America’s big media, which has celebrated #MeToo, decried the lack of women in the Trump administration, and called for the recognition of female artists, appears to be run by a big boys club, according to a new newsroom survey.
The Women’s Media Center has just released its “Divided 2019: The Media Gender Gap,” and it found that the majority of news is produced by male journalists.
The key findings from the report:
- 69 percent of news wire bylines (AP and Reuters) are snagged by men, 31 percent by women — by far the biggest gender gap in news media.
- 63 percent of TV prime-time news broadcasts feature male anchors and correspondents; 37 percent feature women.
- 60 percent of online news is written by men; 40 percent by women.
- 59 percent of print news is written by men; 41 percent by women.
- Across all media platforms, men receive 63 percent of bylines and credits; women receive only 37 percent.
- In the print sector the widest gender gap was at USA Today, where 69 percent of articles were written by men and 31 percent by women.
“The media is in a state of great disruption, but despite all the change, one thing remains the same: fewer women report the news than men,” said Julie Burton, president of the Women’s Media Center.
“Media tells us what is important and who matters, and when the wires assign 69 percent of the stories to men, the message is clear where women stand,” Burton said in a statement. “A cultural, systemic shift is necessary if U.S media is to achieve gender parity — and move toward a world where stories fully represent the voices and perspectives of women.”
