New Analysis of Data on Journalists Details Women's, Men's Job Satisfaction

A re-analysis of data collected by the Freedom Forum, commissioned by MRTW Supporting Subscriber Christy Bulkeley and presented in this issue through her generosity, contrasts the attitudes and experiences of male and female newspaper and television journalists. Some highlights:

• Women of all races were more likely than men to have entered the field of journalism with a sense of mission.

• With one important exception, women tended to make their decision to go into journalism earlier in life than men.

• In general, women tend to like their current jobs in journalism as well as men, and job satisfaction among journalists is relatively high.

• In general, women tend to view their prospects for advancement in journalism in terms as positive as men.

• Female journalists of color (at newspapers and in television) report lower levels of support from their immediate supervisors than do their male counterparts.

NOW Issues Second Primetime Report, Finds Hope, But Recommends Action

The National Organization for Women released its second "Watch Out, Listen Up!" report on primetime programming in June, giving a mixed review to the television networks. NOW evaluated programming based on five factors -- gender composition, diversity, violent content, sexual exploitation and social responsibility. In addition to the four major U.S. broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC -- NOW added UPN and WB to this year's report.

"NOW's feminist analysts watched hours of TV - much of it degrading, violent and bearing little resemblance to the lives of real women," said NOW President Patricia Ireland. "But several shows did stand out for their ability to portray women and girls as complex, well-rounded people."

Some general observations (to read the full report, visit www.now.org and click on Issues):

Gender Composition and Diversity: It came as little surprise that many of the programs ranking high in gender composition had women's names in their titles.

Violent Content: Viewers reported little actual violence in the shows evaluated.

Sexual Exploitation: NOW's analysts reported that on most shows even the intelligent female characters often dressed provocatively and used their sexual appeal in addition to their practical skills.

Social Responsibility: The top-ranking programs in this category covered important issues and addressed real-life situations that rarely make it onto television.

Advertising Dangers: Racial Stereotyping, Undermining Equality, Sexualization, Panelists Say

Those were among the thoughts offered by academics, women and media activists from Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Latin and North America who participated in a Monitor Forum organized by the Women and Media Programme of the World Association for Christian Communication in London.

MRTW published some of the discussion's key points in this issue. For full text of the Forum, go to www.wacc.org.uk and click on the Women's Programme, then click on Women and Media Programme and go to issues of The Monitor. This discussion is from Issue No. 8, 2001.

Exposure to Sports Media May Encourage Teen Focus on Body Image - But Positively

Exposure to sports magazines and women's sports on TV - much like reading fashion magazines or watching television programs with thin characters - encourages teen-age girls to focus on body image, say researchers at the University of Michigan.

However, unlike exposure to these kinds of "thin-ideal" media, reading sports magazines and watching sports on TV can have varying, even positive, effects on young females.

AEJMC Research Roundup on Women and Media

MRTW organized the women-themed research the August annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Thumbnail sketches of dozens of research projects are detailed in this issue.

Plus News Briefs, People News and Book Reviews

Media Report to Women has hard copies of back issues dating to its founding in 1972. Indispensable for research!