At a time when more women than ever before are serving in Congress, we still rarely see examples of female leaders holding positions of prestige and power in popular movies and TV shows.
Search Results for: Megan Tady
Feb
01
2013
GENDER FOCUS: Few Roles for Female Role Models
Fictional women leaders lag real world
By Megan Tady
Dec
01
2012
'Half the Sky' Tells Half the Story
PBS doc oversimplifies gender violence
By Megan Tady
The PBS documentary Half the Sky is disturbing, and not just because the film depicts violence inflicted on women and girls around the world. A shuddering amount of information about the complexities of violence and human rights abuses was left on the cutting-room floor (or never filmed at all), creating a neat, American-friendly, tie-it-up-with-a-bow film that oversimplifies and misrepresents gender-based violence. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide is a four-hour “event” based on the book of the same name by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife, investment banking executive and former Times reporter [...]
Oct
01
2012
The Year of the Woman?
Olympics coverage undercuts event advances
By Megan Tady
When Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen won gold medals in the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys in London, she knocked a second off the world record, and five seconds off her personal best. But rather than applaud and admire her accomplishments, the media threw doubt and suspicion on Shiwen’s wins, leveling evidence-free accusations of drug use (New York Times, 7/31/12). The media coverage rang with sexism and racism; how could a Chinese woman pull this off? CNN (8/1/12) was incredulous that Shiwen swam faster than a (white) man—American gold medalist Ryan Lochte. The UK’s Daily Mail explicitly questioned Shiwen’s gender (7/30/12): [...]
Aug
01
2012
Gender Focus: Put Women at the Presidential Debate Podium
Two decades since last female moderator
By Megan Tady
It’s been 20 years since a female journalist has been chosen to moderate a presidential debate. Yes, women have held the post for vice presidential debates, but that’s hardly the real deal. ABC News’ Carole Simpson was the last woman to lob questions at presidential candidates, back in 1992. What is going on? Well, I guess I get it. After all, imagine what would happen if a woman was tasked to broker a conversation between the two most important people in U.S. politics. Why, she just might ask for the candidates’ favorite pie recipes, or not know about the economic [...]
May
01
2012
Letters to the Editor
Extra! April 2012
Journalists, Teachers and the War for Truth Journalists like Robert Jensen certainly do “rock” (Extra!, 3/12) but like we teachers are caught between that and a hard place. After 25 years of teaching “in the trenches,” I’ve always understood how the war for truth goes: Journalists are in the front lines and we teachers are the support troops. Both of our professions are fighting for truth in a world filled with lies and, as always in war, truth is the first casualty. Ray Peterson Buffalo, N.Y. Kettle Owes Pot Apology In the April 2011 edition of Extra!, a Soundbites piece [...]
Apr
01
2012
Women's Bodies, Men's Voices
All-male contraception debates signal rollback of reproductive rights
By Megan Tady
In mid-February, Congress convened an all-male panel to discuss “religious freedom” (read: birth control), and rejected a woman who attempted to testify. The next day, a gaggle of only men appeared on the MSNBC talkshow Morning Joe (2/17/12) to consider the atrocity of an all-male panel weighing women’s reproductive rights. The irony was lost on the fellas, but not on this broad, though I did consider asking four celibate men to write this column for me while I blushed demurely in the corner every time the word “contraception” was mentioned. Then I remembered it’s not 1950. Here’s what’s really got [...]
Mar
19
2010
Jemima Pierre on Haiti, Megan Tady on TV Wars
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: The network camera crews have mostly packed up and gone home, but the political fights over reconstruction and rebuilding in Haiti are only just getting started. University of Texas professor Jemima Pierre was part of a delegation that recently visited Haiti, and she wrote about what she saw for The Nation. She'll join us to talk about what she found, and where the Haiti story is headed next. Also on the show: Media technology can put more control in consumers' hands over the gathering and sharing of information and entertainment. But some folks would [...]
Mar
01
2010
Inside the TV Wars
The battles to watch over what you can watch
By Megan Tady
The real fight to watch isn’t on television—Conan vs. Leno, Olbermann vs. O’Reilly. Rather, it’s about television, and the future of online video—a fight that pits cable and content companies against consumers. Instead of being glued to our favorite shows, we’d be wise to pay attention to the various battles, mergers and backroom deals happening between big media corporations who are trying desperately to cling to a sinking broadcast media model—and pull the public down with them. Cable and broadcast companies see the writing on the wall, and it no longer spells “media empire.” Although a majority of Americans are [...]
