Week in Review: Women journalists in the news

Jasmine R. LinabaryLeave a comment

This week was chock-full of stories about women in journalism. Here are a few of the highlights and links for where you can find more.

Treatment of female journalists abroad

Photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who was working on assignment for the New York Times, was strip searched and “humiliated” by soldiers during a security check when she entered Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to an article by the Associated Press. Due to her pregnancy, Addario requested not to have to go through the X-ray machine out of concern for her child. She instead was forced to go through the machine three times while soldiers watched and laughed. She then was strip searched by a female officer. An apology came Monday for the incident from Israel’s Defense Ministry.

After being released, journalist Mona Eltahawy posted this photo to Twitter showing the casts she needed as a result of injuries sustained during her detainment by security forces in Egypt. Eltahawy says she was beaten and sexually assaulted.

In addition, as we reported on last week, the risks for women reporters in Egypt are gaining media attention again after two female foreign journalists were sexually assaulted. The issue continued in the news this week as the women shared their stories.

Caroline Sinz, a broadcast journalist from France, was assaulted while covering protests. Additionally. Egyptian-American blogger and journalist Mona Eltahawy was beaten and sexually assaulted by local Egyptian security forces. A number of articles told of the pervasiveness of sexual assault, not just for journalists, and told these women’s stories. Here are a few:

Many reports made mention of “60 Minutes” reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted in Tahrir Square in February (Read our post on that attack here). The Women’s Media Center posted a video interview with Logan by founding president Carol Jenkins discussing her experience this week. Logan received the center’s Whole Truth Award, which was one of several given out at the Women’s Media Awards this week (Update: Read the WMC’s write up on the awards here).

Women who lead

The American Journalism Review this week looked at the question of whether women lead newsrooms differently. The article was specifically a response to the following comment by Jill Abramson, who (as we’ve previously written about) recently became the first woman to serve as the New York Times’ executive editor: “The idea that women journalists bring a different taste in stories or sensibility isn’t true” (as stated in a Sept. 10 New York Times column). The AJR article found that many top female managers and researchers disagree with her statement.

In addition, a new study in New Zealand by Dr. Catherine Strong looked at reasons behind the lack of women in journalism management and why women leave journalism. Strong attributed this issue to a “glass bubble” instead of the “glass ceiling.” Read more about the study here.

Other articles of note

A number of other noteworthy articles on topics related to women and media, including women journalists, popped up lately. Here are a few to add to your reading list if you haven’t already:

This is the Gender Report’s Week in Review, a weekly post that highlights some of the major stories related to gender issues this week. Some of these stories may have already appeared in our News Feed or in the week’s Gender Checks. We’ll at times include a longer analysis of stories as well as bring attention to stories that may have slipped through the cracks of the week’s news cycle.

Gender check: 12/1/11 – 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 8:40 a.m. (PST) Thursday, Dec. 1, was titled “Pickup driver killed after slamming into firetruck on I-70 in St. Peters.” Its subject was the death of a man whose truck crashed into the back of a firetruck.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:  Female

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, assistant fire chief
  2. Female, aunt of the deceased


Website: St. Louis Beacon

St. Louis Beacon, 12/1/2011

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:40 a.m. (PST) Thursday, Dec. 1 was titled “Judges unveil new boundary lines for Missouri House and Senate.” Its subject was redistricting for the state legislature.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:  Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, aide to female state senator
  2. Female, judge who headed commission
  3. Male, union official
  4. Male, former state House speaker
  5. Male, Republican consultant

Notes/analysis: The article includes six mugshots — four of males and two of females.

Gender check: 11/29/11 – 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

"Olympia's budget-cutting special session begins" - Seattle Times, 11/29/2011

On the Seattle Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 9:20 a.m. (PST) Tuesday, Nov. 29, was titled “Olympia’s budget-cutting special session begins.” Its subject was disruptions from protesters during the opening of the state legislature’s special session.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Shared byline (Male and female)

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, state patrol spokesman
  2. Female, 84-year-old protester
  3. Male, state Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman
  4. Male, retired literature professor (with protesters)
  5. Male, state representative
  6. Male, state representative

Notes/analysis: The article includes six photos. The only two with named individuals feature female state senators.


Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 9:20 a.m. (PST) Tuesday, Nov. 29, was titled “Public’s help needed in beating death of gay man.” Its subject was information needed on the beating death of a male, a longtime hair stylist whose family says was targeted for his sexual orientation.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, officer
  2. Female, victim’s niece
  3. Male, police sgt.

Gender Check 11/28/11 – South

Joy BaconLeave a comment

Website: The Miami Herald

On the Miami Herald, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7:30 p.m. (EST) on Monday, Nov. 28 was “Colombian FARC Hostage Describes Narrow Escape“. Its subject was an exclusive interview with a police sergeant held by rebels for over 12 years.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male – hostage
  2. Male – president of Colombia (from public statement)
  3. Male – Colombian defense minister

Notes/Analysis: The photo accompanying this article was of the released hostage, male, and three other military men.

 

Website: Patch (Seminole Heights)

On Patch of Seminole Heights, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7:30 p.m. (EST) on Monday, November 28 was titled “Looking For Gas Bargains? Try These Pumps.” Its subject was a look t area gas stations to compare prices.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned)

none

Week in Review: A look at the Middle East

Joy BaconLeave a comment
Photo credited to BBC Persian, from the New York Times. Participants marched against the widespread public sexual harassment of women on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, last July.

As political and social change continues to sweep through Egypt, Libya, Yemen and several other parts of the Middle East and Africa, the Gender Report looked at the key role women are playing in these processes. We’ve written before about protests, participation in marches, and pushes for representative government in these areas. Here are a few updates in these cases we found in our News Feed, as well as their representation in the media:

  • Libya: Women continue to speak out against rapes committed during the country’s long civil war, asking the new government to provide financial, legal and counseling support to victims. Read more via the Associated Press (as syndicated by the Washington Post).
  • Afghanistan: Nicholas Kristof, an avid supporter of women’s rights, featured a guest post by Noorjahan Akbar on his New York Times blog on her experiences with women marching for awareness of sexual harassment concerns. The post also highlighted organizations and women that are continuing this fight.
  • Egypt: The safety of female journalists in Tahrir Square continues to make headlines as another women, this time a female broadcast journalist from France, was assaulted while covering the protests. The organization Reporters Sans Frontieres, recanted a recommendation to remove female journalists from Tahrir Square for their own safety, after many journalists criticized the statement. One opinion piece for the Guardian said “If women journalists are told it’s too dangerous for them to go there, those voices are likely to be silenced altogether.” The Gender Report earlier highlighted the sexual assault of a “60 Minutes” reporter in February.

Have you seen or read other coverage of women in the Middle East? Post a comment or tweet it to the Gender Report or our News Feed, @GRNewsFeed or @GenderReport.