"I am not going to sit here and cry poor": Sam Armytage on what it's like to work on TV
Sam Armytage has opened up about her experience working in the media and being a public figure, sharing that it is “not easy” to be a female role model in the “tough industry”.
In a recent interview with whimn, the 42-year-old said she has strived to maintain her femininity while working in newsrooms throughout her career.
Armytage began her media career at WIN-TV Canberra in 1999 as a news reporter. She later worked at Sky News before joining the Seven Network in 2003.
“I fiercely maintain my femininity because newsrooms are very masculine places even in this current era,” she said.
“I’ve found this throughout my 20-year career – you move into your masculinity to cope in a newsroom. You swear a lot and drink a lot. You’re on the front foot, it’s agro behaviour and you get exhausted by it.
“…this job, this career – I couldn’t quite work out how I’d fallen into this – it’s a tough industry. People are now looking at me as a female role model and that’s not an easy responsibility to shoulder at times.”
But Armytage said her current role at Sunrise provided her more space to be herself.
“This Sunrise role has been so fabulous, despite some of the crap I’ve had to go through, because I get to be vulnerable and ram-up against [co-host David] Kochie’s masculinity.”
However, the popularity that came with her morning show gig has also brought about unwanted attention. Armytage said she is still dealing with paparazzi every day.
She recalled a recent incident where a photographer followed her into a Woolworths store. “I’d been to the gym and I was not looking glamorous – they’re the shots they want,” she said.
“I get that, and I am not going to sit here and cry poor. So, I just confronted him and said, ‘Come on, I put up with a lot from you guys. It’s getting creepy now.’
“He got angry with me in Woolies! He said, ‘You’re being nasty.’ And I said, ‘You’re following me around all day!’”
After years of public scrutiny, Armytage said she has learned to cope by shifting her perspective. “I don’t read those magazines, websites, papers and I certainly don’t read the comments,” she said.
“I’ve had to think, OK, that’s the public person, that’s not the Sam who’s in the country on weekends, lying on the grass having a glass of wine with her friends playing with her dog.”