Facts and Figures? We’ve Got Both.
“Getting women to enter the nation’s newsrooms is only part of the challenge. Keeping them there is a big challenge as well ...
... I read the data as suggesting that women have some doubts about the very nature of news work and of the definitions of news itself. News very often is conflictual. It focuses on social discord, rather than social harmony. It doesn’t always present society with solutions to problems.“
—Lee Becker, NMWE Advisory Board
Below is a compendium of research about the representation of women in the news media, as reporters and editors, producers and directors, students and faculty, managers and guests. What we don’t know – and aim to find out – is how the explosion of new media is changing the news landscape for women. In the face of media consolidation and mega-buyouts, the rise of citizen journalism and multimedia reporting, are more women journalists leaving traditional news operations to launch and lead their own news businesses? Is cyberspace a more welcoming place for women journalists? Are women bringing different news judgment as they conceive new Web sites? What do these trends mean for women consumers of news?
- Women comprise nearly two-thirds of journalism school students but only make up one-third of the full-time journalism workforce.That proportion has not changed for more than 25 years. Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communications, 2003. www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=17784
- In newspapers, 38 percent of journalists working in daily newspapers are women; 65 percent of all supervisors are men. American Society of Newspaper Editors, 2006 census http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=6506
- Consider that if the same number of women read the Detroit Free Press on an average weekday as do men, the paper’s average weekday readership would jump by a whopping 150,000. USA Today would add about 2.3 million readers. The Newsroom Leadership Group, March 2006 newsletter.
- In 2002, only one in five of the nation’s top female newspaper editors said they definitely wanted to move up in the news industry; 45 percent said they were looking to change newsrooms or leave the business entirely. The Great Divide: Female Leadership in U.S. Newsrooms, Pew Center for Civic Journalism and the American Press Institute, 2002. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/research/r_apipewstudy.pdf
- Women who enter newsrooms are leaving prematurely. In 1992, nearly 42 percent of journalists with five to nine years of experience were female. Ten years later, that group was only 26 percent female. As of 2002, more than half (54 percent) of women in newsrooms have fewer than five years experience. The American Journalist in the 21st Century. http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28784
- Only 3 percent of clout positions in mainstream media are held by women. “The Glass Ceiling Persists,“ Annenberg Public Policy Center, 2003. http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/NewsDetails.aspx?myId=33
- 24 percent of radio news directors are women; in non-commercial radio that figure is only 19 percent. Radio and Television News Directors’ Association. http://www.rtnda.org/media/pdfs/communicator/2007/julaug/ 20-25_Survey_Communicator.pdf
- Newspapers that enjoy growth from innovation and development are more likely to have a diverse set of leaders at the top: There are more women and minorities there than at newspapers that are not growing.“ “Women in Media,“ Media Management Center, Northwestern University, 2006. http://www.mediamanagementcenter.org/publications/wim2006.asp
- Compared to the U.S. civilian work force in 2000, journalists are considerably less likely to be women (33 percent vs. 46.5 percent) and even less likely than the overall U.S. managerial and professional work force in 2000, which included 49.8 percent women. The American Journalist in the 21st Century. http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28784
- Women were more than twice as likely as men to have majored in public relations. Annual Surveys of Journalism and Mass Communication. http://www.grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys/
- Women comprise just 15 percent of executive leaders and just 12 percent of board members in top communications companies. “The Glass Ceiling Persists,“ Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, 2003. http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/NewsDetails.aspx?myId=33
- Women have stayed at about 40 percent of the TV news workforce for almost a decade. They continue to make up a quarter of the TV news directors. Radio and Television News Directors’ Association. http://www.rtnda.org/media/pdfs/communicator/2007/julaug/20- 25_Survey_Communicator.pdf
