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Gender check: 3/31/11 – 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 1:15 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 31, was titled “Judge declares Missouri ethics law unconstitutional.” Its subject was a county judge declaring an ethics law passed by the state legislature the prior year unconstitutional because it covers multiple subjects.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Unknown, official for ethics commission (unnamed)

2. Male, circuit judge

3. Male, county attorney


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 1:15 p.m. (MST)  Thursday, March 31, was titled “Earnings tax backers stage big effort to get out the vote.” Its subject was efforts to get people out to vote for Prop E, to keep a 1 percent earnings tax as a part of the city’s budget. It currently accounts for one-third of the budget, or $140 million.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, spokesman for campaign for Prop E

2. Male, spokesman for group against

3. Male, spokesman for campaign for Prop A (unnamed)

4. Female, spokeswoman for male businessman (unnamed)

5. Female, spokeswoman for male mayor (unnamed)

6. Male, spokesman for female comptroller

Notes/analysis: This article was heavily reliant on spokespeople for organizations or individuals. It’s interesting to note that those who spoke for individuals were always of the opposite gender of the person they spoke on behalf. Both spokeswomen were unnamed, as was one of four spokesmen.

Gender check: 3/24/11 – 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 Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:30 p.m. (MST) March 24, was titled “Tiny Missouri town is perfectly centered.” Its subject was a town being names the U.S.’s new population center.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of city’s board

2. Male, director of the Census Bureau

Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 5:30 p.m. (MST) March 24, was titled “Federal regulators say Midwest BankCentre’s fair lending record ‘needs to improve.’” Its subject was was the release of a fair lending performance review report that showed that a bank “needs to improve.”

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, chairman of the bank

2. Female, assistant director of equal housing opportunity council

Notes/analysis: The article quotes mainly from the report.

Gender check: 3/17/11 – 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 2 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 17, was titled “Death penalty supporters advance bills in Illinois House.” Its subject was efforts to reinstate the death penalty in the state of Illinois.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

2. Male, state representative


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) Thursday, March 17, was titled “Missouri House debate on Prop B reveals deep rural-urban split.” Its subject was a debate on regulations around dog breeding currently in the Missouri House.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, state representative

2. Male, state representative

3. Male, state senator

4. Male, president of the Humane Society of the United States

5. Male, state representative

6. Male, state representative

7. Male, state senator

8. Female, state senator

9. Female, state representative

10. Male, state representative

11. Male, state representative

12. Male, political science professor

13. Male, governor

14. Male, state House speaker

Notes/analysis: A lot of male voices dominated this story, but, as discussed in earlier Gender Checks, they also make up the majority of legislators in Missouri’s state government. However, the House has more of a balance than the Senate. Women make up more than 40 percent of the state House, while constituting only 23 percent of the state Senate.

Gender check: 3/10/11 – 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 Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:50 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 10, was titled “Funeral service set for slain U.S. deputy marshal.” Its subject was a funeral service set in the death of a deputy U.S. marshal killed during an attempt to apprehend a fugitive.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female (2 males and 1 female also contributed to the report)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, commander of the city’s violent offender unit

2. Female, suspect’s mother (in a letter)

3. Male, founder of a site that tracks police deaths

4. Male, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

5. Male, a U.S. marshal

Notes/analysis: Those involved in the incident appear to be male, specifically the the shooter as well as the person killed and two others who were injured. The article includes mention of an increase in violence toward law enforcement officials over the past year. The Officer Down Memorial Page, which was mentioned via its founder in the article, shows that so far in 2011 approximately 38 officers have been killed — five of them were women.


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 3:50 p.m. (MST) Thursday, March 10, was titled “With April election looming, St. Louis County assessor’s race heats up.” Its subject
was details of the race between the final two candidates to become St. Louis County’s first elected assessor for the April 5 election.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male, county executive (paraphrased)

2. Female, constituent

3. Female, U.S. Senate candidate

4. Male, Republican candidate

5. Democratic candidate

Notes/analysis: Despite the fact that the race features two male candidates, the article still had a balance of both male and female sources. The article mentions that the two candidates have their final face off tonight — moderated by the League of Women Voters at the University of Missouri St. Louis. The League, which has chapters throughout the United States, was formed shortly before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Originally, the organization, which works on encouraging informed participation in government, was for women only, but that was changed in 1973 when men were allowed to join.

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.