Progress in Coverage of Women and Economy, But Economic News Still A Male Preserve

Economic coverage on the three main network newscasts -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- features more women speaking as "experts" than it did 10 years ago, according to a Women, Men and Media study released in December 1999. However, women are still seen and quoted far less than men in business and economic coverage in both television and print media. The percentage of women used as experts in sound bites in business/economic news stories on the network newscasts increased from 12% between September 1988 and August 1989 to 18% over the same period in 1998-99. In print, male sources outnumbered female by about 7.5 to 1; 7 to 1 in Newsweek; and 5 to 1 in Time.

Internet Gender Gap Narrowed, Women's Use Jumped 32%

The pace of women's Internet usage in 1999 outstripped that of men, helping to erase the gender gap in online usage, reported Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings. From February to December, as overall user numbers rose, the number of women online jumped 32%, outstripping the 20% pace of growth for men. By December, equal number of female and male users were online, erasing a six-point gap that in February 1999 stood at 47% female, 53% male.

Blue Language Red Hot on Movies, Television Shows

Profane language is used once every six minutes on network TV shows, every two minutes on premium cable show and every three minutes in major motion pictures, according to a study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs. FOX featured the most foul-mouthed shows among the broadcast networks, while HBO led the way among cable networks. CMPA's findings also suggest that there is plenty of animustowardd women in the foul language now prevalent in television and motion-picture viewing.

Women, Men Differ in Voting For 'Story of the Century'

When the Newseum, the museum about the history of news in Arlington, VA., and USA WEEKEND magazine teamed up to choose the story of the century, they noticed some gender differences in the voting (which was conducted online and by mail). Men in the public polling picked the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and women chose the discovery of penicillin.

Portrayal of Women in Human Sexuality, Marriage/Family Texts Still Traditional

From the 1970s to the 1990s, there was a decrease in photographs of women dealing with traditional themes of appearance, male-female relationships and home-and-mother in human sexuality texts, according to university researchers. However, they see this decrease was not steady nor was it large. There was a small and not even increase in the number of photos of women dealing with messages of self-development, career development and political issues. However, traditional depictions outnumbered more progressive ones.

Fired CNN Reporter Produces Sex Discrimination Guide

Work Smarts for Women: The Essential Sex Discrimination Survival Guide (Ballantine Books) is produced by Patti Paniccia, fired from CNN after the birth of her second child. CNN ultimately settled with Paniccia, who sued and later obtained a law degree.

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