Author: Jasmine R. Linabary

Gender check: 4/5/11 – West

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: Seattle Times

On the Seattle Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 12:15 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, April 5, was titled “Southwest 737 fuselage ruptured in unlikely place.” Its subject was a look at fuselage issues like that found in the Southwest aircraft that had to take an emergency landing Friday after an in-flight rupture.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, expert on metal-aircraft structures and retired engineer

2. Male, airline spokesman

3. Male, National Transportation Safety Board member

4. Male, company president

5. Male, transportation secretary

Notes/analysis: No female sources in this week’s article.


Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 12:15 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, April 5, was titled “State keeps list of where DUI suspects say they drank.” Its subject was a look at the “Worst Offenders List,” a list of places where DUI suspects claim to have had their latest drink.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, State Liquor Control Board spokeswoman

Notes/analysis: The article mostly cites information from the database. Also, the Seattle P-I has a different look this week. Apparent redesign?

Gender check: 3/31/11 – Midwest

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com)

On Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1:15 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 31, was titled “Judge declares Missouri ethics law unconstitutional.” Its subject was a county judge declaring an ethics law passed by the state legislature the prior year unconstitutional because it covers multiple subjects.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Unknown, official for ethics commission (unnamed)

2. Male, circuit judge

3. Male, county attorney


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1:15 p.m. (MST)  Thursday, March 31, was titled “Earnings tax backers stage big effort to get out the vote.” Its subject was efforts to get people out to vote for Prop E, to keep a 1 percent earnings tax as a part of the city’s budget. It currently accounts for one-third of the budget, or $140 million.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, spokesman for campaign for Prop E

2. Male, spokesman for group against

3. Male, spokesman for campaign for Prop A (unnamed)

4. Female, spokeswoman for male businessman (unnamed)

5. Female, spokeswoman for male mayor (unnamed)

6. Male, spokesman for female comptroller

Notes/analysis: This article was heavily reliant on spokespeople for organizations or individuals. It’s interesting to note that those who spoke for individuals were always of the opposite gender of the person they spoke on behalf. Both spokeswomen were unnamed, as was one of four spokesmen.

Gender check: 3/29/11 – West

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: Seattle Times

On the Seattle Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, March 29, was titled “Seattle area sees fewer apartment vacancies, higher rents.” Its subject was the details of two recent report that showed that the number of apartment vacancies was declining while rent prices have been going up.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, with one of the research firms that did report

2. Male, president of other apartment research firm

3. Male, owner of real estate business

4. Female, spokeswoman for a developer (Not named)

5. Male, president of developer

Notes/analysis: It’s interesting to note that the only woman mentioned between the two articles in this week’s Gender Check is not identified by name.


Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, March 29, was titled “FBI: Seattle speakeasy ring leader smuggled guns to Mexican rebels.” Its subject was a man who was a leader of a Seattle gambling ring that was not charged along with his confederates. He had as it turned out already been convicted for federal charges from selling cocaine to an undercover police officer and smuggling guns to rebels in southern Mexico.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, vice unit sergeant

2. Male, special agent

3. Male, defense attorney

4. Male, U.S. district court judge

Notes/analysis: All of the individuals mentioned in this article were male.

Gender check: 3/24/11 – Midwest

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com)

On Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:30 p.m. (MST) March 24, was titled “Tiny Missouri town is perfectly centered.” Its subject was a town being names the U.S.’s new population center.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of city’s board

2. Male, director of the Census Bureau

Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:30 p.m. (MST) March 24, was titled “Federal regulators say Midwest BankCentre’s fair lending record ‘needs to improve.’” Its subject was was the release of a fair lending performance review report that showed that a bank “needs to improve.”

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of the bank

2. Female, assistant director of equal housing opportunity council

Notes/analysis: The article quotes mainly from the report.

Gender check: 3/22/11 – West

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: Seattle Times

On the Seattle Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:15 p.m. (MST) March 22, was titled “City suspends DUI cases while police investigate rubber-stamping of arrests.” Its subject was an investigation into the process of DUI cases at the city police department.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Two males, one female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, city attorney

2. Male, head of police union

3. Female, spokeswoman for city attorney’s office

4. Male, police department spokesman

5. Male, spokesman for county attorney’s office

6. Male, sergeant with county sheriff’s office

7. Female, spokeswoman for state patrol

Notes/analysis: The article also contained quotes from written statements.


Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:15 p.m. (MST) on March 22, was titled “Kentlake teacher accused of having sex with 17-year-old student, charged with sexual misconduct.” Its subject was a female high school teacher charged with having sex with a male student.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, suspect (according to the charging documents)

2. Female, detective

3. Male, senior deputy prosecutor

Notes/analysis: Other than the boy, the only other additional subject mentioned was his mother.