Gender Check: 2/2/11 – Northeast

*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 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 2 was titled “Clashes in Cairo between Mubarak’s Allies and Foes .” Its subject was the developing violence of protests in Egypt.

Here is its gender breakdown:

Author: Males (three bylines)

Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. female – unidentified Egyptian

2. male – president of Egypt (cited from television address)

3. male – president of United States (cited from pubic speech)

4. unknown –  unidentified Egyptian official

5. male – press secretary of United States

6. male – prime minister of Britain (cited from official statement)

7. male – opposition leader in Egypt (cited from official statement)

8. male – health minister of Egypt (cited from AP interview)

9. male – Egyptian who attended the protests

10. male – unidentified Egyptian who attended the protests

11. male – Egyptian

12. male – Egyptian demonstrator

13. male – Egyptian demonstrator

14. male – unidentified military spokesman

Notes/analysis: Previous posts and links have explored the joint roles both men and women are taking on in the Cairo demonstrations. Accompanying the lead story was a photo slide show of the demonstrations. Of the 18 images, one subject is female.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 2 was titled “The Real CSI: How America’s Patchwork System of Death Investigations puts the Living at Risk.” Its subject was America’s mortuary and autopsy practices are raising concerns in the criminal justice system. The story was produced in conjunction with Frontline and NPR.

Here is its gender breakdown:

Author: 3 male, 1 female

Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. male – forensic science consultant

2. male – coroner

3. female – medical examiner, author of report used for basis of story

4. male – doctor performing an autopsy

5. male – doctor

6. male -doctor and colleague of earlier source

7. female – civil rights attorney

8. female – sibling of autopsy recipient

9. unknown – unidentified assistant district attorney

10. male – family member of victim of incomplete autopsy

11. male – coroner and former police chief

12. male – forensic pathologist

13. male – sibling of autopsy recipient

14. male – Undersecretary for Forensic Science and Technology

15. male – Arkansas chief medical examiner

16. female – Kentucky chief medical examiner

17. male – former chief medical examiner in a Texas county

18. male – investigator in Oklahoma

19. male – forensic pathologist

20. male – former homicide detective

21. female – family member of autopsy recipient

22. male – investigator in Los Angeles

Notes/analysis: Deceased recipients of the autopsies mentioned in the story were not included in the source breakdown of the story, as they are not directly quoted. One of the seven accompanying photos, taken from the Frontline documentary, has a female subject.

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Gender Check: 1/26/11 Northeast

*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 12:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 26 was titled “Protesters in Egypt Defy Ban as Government Cracks Down.” Its subject was the continuing protests in Cairo after the Egyptian government outlawed any public gatherings.

Here is its gender breakdown:

Author: Male and Female (dual byline)

Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Assumed Male – Official Interior Ministry statement. Minister is male.

2. Female – U.S. ambassador to Egypt

3. Female – U.S. secretary of state

4. Male – human rights advocate

5. Male – researcher director at the Carnegie Middle East Center

6. Male – Egyptian protestor

7. Female – Egyptian protestor

8. Female – mother of Egyptian protestor

9. Female – doctor who participated in the protests

Notes/analysis: A well-balanced representation of the story in terms of gender. Both male and female Egyptians participated in the protests and that is reflected in the story. The lead photo with the story appears to only picture male protestors confronting police but gender identification is not clear.


Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 12:30 p.m. EST on Jan. 26 was titled “Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May be Overstated.” tIts subject was the EPA’s new analysis of the effects of natural gas as a primary energy source in the United States.

Here is its gender breakdown:

Author: Male

Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female – energy expert and professor at Carnegie Mellon University (cited her study, not directly quoted)

2. Male – CEO of a large energy company

3. Male – environmental biology professor at Cornell University (cited his research and comments)

4. Male – policy analyst

5. Male – president of a large energy company

Notes/analysis: A large portion of the information for the article comes from studies or comments and research from organizations or unnamed researchers.