric issues. She posts about it on Instagram, and gets tons of messages from others who have had similar experiences. So she starts sharing those stories, anonymously.

Fed Up has all the makings of a juicy story. We hear from Gellis directly, and while Zuckerbrot declined to be interviewed, we do hear from her through videos she’s posted on social media. It’s a story with all the scintillating turns of a true crime drama, but as far as I know, everyone makes it out of the story alive.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on August 5. Until then, here’s an update from Katie’s parents' new kitten, Betty.