- Women have been the majority of college journalism majors since 1977. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. http://www.mediareporttowomen.com/
- As of 2001, women made up 38 percent of faculty members in schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, but most held lower academic ranking. 45 percent of assistant professors were women, while women made up only 27 percent of full professors. Annual Surveys of Journalism and Mass Communication. http://www.grady.uga.edu/annualsurveys/Enrollment01/Supplemental/ ENRrpt2001FacDiv4.pdf
- Less than 20 percent of the nation’ largest newspapers have a female executive editor. “Women in Newspapers,“ Media Management Center, Northwestern University, 2003. http://www.mediamanagementcenter.org/publications/win2003.asp
- One in five of the nation’s top television stations has a woman news director. Radio and Television News Directors’ Association http://www.rtnda.org/media/pdfs/communicator/2007/julaug/ 20-25_Survey_Communicator.pdf
- Among newspaper managers, men are more satisfied with their assigned responsibilities and are more likely to expect a promotion. The Great Divide: Female Leadership in U.S. Newsrooms, 2002 Pew Center for Civic Journalism and the American Press Institute. http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/research/r_apipewstudy.pdf
- Women represent one quarter of writers in national “general interest” magazines. http://www.womentk.com
- Women have made little or no progress achieving the two highest decision making positions at radio stations—general manager and program director. 90 percent of radio program directors are men. 85 percent of the radio station general managers are men. Women in Media: Facts & Figures, MIW Radio Group, 2006. http://www.radiomiw.com/PDFs/PR-GenderAnalysis2006.pdf
- Women have stayed at about 40 percent of the TV news workforce for almost a decade. They continue to make up a quarter of the TV news directors. Radio and Television News Directors Association http://www.rtnda.org/media/pdfs/communicator/2007/julaug/ 20-25_Survey_Communicator.pdf
- Of the top 100 radio programs, only 15 are hosted by women. “Heavy Hundred,“ Talkers Magazine, 2007 http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&I temid=44
- As of 2000, among all journalists, the largest proportion of women worked for newsmagazines (44 percent) and the smallest for the major wire services (20 percent) and radio (22 percent). Women were 37 percent of TV journalists, 37 percent of weekly newspaper journalists, and 33 percent of daily newspaper journalists. American Journalist Survey, Indiana University School of Journalism, 2003. http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28784
- Women correspondents reported just 25 percent of news stories on major TV networks. Center for Media and Public Affairs, 2005.
- Women were just 14 percent of the guests on the Sunday morning TV from November 2004 to July 2005. The White House Project http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/culture/researchandpolls/ WhosTalking05.php
- A global media monitoring project found that worldwide, women represent 53 percent of presenters (anchors), 37 percent of reporters. Women are only 21 percent of “news subjects” overall. 25 percent of stories by women reporters feature women versus only 20 percent of stories by male reporters. World Association for Christian Communication. http://www.whomakesthenews.org/research/top_10_highlights
- Men and women have virtually identical rates of Internet use. United States National Telecommunication and Information Administration. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/part2.html http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn00/Falling.htm
- 28% of men report going online “yesterday” for news while just 19% of women do. Project for Excellence In Journalism. http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2007/narrative_online_audience.asp? cat=2&media=4
- There’s a gender divide when it comes to streaming video. In the 18-34 crowd, women are twice as likely to watch network TV shows; while men watch user-generated videos, such as on YouTube. Nielson Online Video Census http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080214-nielsen-youtube-is-from-mars- streaming-video-is-from-venus.html
- Women take the lead in Social Media. New research finds that more women than men stream video online, log onto social networking sites, use digital video recorders and engage in casual gaming. Women and Digital Lifestyles Study, March, 2008, Solutions Research Group, Toronto http://www.srgnet.com/pdf/FemmaGeeksTakeCharge%20Release(March%202008).pdf
- 36 million women are in the blogosphere as readers or people who post comments; 15 million women are publishing blogs. BlogHer/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Study http://www.blogher.com/files/BlogHer.CompassPartners.Social%20Media%20Study.ppt.pdf
