It's 2021 and Men Still Overwhelmingly Report the News

UPDATE: (Nov. 20, 2021) Due to a coding error, the Women’s Media Center has pulled the report that this blog post is based on and will be re-running the numbers. I will post the correct outcomes as soon as the report is republished.

People are often shocked when I tell them that I probably got my first job in television because of a U.S. government incentive — the closest the U.S. has ever come to a quota system that tracked the numbers of women and minorities (at that time) who were hired by media companies that operated with public licenses — i.e., local television and radio stations.?

This was 1972 and part of the Equal Opportunity Act programs to improve representation in what was, somewhat ironically, called "mass media" then. Nothing nearly so massive (or dangerous) as today’s truly mass media companies. The outcome of the government?incentive was that nearly every local TV station hired at least one woman and one person of color.

I was among those first women who got the opportunity — and the challenge — to prove that better representation meant better news,?more inclusive programming,?and more viewers.

We are still trying to prove that responsible media must include a diversity of voices and perspectives — stories and experiences from every community; analysis and opinions from every perspective. The numbers of both women and people of color have improved of course, but a recent?report?from the?Women’s Media Center, a nonprofit founded by?Gloria Steinem,?Robin Morgan, and?Jane Fonda, to monitor representation, found that, regrettably, gender and racial equity in media is going in the wrong direction. With a few exceptions,?gender inequality in America’s newsrooms continues across all media platforms as men overall receive 65% of news bylines and credits, and women receive 34%.?

Here are some of the key findings:?prime-time weekday evening news broadcasts are the most equitable, while print newspapers and wires are the least.

WMC researchers analyzed 62,002 pieces of content from January 1 through March 31, 2021 for 30 news outlets across four platforms: print newspaper, online news, broadcast network and cable TV news, and wire services in the United States. The full report, Divided 2021: The Media Gender Gap, is available on its website.

“The Women’s Media Center found that, during this moment of newsroom reckoning, men still dominate when reporting the news,” said Julie Burton, president and CEO of the Women’s Media Center. “Women are more than half of the population, yet it’s men who are telling most of the stories. As a result, the news media is missing out on major stories, readers, and viewers and important perspectives. The gender gap is real. We hope that the industry will take heed and implement meaningful change.”

The Good News: Broadcast News Reaches Parity

On average, men and women report equally on prime-time weekday evening news broadcasts on seven major broadcast and cable networks. MSNBC, PBS, and CBS all featured more than 60% women; ABC had the fewest women at only 28%.

News broadcasts that are anchored or hosted by women tend to have more reporting by women than the broadcasts that are anchored or hosted by men.?

• MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” with host Joy Reid: 70% women, 30% men.
• PBS “NewsHour,” where Judy Woodruff is anchor and managing editor: 66% women, 34% men.
• CBS “Evening News,” where Norah O’Donnell is the anchor and managing editor: 61% women, 39% men.
• CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront”: 53% women, 47% men.
• The exception is Fox News’ “The Story,” with host Martha MacCallum: 39% women; 61% men.
• Of the seven news broadcasts, ABC’s “World News Tonight,” anchored by David Muir, had the fewest women at 28%.

The Bad News: Print Still Lags Behind

The WMC commissioned the first Divided Media Report back in 2014. That study analyzed a different mix of print publications, but the findings for the category (63% men / 37% women) were better than this year's finding (69% men / 31% women). Digging into the numbers, we can see that some newspapers have improved over the years, though maybe not as quickly as we might hope. The New York Times, for instance, was the most "divided" publication back in 2014 with 70% men / 30% women. In 2021, it rose to the top of the stack with a 59% men / 41% women breakdown. Still not parity, but measurable improvement nonetheless.?

Meanwhile, newspapers that were doing better than others in the?2014 report, such as the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times have fallen in representation, with the WSJ going from 43% of stories written by women to only 33% this year. The LA Times went from 35% women bylines to 19% in 2021.

Unpacking the Numbers

Why aren't we making much progress? Many of the barriers to advancement that women in newsrooms are facing are the same ones that have existed for decades — and the pandemic has only amplified them. Newsrooms have always had a 24/7 culture that rewards those who can work long hours and can adjust their schedules on the fly when news breaks. Primary caregivers, who are mostly women, are forced to choose between child care responsibilities and career advancement. I faced this impossible choice many times as a single mother working in media companies at a time when we quite literally "hid"?photos of our children and suppressed the struggle. The struggle continues and?some decide to leave the profession.?

The question of whether media leads or mirrors cultural, economic, political trends is still a subject for debate — i.e., the media's impact on the current polarization, an increase in violence and even the rise in mental health challenges, to name just a few of our current societal challenges. But one aspect of media that is seldom doubted or up for debate is its power! The media has the power to mis- or under-represent, and the power to inform or misinform. This power is still primarily being directed by one gender and one race — from the top levels of ownership of media (and technology companies that are certainly today’s “mass” media because they control our newsfeeds) throughout the ranks of journalists and news management executives. This mirrors, regrettably, the underrepresentation of women and people of color at COP26, where the news of what is happening is of essential importance to every human being on the planet.

It’s no surprise that when dictators seize power or coups attempt to overthrow democracies, media is a frontline player — note, for example, the Taliban’s attempts to control the internet and media to complete their takeover in Afghanistan or the role of social media in the attempt to take over the U.S. Capitol building last January. The power of all media must be acknowledged, and in my opinion,?better regulated?as the original "mass" media of TV and radio (and what used to be called "cable") once were — and to some extent, still are. As consumers of media and citizens of a democracy, we must always be mindful of who owns the media;?who reports and produces?what we consume; and whose voices and perspectives and opinions are heard, viewed, and shared, because it matters.

The power to hold media accountable is, quite literally, in our hands.?

Onward!

- Pat