It’s a man’s world
Report released by Global Media Monitoring Project analyses gender distribution in news stories covered by media.
ISLAMABAD:
An international report analysing prominent news media of 108 countries, including Pakistan, was released on Wednesday. The report, released simultaneously all over the world, was launched in Islamabad in a ceremony organised by Uks Research, Resource and Publication Center on Women and Media.
The report, released by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), analyses the gender distribution in news stories covered by media on a single chosen day. According to GMMP’s website, on November 10, 2009, “trained volunteers from women’s rights organisations, media professional associations, and universities monitored the representation of women and men and gender portrayal in their local news media.”
The GMMP monitored 1,365 newspaper, television and radio stations and internet sites, 17,795 news stories and 38,253 persons in the news in 108 countries, which makes up 82 per cent of the world population.
Most participants at the event said they were “not satisfied” with the findings of the report. They felt that one day is not sufficient to capture a clear picture of Pakistani media on gender issues. Tahira Abdullah, a renowned social activist, said, “The report failed to clearly interpret whether it is beneficial for a female to be on the media or not.”
The report states that in Pakistan, women are significantly underrepresented and misrepresented in news media. Males contribute to 73 per cent of new subjects, while women make up only 27 per cent.
A total of 68 per cent of news subjects on TV channels were related to men, while the remaining were women. In radio, the male to female ratio was 9 to 1. In newspapers, the report found, 81 per cent subjects discussed men, while only 19 per cent tackled women.
The participants said the survey failed to include regional and local TV channels and publications. They said the researchers only focused on current affairs channels and missed out entertainment channels and advertisements. “The researchers should have had discussions with media heads and interviewed high profile media personalities over gender issues,” said one participant.
The findings of the GMMP report reveals that across the globe, 76 per cent of the people heard or read about in the world’s news are male. “The world seen in news media remains largely a male one,” it said.
The international report reveals that across the globe, about 24 per cent people in the news are female, compared to 17 per cent in 1995. A total of 44 percent of persons providing popular opinion in news are female compared to 34 per cent in 2005.
This was the first time that Pakistan was part of GMMP, which started 15 years ago.
GMMP is coordinated by the World Association for Christian Communication and the report in 2010 was the fourth such report by the project. The media monitoring took place this year in order to publish the results in time for key global processes scheduled for 2010, including the Beijing +15 review and the Millennium Development Goals Review Summit.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2010.
An international report analysing prominent news media of 108 countries, including Pakistan, was released on Wednesday. The report, released simultaneously all over the world, was launched in Islamabad in a ceremony organised by Uks Research, Resource and Publication Center on Women and Media.
The report, released by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), analyses the gender distribution in news stories covered by media on a single chosen day. According to GMMP’s website, on November 10, 2009, “trained volunteers from women’s rights organisations, media professional associations, and universities monitored the representation of women and men and gender portrayal in their local news media.”
The GMMP monitored 1,365 newspaper, television and radio stations and internet sites, 17,795 news stories and 38,253 persons in the news in 108 countries, which makes up 82 per cent of the world population.
Most participants at the event said they were “not satisfied” with the findings of the report. They felt that one day is not sufficient to capture a clear picture of Pakistani media on gender issues. Tahira Abdullah, a renowned social activist, said, “The report failed to clearly interpret whether it is beneficial for a female to be on the media or not.”
The report states that in Pakistan, women are significantly underrepresented and misrepresented in news media. Males contribute to 73 per cent of new subjects, while women make up only 27 per cent.
A total of 68 per cent of news subjects on TV channels were related to men, while the remaining were women. In radio, the male to female ratio was 9 to 1. In newspapers, the report found, 81 per cent subjects discussed men, while only 19 per cent tackled women.
The participants said the survey failed to include regional and local TV channels and publications. They said the researchers only focused on current affairs channels and missed out entertainment channels and advertisements. “The researchers should have had discussions with media heads and interviewed high profile media personalities over gender issues,” said one participant.
The findings of the GMMP report reveals that across the globe, 76 per cent of the people heard or read about in the world’s news are male. “The world seen in news media remains largely a male one,” it said.
The international report reveals that across the globe, about 24 per cent people in the news are female, compared to 17 per cent in 1995. A total of 44 percent of persons providing popular opinion in news are female compared to 34 per cent in 2005.
This was the first time that Pakistan was part of GMMP, which started 15 years ago.
GMMP is coordinated by the World Association for Christian Communication and the report in 2010 was the fourth such report by the project. The media monitoring took place this year in order to publish the results in time for key global processes scheduled for 2010, including the Beijing +15 review and the Millennium Development Goals Review Summit.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2010.