Gender Bias in Network Reporting
In many newsrooms there is an enormous contradiction at work. Traditionalists regard gender issues and perspectives as "soft" or less significant. They assign such issues to women reporters. They create a separate section or plan separate treatment for displaying such news. The inconsistency is that women are the most vulnerable and abused victims of conflict. They make up the majority of victims. The violence ranges from assault to rape to homelessness and family disruption. There is absolutely nothing soft about these realities and issues, except traditional views. (Nepal Press Institute, 2004, p. 11)
Is it possible that in even in the 21st century, a gender bias still exists in the way our news is reported to us? If so, why is this the case?
Looking at a national news channel (such as CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, etc.), take notice of the number of women, as opposed to men, in anchor positions. Then, answer the following questions in a one page reflection:
1. How are women portrayed as anchors? Describe their appearance.
2. Are the women the sole anchors of the program? If not, where do they sit in relation do the male anchor? Why do you think this is?
3. During what time slot(s) do women anchor the news on this station?
4. Are there more female anchors than male anchors on this station? If so, why? If not, why not?
5. Do you believe this news channel exhibits a gender bias in the way the news is reported? Why or why not?
If you cannot find the time to view the news channel, then visit their website and find the “Anchor/Reporter” page. Scan the page, and take note of the following questions:
1. If there are photographs of the main anchors of the news channel, do they mainly consist of men or women? Why might this be the case?
2. Who are the primary anchors listed for primetime news (6-10 PM)?
3. Are there more male reporters than female reporters? If so, why? If not, why not?
4. Do you believe this news channel, based on your viewing of their website, exhibits a gender bias in the way the news is reported? Why or why not?
5. Can one make this type of judgment without actually viewing the channel?
Bibliography
Nepal Press Institute (2004). Introduction. In F. Lloyd & R. Howard, Gender, conflict, and
journalism: A guidebook for
Assignment created by: Jason Griffith, Julie Hall Leach, and Randy Manis
Reports by: Jason Griffith, Travis Hargett, and Randy Manis
Jason Griffith:
FOX News
There seems to be a certain formula followed for the appearance of the anchors. The women who anchor the news mostly appear to be older women, probably late-30’s or early-40’s, and are dressed in suits. The correspondents appear to be younger women, probably mid-20’s to early-30’s, and are dressed more casually.
Also to my surprise there are several shows on the network that are anchored solely by females. While male anchors do have more featured shows than female anchors, the numbers are not greatly lopsided. As far as female and male anchors go, there seems to be no formula for how the female and male anchors sit. On some shows the male sits first, on others the female does. On a lot of shows each anchor is given their own station and the camera focuses solely on them.
Most of the shows anchored solely by women are featured in the daytime, with a couple of exceptions on the weekend news shows. However, the primetime news shows are dominated by male anchors.
When examining the number of female and male anchors on the Fox News Channel, I was surprised to learn that there is not a big difference in the numbers of each. Fox News has 84 male anchors and 79 female anchors, a difference of only 5 more male anchors. This suggests that, while there are more male anchors, the network does make an attempt to even the numbers out.
After examining all the data, the Fox News Channel does not appear to have a gender bias. There are more male anchors, but the differential is not staggering. There are more male anchored television shows, but there are a great deal of female anchored shows as well. I think that the overall message is that the network leans slightly more towards males, but not enough to suggest a true bias.
Travis Hargett:
FOX News
1. How are women portrayed as anchors? Describe their appearance.
Dress and appearance are very conservative. Mostly dress suits and conservative hairstyles, not a lot of individuality or distinction between anchors.
2. Are the women the sole anchors of the program? If not, where do they sit in relation do
the male anchor? Why do you think this is?
There are very few instances with women being the sole anchors. Usually they are the secondary anchor to a male anchor (or anchors) that hosts the show.
3. During what time slot(s) do women anchor the news on this station?
There are women who co-anchor various shows throughout the day, but about the only show anchored solely by a woman is “On The Record With Greta Van Susteren”, which is shown daily at 10 pm.
4. Are there more women anchors than male anchors on this station? If so,why? If not,
why not?
No, there are more male anchors overall. This may be due to the fact that the target audience seems to be conservative males, or simply a bias by network executives toward male anchors.
5. Do you believe this news channel exhibits a gender bias in the way the news is reported?
Why or why not?
Yes, to a degree, because it does not seem that women have as much of a role in reporting as men on this network. Most of the shows are hosted by male anchors and the female anchors on this network generally are given only a secondary role.
Randy Manis:
CNN: The Chauvinist News Network?
Having not had the time necessary to view this 24 hour news channel, I decided to visit their official website instead. I discovered some very interesting tidbits that I think would shed some light on the issue of gender bias in the media.
First, I searched for the “Anchor/Reporter” page, and lo and behold, I stumbled across the find of the CNN century! There were photographs of Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, and Larry King highlighted on the main page. King’s photograph was considerably larger than the others, perhaps because he is the more prominent anchor on CNN. I was not surprised by the lack of any female photographs; they do not comprise any of the primetime evening anchor positions.
It may be interesting to note that the anchors are four white males, ranging in age (an assumption) from mid-forties (Cooper) to late-seventies (King). In my opinion, CNN is banking on Blitzer and Cooper to take over the reins when Dobbs and King decide to hang it up for good. Why a woman could not take over is beyond me. Campbell Brown and Soledad O’Brien, two reporters who left NBC for CNN, are very capable anchors who both show great promise.
In terms of the number of male reporters to female reporters, CNN is fairly consistent. If my calculations are correct, there are 45 male reporters as opposed to 49 female reporters. Now, if one were to also consider Blitzer, Cooper, Dobbs, and King as male reporters, then the numbers are tied. One could then argue that CNN is non-discriminatory in the number of male and female reporters hired to bring us the news.
CNN is where I get the majority of my breaking news and political news. I trust their programming, and I certainly trust their anchors and reporters. With that said, I do think that to an extent, CNN is somewhat biased in the fact that there are no female anchors headlining the primetime lineup. Rather, there are four anchors, each of whom has a rather monotonous voice. I understand that there are some people who don’t really pay attention to who is delivering the news, but I value a woman’s perspective as much as I do a fellow man’s. There is no excuse for not allowing a female to deliver the evening news, especially when they are just as capable and competent as a male.
I think that if one views the channel before they view the website, they will be able to take notice of the gender bias that exists. However, I also believe that if one looks at the “Anchor/Reporter” website and sees the photographs of the four male anchors, then they can begin to piece together the gender bias that CNN exhibits. The gender bias that I believe CNN exhibits is greatly disheartening and disappointing.
CNN Programs Anchors/Reporters. (n.d). Retrieved February 24, 2008 from
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/