THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE U.S MEDIA 2015

WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER
Less than 5 percent cited three or more women.
On average, the female columnists had been in the news industry for 24 years, while
a third of them had been newswomen for at least 30 years.
In the study’s conclusion, these researchers also wrote:
“The results offer reasons for cautious celebration. … This study revealed that although
inroads have been made to include more females in the public sphere of commentary
and opinion, there remains much work to be done before female voices achieve the
same level of participation as male writers.
“… [As] deceased journalist, journalism educator and author of “She Said What? Interviews
With Women Newspaper Columnists,” Maria Braden argued two decades ago,
putting a column by a woman on the same page as columns written by men has symbolic
value and sends a message that women’s opinions matter and women are worth
taking seriously.”
The study did not review online-only editorials, though the researchers said those also
should be analyzed, given how the online sphere continues to supplant traditional print
publications.
In sports journalism
Two women listed among Talker magazine’s “Heavy Hundred”
of sports news commentators
Fox Sports Radio’s Amy Van Dyken-Rouen and CBS Sports Radio Network’s Dana Jacobson
in 2014 were the only women in Talker magazine editors’ yearly ranking of the
top 100 sports commentary talk shows. In 2013, the list also touted two women, Van
Dyken-Rouen and Jacobson.
In 2013 and 2014, those top-ranking female commentators—Van Dyken-Rouen was in
the No. 76 slot and Jacobson in No. 99 last year—were paired with male commentators
and were not stand-alone sports news chroniclers and opinion-makers.
The remaining among those 183 Talker magazine-cited commentators were male. Of
those males, four were Latino and 13 were black.
Of their selection, Talker editors wrote: “The results are, admittedly, subjective. Being
true to the realities of the media business, ratings and revenue are two of the major
[selection] factors … but the editors also took into account other qualities that help create
a list that is reflective of the industry’s diversity and total flavor and still give credit
where credit is due.”
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 TOC womensmediacenter.com 21