St. Louis Beacon

Gender check: 3/3/11 – 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 2:45 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 3, was titled “Jury finds Shepard guilty after he confesses killing University City police sergeant.” Its subject was a man, who the article describes as “mixed race but considers himself black,” being found guilty by a jury after admitting to killing a white police officer, partly as retribution for the shooting of his girlfriend, also black, by a different white police officer who was later cleared in the incident.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, suspect

2. Male, judge

3. Male, prosecutor


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 2:45 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 3, was titled “29,000 answers, one question: How do cities grow?.” Its subject was a look at a population loss of 29,000 people over the course of a decade in St. Louis and what that says about the city and its future.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, resident, talk show host

2. Male, alderman

3. Female, press secretary for mayor

4. Male, director of research

5. Male, executive director of restoration group

6. Male, new arrival

7. Female, new arrival (married to above, moved due to her job)

8. Female, new arrival

9. Male, alderman

10. Male, alderman

11. Male, alderman

12. Female, resident, formerly did city planning work

Notes/analysis: The City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen is composed of 28 ward representatives, eight of which are female.

Gender check: 2/24/11 – 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 the Stltoday, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 24, was titled “Missouri man pleads guilty in sex slave case.” Its subject was one of five defendants in the alleged sexual slavery and torture of a mentally disabled woman entering a guilty plea.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male and female, male is one of the co-defendants (couple “said”)

2. Male, defendant that entered guilty plea

3. Female, lawyer

Notes/analysis: This article continues a saga that’s been somewhat controversial since it came to light last fall. It involves accusations of sexual and physical torture over the course of five years, that a U.S. attorney referred to as “among the most horrific ever prosecuted” in the Western District of Missouri. But, at the same time, the alleged ring leader, his wife and many from their community are claiming that the woman was not in fact a sex slave but an active, consenting participant in the actions. They also debate whether she does have “mental deficiencies.” The story, particularly its original headline, on the doubts about the woman’s story also sparked its own drama.


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. 24, was titled “Monetary gains make solar power a more practical choice.” Its subject was solar energy and the current incentives offered to use it.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, of environmental coalition

2. Male, director of operations for chemical distributor

3. Male, of solar company

4. Male, home owner

5. Male, home owner

6. Male, home owner

7. Male, with solar company

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: 2/10/11 – 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 the Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 10, was titled “Busch girlfriend had lethal doses of cocaine and oxycodone; no prosecution planned.” Its subject was the cause of death of the girlfriend of the former chief executive of Anheuser-Busch.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, prosecuting attorney

2. Male, boyfriend of the deceased

Notes/analysis: It’s noteworthy that the deceased woman whose death is the subject of the story is always defined as being a famous man’s girlfriend, in the headline and the lede. There are details about earlier parts of his life, but readers, at least of this particular article, learn nothing about her — where she’s from, what she did, her family, etc. The only background about her is that she’d been dating him for two years.


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 10 was titled “The bigger picture of Pruitt-Igoe.” Its subject was a documentary about the myths surrounding a federal housing project.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, resident in housing project

2. Male, documentary producer

3. Male, director

4. Male, journalist

5. Female, film participant

Notes/analysis: The article also contains three mug shots, all of male sources.

Gender check: 2/3/11 – 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 4:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 3, was titled “Metro seeks termination of bus driver in fatal St. Louis crash.” Its subject was an incident earlier in the day in which a 60-year-old woman died after being run over by a bus. The male bus driver did not realize it happened.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Female, metro spokeswoman

2. Male, witness (unnamed)

3. Male, police officer

Notes/analysis: This story is evolving and being constantly updated, but it’s interesting to note at this point that though the female source is the first referenced (in the lede), she’s not named until much later in the story, after the other two sources (both male) are mentioned.


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 4:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Feb. 3, was titled “Companies, lawmakers battle ‘antidumping’ tariffs on magnesium.” Its subject was an anticipated U.S. International Trade Commission vote on continuing tariffs on imports of magnesium and its impacts.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, company vice-president of operations

2. Male, general manager of different die-casting company

3. Female and male, two U.S. Senators in a letter

4. Male, U.S. Senator

5.  Male, a company president

6. Female, marketing director

Notes/analysis: This article relied heavily on upper management sources within die-casting companies.