The boys on the bus are kind of a boys' club, as a new study from the Women's Media Center and the 4th Estate Project found that 72 percent of newspapers articles covering the general election between April 16 and August 25 were written by men. In the primary season — January 1 through April 15 — 76 percent were.
We are in an election year, wherein The Associated Press' Nicholas Riccardi writes that "both sides agree that this campaign has been marked by an unusual intensity of debate over women's issues, particularly reproductive rights." In a release (brought to us via Callie Schweitzer on Twitter), Women's Media Center uses these numbers to highlight the striking disparity:
Women’s Media Center President Julie Burton said, “In this so-called 'Year of the Woman,' this study just goes to show that when it comes to presidential elections it’s still a ‘boys on the bus’ world.”
But talk of a male-heavy media is nothing new. The Women's Media Center points out: "According to surveys by the American Society of News Editors’ Newsroom Employment Census, 62 percent of newsroom reporters are men." Meanwhile, back in April The Atlantic Wire's Jen Doll noted that only 22 of NYU's “100 Outstanding Journalists in the United States in the Last 100 Years” were women.
According to the Women's Media Center the study surveyed "national and state newspapers" including "those with the nation’s highest circulation rates, like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today." We have to wonder if the statistics might change if the study chose to evaluate online or television media.
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