Gender Checks

Gender Check: 2/23/11 Northeast

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*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: The New York Times

On The New York Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 4 p.m. EST on Feb. 23 was titled “U.S., In Shift, Sees Marriage Act as Violation of Gay Rights.” Its subject was the U.S. Justice’s Department announcement that they see discrimination against gay and lesbian people in all cases as presumptively unconstitutional.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Authors: Male and Female (shared byline)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – attorney general (as paraphrased from a letter to Congress)

2. Male – law professor

3. Male – president (as paraphrased from previous statements)

Notes/analysis: Most of the story is based on the letter written by the attorney general as well as past court cases and background information.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 4:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 23 was titled “Cheat Sheet: What’s Really Going On With Wisconsin’s Budget.” Its subject was the ongoing standoff in the Wisconsin government over budget deficits and the future of union rights.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – state governor (as quoted from public statements)

2. Male – director of the Fiscal Bureau

Notes/analysis: This story took more of an analysis approach than original reporting, and as such relied on the commentary and reporting of several other news outlets.

Gender check: 2/22/11 – West

Jasmine R. LinabaryLeave a comment

*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 2 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, Feb. 22, was titled “U.S: Seattle couple, 2 other Americans killed by pirates.” Its subject was the deaths of four Americans (two male and two female) who were taken hostage and killed by pirates while sailing on their yacht off the coast of East Africa.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: AP and Seattle Times staff (with a male and a female contributor mentioned at the end)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, niece of the one of the female victims

2. Female, victim (via an e-mail sent before Valentine’s Day)

3. Male, animal shelter director who worked with one of the male victims

4. Male, monsignor (speaking of couple)

5. Male, professor, friend of one of the male victims

6. Male, general of U.S. Central Command

7. Male, pirate

8. Male, head of Dryad Maritime Intelligence

Notes/analysis: Sources speak on three of the four people killed as individuals. One of the females is only referenced as part of a couple with her husband whose background is described. She is named twice — with a different first name each time (Jean vs. Jane). Based on other news sources, her name appears to be Jean.


Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 2 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, Feb. 22, was titled “Up to 6 inches of snow possible by Thursday.” Its subject was a winter storm watch issued for the Seattle area and a large part of Western Washington.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male (with a male contributor)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, department of transportation spokesman

2. Male, meteorologist (via his weather blog)

Gender Check: 2/18/11 South

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*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: The Miami Herald

On the Miami Herald, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Feb. 18 was titled “Accused Child Abusers’ Granddaughter Also A Victim.” Its subject was the developing legal case involving alleged abuse of a grandparents’ adopted children as well as their biological granddaughter.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female – mother of the victim

2. Female – judge

3. Female – child welfare lawyer (as quoted from court documents)

4. unknown- group of unidentified prosecutors

Notes/analysis: No male sources were directly quoted in the article. Both the male and female grandparents are being charged with attempted murder. Both male and female victims were targeted.


Website: Patch (Seminole Heights)

On Patch of Seminole Heights, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Feb. 18 was titled “Early Voting for Tampa Election Begins Saturday.” Its subject was a basic summary of information for voters in the upcoming municipal election.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – county supervisor of elections

Notes/analysis: For this election in Tampa, 1 of the 5 mayoral candidates is female, and 8 of the 28 city council candidates are female. Tampa currently has a female mayor and 3 of 7 city council members are female.

Gender check: 2/17/11 – Midwest

Jasmine R. LinabaryLeave a comment

*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 3 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 17, was titled “Missouri House OKs local control for St. Louis police.” Its subject was the Missouri House of Representatives giving its (initial) approval to provide city officials authority over the city’s police department.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, state representative, Democrat

2. Male, governor (paraphrased)

3. Male, speaker of the house, Republican

Notes/analysis: Click here for an earlier Gender Check that looked at the gender breakdown in the Missouri Legislature.


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 17, was titled “Razing Chrysler North plant raises lots of question.” Its subject was the debate around the use and marketing of a no-longer-in-use Chrysler plant and whether it should be demolished.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, U.S. senator, Democrat

2. Male, mayor

3. Male, county executive

4. Male, state representative, Republican

5. Male, state senator, Republican

Notes/analysis: In both articles this week, a woman’s actions led the story — whether it was her bill in the legislature or her letter she sent about her concerns. Even though women made up only one-fourth of the sources between the two stories (two women to six men), they were the cause of the news.

Gender Check: 2/16/11 Northeast

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*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: The New York Times

On The New York Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 16 was titled “As the Mainland Shivers, Hawaii Basks in Tourism’s Glow.” Its subject was the increased travel to Hawaii from the continental United States in recent months and potential reasons for the increase.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – tourist visiting Hawaii

2. Male – tourist visiting Hawaii

3. female – president of marketing for a California-based tour operator

4. male – president of Hawaiian hotel chain

5. male – professor

6. male – vice president of brand management for Hawaii Tourism Authority

7. male – vice president for sales at a national hotel chain

8. male -meteorologist

9. male – president of a hotel consulting firm

10. male -tourist

11. female – tourist

Notes/analysis: The gender imbalance in this story is particularly striking because of the relatively high number of sources for a story of this length. A small accompanying photo appears to picture two women, although the shot does not show their faces.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 16 was titled “The Reform for Disabled Borrowers that the Education Dept Refuses to Adopt.” Its subject was a follow-up to an investigation into the policies surrounding student loan repayments for the disabled.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. male – spokesman for department of education

2. male – educational consultant

3. female – lawyer

Notes/analysis: Because this story makes several references to previous quotes or stories, I only included the breakdown of newly included sources.