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Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Sociology

South Africa: Newsrooms In Transition, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh Jan 2013

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, …


Challenging The Lion In Its Den: Dilemmas Of Gender And Media Activism In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh Jan 2010

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 …


Gender Mainstreaming In International News: A Case Study Of The Inter Press Service, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh Jan 2009

Gender Mainstreaming In International News: A Case Study Of The Inter Press Service, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

From 1994 to 1999, the global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) implemented a gender mainstreaming policy in its newsrooms. This study examined organizational changes and news coverage that IPS advocated, as well as methods employed to bring about these changes. It shows that IPS has not been able to mainstream gender into all aspects of the organization and news coverage, and it considers reasons for the lacking implementation of the policy, while documenting IPS's efforts to improve women's access and representation in international news.


Women Making News: Gender And Media In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema Apr 2008

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 Jan 2008

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.