Media Reaction to a Woman Murdered at Work Is ‘Nothing to See Here’
A male coworker allegedly bludgeoning Amber Czech to death has nothing to tell us, evidently, about broader trends or influences.
Sports Press Covers WNBA Negotiations From Owners’ Point of View
Too many news reports have catered to owners’ interests when reporting on the negotiations between the players’ union and the league.
NYT Mourns Lost Glamour of Jeffrey Epstein’s New York
In reporting on Epstein and his orbit, the New York Times seems more concerned with the problems of the powerful than the circumstances of their victims.
WaPo Tells Women: If You Want Marriage, Compromise With Misogyny
Since it’s Democrats who say they won’t date Republicans, the Washington Post suggests it’s young liberal women who need to “compromise.”
Mass Shooters’ Most Common Trait—Their Gender—Gets Little Press Attention
Out of 20,000 pieces on recent mass shootings, FAIR found only 37 that linked shootings to toxic masculinity or misogyny.
Misogyny, Theocracy and Other Missing Issues in Post-Roe Coverage
What’s missing from the press coverage is any real discussion of the agenda of having power over women’s lives and destiny.
Some Things Considered, Mostly by White Men
A new FAIR study finds that NPR commentary is dominated by white men and almost never directly addresses political issues.
Washington Post Reserves Dignity in Death for Some Women
How do you know that the women whose murders the Washington Post is reporting were sex workers or dealing with substance abuse?
Despite Soaring Popularity, Women’s Sports Got More Coverage a Generation Ago
While many might conclude that the news media are simply giving viewers “what they want,” our data suggest that the news media, through their commentary and coverage, help to build and sustain audiences and fans of men’s sports while containing any interest in women’s sports.
NYT: ‘Too Generous’ Family Policies Cause Discrimination Against Women
“It turns out that generous maternity leave and flexible rules on part-time work can make it harder for women to be promoted — or even hired at all.” That’s one way to put it, and the New York Times article puts it that way repeatedly.
Drone-Strike Feminism
US corporate media outlets have acted as cheerleaders and stenographers, allowing the US government to hijack the deterioration of women’s rights as a selling point for perpetual war.
Missing a Killer’s Connections
Media outlets whitewashing reality are doing a disservice to their readers and help guarantee that Elliot Rodger’s perverse combination of violent racism and sexism will live on with little challenge.
Dave Zirin on World Cup, Sarah Jaffe on Supreme Court
Much of the world is tuned into the World Cup. And while the drama on the field is on our TV screens, what about the wrenching political and economic upheaval in host country Brazil that has inspired millions to protest? That’s the World Cup story Dave Zirin has been reporting, he’ll join us to talk about it.
Also this week: The Supreme Court rulings in Hobby Lobby and Harris, though reportedly narrow, may have far-reaching impacts. Particularly as both almost exclusively affect working women. We’ll talk with Sarah Jaffe of In These Times.
For U.S. Media, Rape Culture Is There, Not Here
The brutal gang rape of a university student in Delhi last December out-raged the establishment media, which were quick to paint India as a nation plagued by deep-seated sexism and misogyny. The New York Times opined (12/29/12) that the rape reflected “an alarming trend in India” of “tolerat[ing] shocking abuse of women” who are “shamed […]
SoundBites May 2013
‘How Short Our Memory Is’ Looking back at the 10th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough (Morning Joe, 3/19/13) scorned media outlets and others who failed to acknowledge their responsibility for leading the country into war: “The very same people who spent years beating up George Bush were the very ones beating the […]
Comic Book Superheroes Face Their Greatest Challenge!
Despite the fact that you can’t turn on the TV without being reminded about the existence of superhero movies, the original medium for superhero stories —comic books—has been in significant decline over the past few years. They’ve tried to bring in new readers by diversifying their line-up: DC Comics rebooted everything with its “New 52!” […]
Year of the Woman, Take Two
If you relied on major media outlets for coverage of last November’s elections, you could be forgiven for thinking women were poised to rule the country in 2013. “From Congress to Halls of State… Women Rule,” the New York Times (1/1/13) trumpeted. “Big Gains for Women in 2012,” shouted CNN (11/7/12). “113th Congress Welcomes Benches […]
GENDER FOCUS: Few Roles for Female Role Models
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.
‘Half the Sky’ Tells Half the Story
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 […]
Videogame Bigotry and the Illusion of Freedom
The definitive element of a videogame is the player’s agency within the game’s world. Instead of “viewers,” games have “players,” and the player makes dozens of choices every minute that directly shape the experience: Will Mario sneak around the turtle monster, or will he jump on it until it dies? That sense of control over […]
