This week I tuned into Oprah to procrastinate further on my feature and my research project. What I found was a fascinating debate about whether women can have it all. The timing was interesting because I am currently doing research with my group about women in prominent positions in Canadian newsrooms.

Elizabeth Vargas, of ABC News, joined Oprah and made some interesting points. In January 2006, Vargas became one of only a handful of women to co-anchor ABC's World News Tonight. Only a couple of weeks later, her co-anchor, Bob Woodruff, was injured by a bomb in Iraq. (In fact, yesterday was the one year anniversary of that tragic event.) Days later, Vargas found out that she was pregnant with her second child.

In May 2006 she chose motherhood and completed her last broadcast. In doing so, she reignited the debate about women in the workplace.

Recently, Vargas has returned to the journalism world, but not on World News Tonight. She is instead one of the co-anchors of ABC's 20/20, which gives her more time with her two young children.

But I wonder if she misses the fast-paced world of the newsroom or if she believes that she has made the right choice? She told Oprah she feels a combination of the two.

This Oprah episode stood out for me because I am in the process of delving into a similar topic for a research paper. My group and I are looking at women in Canadian newsrooms and wondering why few of them are able to climb their way to the top. Some of our research has shown that the long hours that are required by editor-in-chiefs mean that women must choose between their careers and their children. Many women end up on the communications side when they reach a certain level because the structure is more realistic to their busy lives. And the problem is compounded by a real lack of affordable daycare.

Anyways, Dana Lacey will be writing about this topic for her upcoming online piece, so check it out for more details. I think it gives all us female aspiring journalists and mothers a lot to think about.