Media, Gender and Journalism in Newspaper History

Newspapers and the news media have always been an important part of American life, and have become increasingly more central to our ways of knowing and of communicating with one another since the early days of the newspaper in this country. The media exert a profound influence on the ways that we receive, interpret, and evaluate news, both through text and through visual images, and despite significant gains of women in the social and political spheres, newspapers lag behind in their coverage of women’s true concerns, especially when it comes to business and professional-related matters. Even as they call for more inclusive coverage and strive to be more attentive to incorporating women into reporting as journalists, as sources, as subjects, and as new recipients, newspapers continue to stereotype women, creating dangerous falsehoods and the oversimplification of beliefs about this particular social group.

The stereotypes of women in newspapers are predictable and straightforward. Men continue to be represented as strong and competent leaders, with characteristics of aggression, strength, risk-taking, autonomy, competitiveness, ambition, and dominance emphasized (Basow, 1992; Durkin, 1985; Herrett-Skjellum & Allen, 1996). Women, on the other hand, are portrayed as being nurturing, affectionate, gentle, sympathetic, dependent, emotional, submissive, passive, illogical, and preoccupied with physical appearance (Basow, 1992; Durkin, 1985; Herrett-Skjellum & Allen, 1996). Both sets of stereotypes obscure the more complex realities of contemporary society.

Certainly, it is not unreasonable to expect the mass media – particularly the news sector – to present women’s issues in a fair light and without marginalizing them. True women’s issues are not just about women or important only to them, but also affect their families, their employers, and society in general. The media play a major role in framing public opinion and debate, both through text and image. Treating women and their concerns seriously in the media would go a long way to getting society to take them seriously and to improve opportunities for social and political parity. The greatest hope for creating a more “female friendly” media is to put more women in decision-making positions. In order to achieve a more female-friendly media, “monitoring and advocacy of gender representation are needed” (Tirohl, 2002, p. 196).

Thus far, it has demonstrated a gap in the field of study regarding the portrayal of women in the newspaper media, especially with regard to the portrayal of professional women. By expanding the existing body of knowledge about portrayals of women in the media, “we perform the political act of changing the power relations that rule our lives” (Enriquez, 2000, p. 81). Such interventions can have critical implications for reshaping perceptions of women, thereby avoiding stereotypical portrayals and expanding opportunities for women in society (Ahmed, 2000). It is also important can have important implications for children and preparing the next generation for new possibilities (Bunker & Stiliani, 1996). In the next chapter, the writer offers the research design and methodology that has its theoretical grounding in the material reviewed in this chapter.

Ahmed, S. (2000). Gender in interaction: Stereotypes and their impact on the status of women. Nivedini: A Sri Lankan Feminist Journal, 8(1), 49-61.

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. (2005). Public perceptions of the pay gap. Washington, D.C.: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Armstrong, C.L. (2006). Writing about women: An examination of how content for women is in newspapers. Mass Communication and Society, 9(4), 447-460.

Bunker, L.K., & Stiliani, S.D. (1996). Gender bias and children’s perceptions of the 1996 Olympic Games pictograms. Melpomene Journal, 15(1), 18-22.

Enriquez, E.L. (2000). Feminisms and feminist media criticism. Women in Action, 1-2, 81+.

Flatten, K.M. (1996). Newspaper representation of women athletes in 1984 and 1994. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 5(2), 65-74.

Franklin, B., & Murphy, D. (1998). Making the local news: Local journalism in context London: Routledge.

Frost, E., & Cullen-Dupont, K. (1992). Women’s suffrage in America: An eyewitness history. New York: Facts on File.

Garrison Villard, O. (1923). Some newspapers and newspaper-men. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Jung, S. (2000). Analysis of gender in TV news and news organizations. Women’s Studies Forum, 16, 243+.

Kaiser Family Foundation. (1997). Avoid stereotyping, impossible-to-achieve portrayals of women. About Women and Marketing, 10(11), 13.

Rodgers, S., Kenix, L.J., & Thorson, E. (2007). Stereotypical portrayals of emotionality in news photos. Mass Communication and Society, 10(1), 119-138.

Scarborough Research. (2006). Newspaper audience demographic and geographic analysis. Retrieved on November 26, 2007 from

Signorelli, N. (1997). A content analysis: Reflections of girls in the media: A study of television shows, commercials, movies, music videos, teen magazine articles, and ads. Retrieved on November 27, 2007 from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/1260-index.cmf

Tirohl, B. (2002). Gender setting: New agendas for media monitoring and advocacy. Journal of Gender Studies, 11(2), 196

Xigen, L. (2006). Internet newspapers: The making of a mainstream medium. New York: Routledge

* If you are using this article as a study guide or as a resource for your own essays, please make sure to cite it as your source with proper citation, (even if you are just using a few important quotes or the same thesis statement or thesis statements) as this essay or article is copyrighted material. For a short summary of citation guides, please visit the MLA main website where a synopsis, tips and analysis on how to properly cite references can be found.*

Here you will find one of the many informative random articles, essays, or rants located here at Article Myriad. Clicking on any of the titles will magically transport you to the land of random articles, essays, and general tidbits--all of which have been painstakingly written and researched by one of us here at Article Myriad. A better system of organization of essays and pieces will eventually develop, we promise, but until that time, just enjoy the hodge-podge effect and let it help you meander rather than barrel through the site as if you have some kind of purpose. Because you don’t have a purpose here, do you? You’re just procrastinating—putting something off, aren’t you? .... We thought so.

Again, if you you find an article or essay that makes your life better, easier, or just plain happier / enriched, please don’t hesitate to support your friends here with a small donation. It keeps us able to write. Visit our homepage for more on that matter and thanks!