Gender check

Gender check: 6/28/11 – 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 12:15 p.m. (PST) Tuesday, June 28, was titled “April home prices rise in Seattle and other U.S. cities, but analysts cautious.” Its subject was that home prices rose from the previous month for the first time in eight months, though analysts caution that it may just be a sign of temporary increases.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of index committee

2. Male, managing partner at investment bank

Notes/analysis: Most of the story was numbers based.


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. (PST) Tuesday, June 28, was titled “Lesbian can sue UW for job discrimination, court rules.” Its subject was the Court of Appeals overturning a lower court ruling the statute of limitations had run out on a woman’s ability to sue the University of Washington, where she had worked, for what she claims was a hostile work environment.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, subject

2. Male, her boss (according to complaint)

Notes/analysis: The story mainly rehashes the complaint and states the court’s reversal. The woman’s claims are based on her experience with her male boss’ treatment of her after he found out she was a lesbian. Among other things, he told her not to “flaunt” her sexual orientation. Here’s a link to the P-I’s original story on the suit when it was first filed: “UW sued by lesbian who says boss harassed her.”

Gender check: 5/12/11 – 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 2:30 p.m. MST May 12 was titled “Gunman who caused Rolla campus lockdown captured.” Its subject was the capture of a gunman.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:
Female and male, dual byline

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, police chief

2. Female, secretary of freshmen engineering department


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 2 p.m. (MST) May 12 was titled “With veto-proof majorities, legislature passes new abortion restrictions.” Its subject was the Missouri Legislature passing restrictions that would make it a felony to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless two physicians determined the woman’s life or bodily function is endangered or the fetus is non-viable.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:
Male and female, dual byline

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, head of anti-abortion lobbying group

2. Female, Planned Parenthood’s vp for public policy

3. Male, House majority leader

4. Male, state representative

5. Female, state representative

6. Female, state representative

Notes/analysis: Though the split is even for both genders in authorship and sources, it is interesting to note that regarding an issue that directly affects women the sources are divided by gender — the male sources speak on the anti-abortion side of the debate and all the female sources opposing the restrictions.

Gender check: 5/5/11 – 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 1 p.m. MST May 5 was titled “Zoo’s new sea lion stars are cute-if not compliant.” Its subject was a look at the new sea lions at the local zoo and how their training is going.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:
Female

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, show manager

2. Female, trainer


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1p.m. (MST) May 5 was titled “For farmers, the levee breach ‘is history now,’ but they struggle with how to ‘move on.'” Its subject was residents’ attempts to deal with and recovery from losses.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author:
Female

–Human sources (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, property owner and farmer

2. Male, Spc.

3. Female, part-time rural mail carrier

4. Female, former property owner, grew up there

5. Female, long-time resident

Notes/analysis: Though there are more female sources overall, in both articles this week they came after male sources.

Gender Check 4/27/11 – 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 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 27 was titled “Fatah and Hamas Announce Outline of Deal.” Its subject was the creation of an interim unity government in Palestine.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – Hamas spokesman

2. Male – Israel prime minister (from news conference)

3. Male – NSA spokesman

4. Male – Hamas representative (from news conference)

5. Male – professor

6. Male – Hamas leader

Notes/analysis: The photo accompanying the story pictured a crowd in Palestine with a male subject and only one recognizably female demonstrator.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 27 was titled “Chief Offshore Drilling Regulator Criticizes Lack of Oversight for Contractors.” Its subject was the current policies and their influence on the BP cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – director of regulatory agency

2. Male – professor

3. Male – senate staff director

4. Female – spokeswoman

Gender check: 4/26/11 – 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 1 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, April 26, was titled “Boeing still struggling with 787.” Its subject was struggles in the progress of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program. The first planes are scheduled to be delivered at the end of September.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, mechanic (not named)

2. Female, spokeswoman

3. Unknown, engineer (not named)

4. Unknown, employee (not named)

Notes/analysis: This story had an interesting mix of an official source and a number of employees who spoke anonymously as the company does not allow them to comment on their work. In two out of three cases, that meant that employee’s gender was not discernible.


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, April 26, was titled “Home prices continue to slide nationwide; more so in Seattle.” Its subject was a new housing report that shows prices at Seattle at their lowest since 2004.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of group’s committee

2. Male, economist