She helped break down the barrier for female anchors.

Jean Enersen one of the first and longest-standing female news anchors has celebrated her 45th year on the job. 

Jean Enersen landed a role at KING5 (Seattle) in 1968 at a time when men ruled the airwaves.

Times have changed and now at 69, Enersen says that when she first went to work for the she frequently encountered sexism.

'I was told if I drank a shot of whiskey before going on air I might be able to lower my voice. Others suggested I take up smoking,' she recalled.

At the time women advancing in the field believed that speaking in a lower register would made a better impression on viewers, who were more used to male reporters.

On another occasion she said that a cameraman was so insulted to be paired with a woman, he refused to shoot the story they were set to work on.

But determined, she 'fought her own battles' and eventually made a name for herself on the broadcasting circuit, winning several Emmy awards for her work.

Asked what's been the most important thing that's happened for her since starting at KING5 at the age of 24, Ms Enersen touched on technological advancements.

'In terms of broadcasting, I think there's so many other devices that people get their news on,' adding that 'things have changed a lot.'

Heck, when she started 45 years ago, the only way you could get FTVLive, was on an Etch-a-sketch.

H/T Daily Mail