Media Report to Women - Industry Statistics (shocking)

[Triana]

I found these shocking. They underscore how women are underrepresented in our society and in the media (and in government for that matter) even though we are more than half the population.

This is a good publication/reference.

http://www.mediareporttowomen.com/statistics.htm

[Sanity Claws]

1. It is pretty pathetic

It's also so frightening to think that so many of the women who are featured on the news are there as missing or crime victims. If it weren't for that, there'd even be a lower representation of women in the media.

[Triana]

4. Women on the List - Alternet article...

...this is how I found the Media Reports to Women site. It's mentioned in this Alternet article. And, the Alternet article is pretty "interesting" too:

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/24518/

Forbes' latest roster of the world's most powerful women reads like a list of who's not making news.

...

How many of these women ring loud bells of recognition? Yes, I personally know quite a lot about Condi Rice, Oprah and Melinda Gates. But Wu Yi? Brenda Barnes? It's not that they're not important people--they certainly are--it's just that the media have not made them household names.

Men Dominate the Media

Women's media profile, in fact, is so low that if this were a list of the world's most powerful people--male or female--very few on this list would make the lineup, since men dominate the airwaves and newspapers to such a profound degree.

For years, study after study has put newspaper front-page mentions of women in a range of between 20 percent and 25 percent, with women having less visibility in business and sports sections, somewhat more in metro and lifestyle pages.

Television, particularly Sunday morning talk shows where influential newsmakers appear, also tends to bypass women, even those of the stature on the Forbes' list. And a female newsmaker on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report is still a rarity.

...

[Orrex]

2. I don't know if it's shocking, but it's a sad commentary on our culture

I mean, I can't say that I'm even surprised, much less shocked. Women are still a step to the left and three behind in so many aspects of our culture that I don't know why tv would be expected to be any different.

[Triana]

6. It's hard to believe it's 2005...

...and this is still the way things are. Of course the mysogenist bunch running this country isn't helping any, either.

[Ripley]

7. Maybe it's not shocking to you because you aren't a female.

Did you know that women only comprise 14% of Congress? Maybe now you can understand why women who thought they had gained so much equality from the Women's Movement feel they are losing ground fast and yes, it is shocking.

[Orrex]

8. I think we're miscommunicating

Perhaps it's not "shocking" to me because that implies a degree of overwhelming surprise that I simply don't feel.

It's many things: offensive, disgusting, regressive, insulting, patriarchal, paternalistic, and sorely disappointing, but it's merely symptomatic of a problem whose signs are everywhere.

In contrast, I would have been "shocked" (pleasantly) to learn that, say, women hold 51% of congressional seats, or 51% of air time. That would have been a shock, because it would conflict markedly with the evidence that I see all around me.

[snot]

3. KICK and nom'd --nt

[Triana]

5. snot - I love your screen name! Ha!

Thanks for the kick & nom too!

[snot]

9. Thanks. Only nickname that ever stuck, no pun meant. nt

[Orrex]

10. It's mucus to my ears

Dear god, I can't believe I typed that.