It’s discouraging to hear that, in 2015, the media is still operated predominately by men. 62.1% of news has been produced by a man, according to an annual report called The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 by Women’s Media Center.
“Our research shows that media needs to do better,” said Women’s Media Center President Julie Burton. The report analyzed 27,758 pieces of content. “The bottom line is this: Overwhelmingly, men still dominate media. Women are 51% of the population — but hardly equal partners in telling the story.”
Women are underrepresented in media roles: reporters, broadcasters, contributors, writers, editors and guests. In 2014, less than 40% of of on-camera presenters, as well as news writers, are women. Political news had a majority of men reporting, while PBS was the only network to feature a female presence dominating over men.
"The lack of women in decision-making and prominent positions in the media is the breeding ground for defamatory and sexist coverage and comments, and it lowers the standard of excellence by cutting in half the pool from which talent is chosen," Burton wrote. "It also results in media missing major stories — and missing viewership.” The loss of ABC World's news anchor Diane Sawyer and former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson were major losses in the news business.
To see more of the detailed report, click here.
