Women remain under-represented in news, global study finds

[slayton]

Women remain under-represented in news, global study finds
By Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun October 5, 2010 7:26 AM

VANCOUVER -- Women are still significantly under-represented and misrepresented in news media coverage despite improvement in last five years, new research shows.

The Global Media Monitoring Project's 2010 report found that globally, 76 per cent of the people heard or read about in the news are male, while only 24 per cent are female. In Canada, the situation was slightly better, with 30 per cent of news subjects being female -- up from 21 per cent based on 2005 results.

Kathleen Cross, a lecturer at Simon Fraser University's school of communication, was the lead Canadian researcher for the Global Media Monitoring Project's 2010 report.

"At this rate, we would reach parity in Canada in 30 years," Cross said in an interview. The global report says international parity might be reached in 40 years.

In Canada, the research shows that women are mostly used as providers of personal accounts in news stories and rarely as knowledgeable experts.

"The news has a role in both reflecting and constructing reality," Cross said. "This project comes from a concern that the news is not providing a mirror on the world."

Cross said the skewed numbers perpetuate gender stereotypes. "This doesn't help deal with women's inequality in the world, because men as experts becomes part of our convention on who appears to be an expert, or what an expert looks like."

The research project monitors selected media for one day every five years. The date used for this year's report was Nov. 10, 2009.

"I'm pleased to see that we've made progress over the past five years, but clearly we need to stay committed to improving," said Patricia Graham, editor-in-chief of the Vancouver Sun. "Demographically balanced coverage just makes sense."

In Canada, crime and violence dominated the news, with 32 per cent of all stories focused in this area. Next was politics and government, at 18 per cent.

However, women reporters were least likely to be found reporting on these two top topics, with male journalists twice as likely to report on such stories.

Cross said some of the increase for women in news stories in Canada can be attributed in part to an increase in entertainment stories. "There are a lot of stories about Angelina Jolie," she said. "There are a lot of entertainment stories that include women."

Canada and North America were near the top of the list in terms of representation of women, with the Middle East showing the lowest numbers at 16 per cent, Cross said.

Internationally, the GMMP monitored 1,365 newspapers, television and radio stations and Internet news sites, 17,795 news stories and 38,253 persons in the news in 108 countries with 82 per cent of the world's people, according to a statement.

GMMP research in Canada monitored seven major newspapers, six television and five radio newscasts resulting in 279 stories and 695 persons in the news.

[neoteny]

"Demographically balanced coverage just makes sense."

Just why would it make sense?

[outdoors]

 i will think of something to put here

[TheManOnTheStreet]

Aside from this being a total farce... Note the statement; "The research project monitors selected media for one day every five years. The date used for this year's report was Nov. 10, 2009."

"Selected media" eh?  As in cherry picking maybe?  What'd they do, watch ESPN or SpikeTV and then make their claims?

TMOTS

[dr e]

One remedy for this discrepancy would be to have more females killed in Iraq. Another might be more murders of women.  The way it is now men are in the news more often because they are killed more often....that and they seem to win more championships, invent more stuff, murder more people, win more nobel prizes, break more laws and on and on.  Maybe it is the fault of those sexist nobel prize people.  They need to do things 50-50 right?


Maybe we need to have neighborhood testosterone stands that give out free doses of T to women who want to be in the news? lol

[CG9603]

What do these people want?  Do they want some sort of token program ?  No.  They really want social power, and they are willing to find new ways to repeat old themes and lies in order to get hold of and maintain power

[mens_issues]

And how are the men in the news often portrayed?  Frequently the stories about men are about criminal activity or the endless stories about bad men and women/children as victims.

[PaulGuelph]

And how are the men in the news often portrayed?

Exactly, men's issues.

Feminists win if they can frame the discussion.

The better question is: Are men portrayed in a positive or negative way?  How does this compare to how women are portrayed?

[Mr. X]

Well it ain't women spending 2 months trapped in a Chilean mine waiting to be rescued IF they are going to be rescued.