Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How The U.S. Mainstream Media Perpetuates Cis White Masculine Hegemony, Yelena Dzhanova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The news is important because it helps individuals understand their place in the world and make the best decisions for themselves. Throughout its strong history and presence in the United States, the journalism industry has prided itself on delivering fact-based news using an objective framework, meaning that there is an expectation that journalists communicate the news impartially and without bias. Through an examination of gendered language and visual representations published in and by recent mainstream U.S. digital and print media outlets, this paper explains how the media plays a major role in the perpetuation of cis white masculinity. This paper …

Running Up Against A Brick Wall: U.S. Metajournalistic Discourse Of Gender Equality In Newsrooms, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh, Tim P. Vos

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Drawing on institutional theory, feminist critiques of three popular stances on gendered workplaces, and previous research about women in newsrooms, this study considers the metajournalistic discourse about gender equality in newsrooms through a discourse analysis of more than 500 online articles and blog posts in American journalism industry publications from January 2002 until September 2019. The findings confirm that the status of women journalists remains problematic. Journalists recognize that women remain underrepresented in terms of numbers and face a pay gap, glass ceiling, and various forms of harassment. Solutions are sometimes presented in terms of women’s individual empowerment. Arguments in …

Representations Of Women: A Media Intentions And Effects Analysis Of The Popular Music Industry, Emily A. Bourne

Comm-entary

This thesis features a critical media effects analysis of the present United States music industry. Popular music and its associated production and promotion industry is overwhelmingly dominated by men and is correspondingly subject to the influence of dominant cultural ideologies. These ideologies include the oppression and marginalization of women and the furthering of their subordinate status within American culture. The projection of these inherently unjust principles not only reinscribes pre-established societal status quos, but also influences the general public to further internalize, develop, and reproduce them. These prompted understandings contribute to the lacking power and equality of women in society …

Uncovering The Women In Ocean’S Eight: Understanding The Trends Of The Women’S Movement With The Portrayals Of Women In Film, Elyssa Michelle Day

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study seeks for a better understanding of the correlations between major milestones in the women’s movement and how that is reflected onto the silver screen. With the rise of sexual assault allegations against prominent figures in Hollywood, and the growth of the #MeToo movement, we in turn are beginning to see an influx of films being released, and older films being rebooted, with an all-female led cast. One of those all-female film reboots is Ocean’s Eight, a film coming from a male-dominated trilogy and genre. Because of this correlation, the question of whether the narratives within Ocean’s Eight reinforce …

Gender Issues In News Coverage, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

This entry discusses the participation and representation of women in the news media. Women entered journalism primarily to appeal to female audiences in the 19^th century and were expected to write about topics considered to be of interest for women, such as food, fashion, family and furniture. Today, global studies show that women remain underrepresented at all levels of news organizations, with a glass ceiling preventing women from rising to top positions. Female journalists are especially facing challenges in war reporting and sports reporting, and as opinion columnists. In terms of representation, women are frequently represented in a negative …

Broadening The Focus: Women's Voices In The New Journalism, Mary C. Wacker

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The New Journalism Movement chronicled a decade of social turbulence in America by breaking the rules of traditional journalism and embracing narrative elements in the writing and publication of literary nonfiction. The magazine publishing industry was controlled by men, and the history of this transitional time in journalism has been chronicled by men, neglecting to recognize the significant contributions of women working in their midst. This study shines a light on the historical narrative that defines our understanding of the significance and key contributors to the New Journalism Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. To better understand the …

A Focus On The Us Narrative: Does The New York Times Portrayal Of Women Living With Hiv And Aids In Southern Africa Perpetuate Hiv/Aids Stigma?, Boitshepo Monte Balozwi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the study was to determine the dominant and recurring frames influencing the narrative and media portrayal of women living with HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa, a region characterized by a low socio-economic status and the highest HIV and AIDS infection rates globally. The study analyzed 238 stories published in The New York Times from 1985 to 2017. Findings of the study show that news reports frequently associate sex workers and pregnant women to coverage on HIV and AIDS therefore stigmatizing them as vectors of the disease. The newspaper stories provided adequate socioeconomic context resulting in African …

Gender Issues In News Coverage, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This entry discusses the participation and representation of women in the news media. Women entered journalism primarily to appeal to female audiences in the 19^th century and were expected to write about topics considered to be of interest for women, such as food, fashion, family and furniture. Today, global studies show that women remain underrepresented at all levels of news organizations, with a glass ceiling preventing women from rising to top positions. Female journalists are especially facing challenges in war reporting and sports reporting, and as opinion columnists. In terms of representation, women are frequently represented in a negative …

Waves Of Feminism And The Media, Tayllor Blair Johnson

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The feminist movement has gone through many different stages, three to be exact. Each stage, or as they are called in the academic world, “waves”, had its own history and unique defining qualities. Media played a role in the movement in the past, and continue to do so today. My research focused on how the two, feminism and media, intertwine with one another and the affect the movement had, and continues to have, on mainstream media. With the recent news of sexual assault allegations in the media industry, the two seem to go hand-in-hand, now more than ever before.

