THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IS NOT GOOD

The status of women in U.S. media in 2012 isn’t good. In fact, it’s extremely disappointing.

Women’s Media Center put together a variety of statistics from research conducted by various organizations over the past couple of years and published the data in a report called “The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2012.”

The report authors, Robin H. Pugh Yi, Ph.D. and Craig T. Dearfield, M.A., note that the U.S. population is 51% female and ethnically diverse, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at what’s under the hood of the media industry. They revealed statistical gems like the following:

• Just 26% of sources in 2010 were women.

• Of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America in 2011 (selected by the editors ofTalkers magazine with input from industry leaders), only 13 included solo women hosts and three women who co-host shows with men.

• Just 21.7% of guests on Sunday morning news talk shows on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and Fox News in 2011 were women.

• Only 11% of sports editors in 2011 were women. Furthermore, just 10% of sports columnists and 7% of sports reporters in 2011 were women.

• Only 25% of all creators, executive producers, producers, directors, writers, editors, and directors of photography working on television comedies, dramas, and reality programs that aired on the top broadcast networks during the 2010-2011 prime-time season were women. Furthermore, women made up just 15% of writers, 11% of directors, and just 4% of directors of photography during the same time period.

• Just 18% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working at the top 250 domestic grossing films in 2011 were women. Furthermore, just 5% of directors, 15% of writers, and 4% of cinematographers were women during the same time period.

• Just 24% of the people interviewed, heard, seen, or read about in mainstream broadcast and print news in 2010 were female.

• Only 13% of stories in mainstream broadcast and print news in 2010 focused specifically on women.

• Just 6% of stories in mainstream broadcast and print news in 2010 focused specifically on issues of gender equality or inequality.

• Women were news subjects for just 23% of stories on 84 monitored websites in 2010.

Source: http://www.womenonbusiness.com/the-status-of-women-in-media-is-not-good/