The …

Women, Convergent Film Criticism, And The Cinephilia Of Feminist Interruptions, Rachel L. Thibault

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the ways in which female film critics practice film criticism in the convergent age. In original research drawn from ethnographic interviews with eight female film critics and bloggers as well as textual, historical, and reception analyses of criticism, this dissertation argues that women who write film criticism in the convergent era are not only writing from a space of marginalization based on the patriarchal dominance of the film industry, but also face a series of obstacles through gendered and discursive conflicts that are unique to writing online and which do not exert the same impact on male …

South Africa: Newsrooms In Transition, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

South African is a beautiful country with a a diverse citizenry at the Southernmost tip of the African continent. But the nation also has a long history of racial struggle, which includes an era of racial segregation, called apartheid that ended formally in 1994 after nearly 50 years of policital oppression and protest. The country today is a land of contrasts. It has a vibrant media scene and one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, guaranteeing equality for all and freedom of the press. Women are breaking through newsroom boundaries, making up about half of the journalism workforce, …

Women And News: Making Connections Between The Global And The Local, Margaretha Geertsema

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

In an era of increasing globalization, women continue to be underrepresented and stereotyped in national, international, and global news media. The problem is exacerbated when traditional geographic boundaries are crossed and the media in one country report on issues and events, particularly those that impact women, in another country. The question addressed in this article is how news organizations can best represent women and our diverse lives within this new global context. In an effort to bridge the local-global dichotomy, this article aims to make connections between macro-level theories of cultural globalization and micro-level theories of feminism. Three scenarios of …

Inverting The Inverted Pyramid: A Conversation About The Use Of Feminist Theories To Teach Journalism, Danna L. Walker, Margaretha Geertsema, Barbara Barnett

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Teaching is always challenging, and for some of us who are feminists, teaching journalism is particularly difficult. The tenets of good journalism—objectivity and neutrality—are often antithetical to our feminist values. We face the dilemma of how to incorporate feminist sensibilities into teaching journalism—a profession that strives for detachment and, at times, seems oblivious to its own position of power.

Women Making News: Gender And Media In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

South Africa’s news media are still in a process of transformation after the transition to democracy in 1994. The media continue to face the challenge of ensuring equal and fair representation to the entire population, and gender and media activists in particular have taken up the challenge of bringing about change. Research shows that women have not yet achieved equal access and representation compared to men: they are under-represented as reporters, news sources, and audience members. Yet, in comparison with other countries, South Africa has about as many female reporters as the average reported in the Global Media Monitoring Project …

Conceptualizing Strategies For Research And Activism: A Media Sociology Approach, Margaretha Geertsema

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

The article considers reasons for the continuing exclusion and stereotyping of women in the news media. It also suggests productive avenues for research and media activism. A media sociology approach was used to consider the various factors that influence the production of news. Media sociology is concerned with how news is socially constructed, typically resulting in the inclusion of some issues and events and the exclusion of others.

Discovering Cristina: A Study Of Cristina Peri Rossi's Life And Literary Works And Marketing Them To Worldwide Audiences, Dunja Zdero

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As one of the leading female authors of the Latin American literature, Cristina Peri Rossi has produced a large collection of works including more than 40 published novels, essays, and short story and poetry collections. Her literature is known for addressing various topics such as political and social injustices, love, passion, feminism, sexuality, and gender studies. As an exile in Spain, Peri Rossi also offers an interesting blend of the two Spanish-speaking worlds. Although many other authors speak of the same issues, Peri Rossi provides a very unique insight into both cultures that cannot be seen elsewhere: an insight of …

Challenging The Lion In Its Den: Dilemmas Of Gender And Media Activism In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Media activism groups work to bring about change in the mainstream media, but their gains are often limited. Drawing on theories of the political function of news in a democracy, media sociology, and feminism, this article focuses on the specific experience of Gender Links, a Southern African gender and media organization founded in 2001. An analysis of institutional materials and 25 in-depth interviews shows that Gender Links is using a professional-technical approach to feminist media activism that is insufficient in bringing about deep and long-term change on an ideological level. It is suggested that Gender Links could benefit from more …

Inverting The Inverted Pyramid: A Conversation About The Use Of Feminist Theories To Teach Journalism, Danna L. Walker, Margaretha Geertsema, Barbara Barnett

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Teaching is always challenging, and for some of us who are feminists, teaching journalism is particularly difficult. The tenets of good journalism—objectivity and neutrality—are often antithetical to our feminist values. We face the dilemma of how to incorporate feminist sensibilities into teaching journalism—a profession that strives for detachment and, at times, seems oblivious to its own position of power.

Women Making News: Gender And Media In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

South Africa’s news media are still in a process of transformation after the transition to democracy in 1994. The media continue to face the challenge of ensuring equal and fair representation to the entire population, and gender and media activists in particular have taken up the challenge of bringing about change. Research shows that women have not yet achieved equal access and representation compared to men: they are under-represented as reporters, news sources, and audience members. Yet, in comparison with other countries, South Africa has about as many female reporters as the average reported in the Global Media Monitoring Project …

Conceptualizing Strategies For Research And Activism: A Media Sociology Approach, Margaretha Geertsema

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

The article considers reasons for the continuing exclusion and stereotyping of women in the news media. It also suggests productive avenues for research and media activism. A media sociology approach was used to consider the various factors that influence the production of news. Media sociology is concerned with how news is socially constructed, typically resulting in the inclusion of some issues and events and the exclusion of others.

Speaking Volumes: Musings On The Issues Of The Day, Inspired By The Memory Of Mary Joe Frug, Regina Austin, Elizabeth M. Schneider

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ua94/6/3 Expatriate, Bruce Tucker

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

Underground newspaper commenting on Western Kentucky University administration and events. Articles include:

• Todd, Tom. Is the Western Coed Liberated?
• Harris, Mike. Hours Fight Continues - Visitation Policy
• Harris, Mike. American Association of University Professors Won't Publish Survey Results
• On the Refusal of the AAUP
• Tichenor, Steve. Focus on the Arts
• How Liberated Are You?
• Todd, Tom. Speaker Policy Accepted
• Conversation / Women's Role in Society & on the Campus - Jo Ann Sandifer, Tina Showalter, Vicki Kirchner, Dona O'Sullivan, Jackie Siddens
• Solley, George. Twelfth Night: Dulce et Utile
• Women: Organize & Resist
• Overrule the Roberts Freaks - Associated Student Government