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World Press Freedom Day: Women and men have their say on the news
MISA-Zimbabwe
May 03, 2005

Women and men perceive gender biases in the news and are uncomfortable with images that portray women as sex objects.

In general, they would like to hear, see and read more positive, human interest stories as well as stories in which women, from diverse backgrounds, feature as sources. Both women and men would also welcome more stories on men in non-traditional roles.

These are some of the findings of the first part of the ground-breaking Gender and Media Audience Study (GMAS) conducted by Gender Links (GL) in partnership with universities and media advocacy organisations in Southern Africa in 2004.

“The study is not only ground breaking in so far as it is the first to explore the differences in the way that women and men respond to the news,” said GL Executive Director Colleen Lowe Morna. “As far as we are aware, it is the first Southern African study of any kind to gauge what audiences like and dislike and what they would like to see more and less of in the news. On a day when we celebrate press freedom this should prompt us to ask: freedom to do what, why and for whom.”

The study is a sequel to the Gender and Media Baseline Study conducted by GL, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Media Monitoring Project (MMP) in 2003. This showed that women constitute 17 percent of news sources; are most likely to be portrayed as sex objects or victims of violence and that gender specific coverage comprises a mere two percent of the total.

Key general findings of the GMAS include the fact that while radio remains the main source of news in Southern Africa, television is fast catching up in the more affluent countries. More women than men rely on television for news. There is a strong correlation between literacy and education levels and reliance on newspapers for news. The gender gap in newspaper readership, and the very low levels of reliance on the Internet for news, especially among women, present challenges and market opportunities.

The countries covered in this phase of the study are: Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. The study will be extended to six more Southern African countries in 2005. The institutions worked with are the: University of Botswana; Mauritius Media Watch Organisation; Polytechnic of Namibia; Rhodes University; University of Witswatersrand; University of Stellenbosch; University of Swaziland and Zambia Institute of Mass Communication (ZAMCOM).

A summary of key findings and recommendations is attached at Annex A. For more information contact:

Kubi Rama on kubi@genderlinks.org.za Or 082 378 8239 Or Colleen Lowe Morna on 082-651-6995

ANNEX A: Key findings

Table A: Summary of key data from the consolidated findings of the GMAS

The table above provides a summary of the key data from the consolidated (all six countries together) findings of the GMAS. Key findings of the study include:

Where audiences get their news from

• Radio is still the main source of news but television news audiences are growing: Overall, radio is the main source of news for women (45%) and men (46%). This is true in four out of the six countries, including Mauritius which has the highest levels of education and income among the six countries. However, in Namibia and South Africa – two of the higher income countries in the study - television is now the main source of news for both women and men. In Botswana, also one of the higher income countries in the study, television is fast catching up among women with 42% of women identifying television as their main source of news, compared to 44% who identified radio as their main source of news. The comparative figures for men are 25% for television and 50% for radio. The consolidated findings illustrate that to the extent that audiences get their news from television, more women (38%) than men (31%) get their news from this source. The reason most often cited by women for their preference of radio and television as a source of news is that they are able to perform other tasks while consuming news from these types of media. This reflects the dual roles that the vast majority of women in the region play, in the work place and as homemakers.

• Newspapers are still struggling but there are interesting exceptions and market possibilities: Overall, only 21% men and 15% women identified newspapers as their main source of news, with averages as low as 8% for women and 11% for men in Zambia. However in Mauritius, which has the highest literacy and education levels of all the countries in the study, 19% women and 31% men said they get most of their news from newspapers. This suggests that as literacy and education levels in other countries grows, there is likely to be an increase in newspaper consumption. The gender gap in newspaper consumption in almost all countries in the study reflects disparities in literacy, education and spending power between women and men. However, it also presents a market opportunity, especially as those women who identified newspapers as their main source of news cited convenience as an important reason for their choice. Namibia, the only country in the region in which more women (23%) than men (21%) said they get their news from newspapers is an interesting exception to the norm that suggests there is indeed a greater potential market among women for newspapers than might be imagined. The Namibian case warrants further study.

• Despite progressive ICT polices, the Internet is still hardly a source of news- especially among women: Although many countries in the study (for example South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius) have proclaimed policies to create "information societies", overall only 2% of women and 2% of men in the sample chose the Internet as their main source of news. In two countries, Namibia and Zambia, no women or men chose the Internet as their main source of news. Many countries in the study reflected a gender gap in access to the Internet. In South Africa, for example, 1% women, compared to 4% men, said they got most of their news from the Internet. This suggests that there are still major challenges in making ICTs better known and accessible, especially among women.

• There is a strong correlation between levels of education and the main source of news: In all six countries, most of the women who chose radio as their main source of news had primary level education. With the exception of Zambia, most of the men who chose radio as their main source of news had primary level education. In Zambia, an equal distribution of men with primary, secondary and tertiary education chose radio as their most important source of news. Their main reason given for this choice in Zambia is affordability. This reflects the economic hardships in the country that cut across social strata. In four of the six countries television news is consumed mainly by people with tertiary education. The exceptions are Botswana and Zambia where women and men with secondary education constitute the majority of those who watch television as their main source of news. The majority of women and men who said that they get most of their news from newspapers have a tertiary education. Almost all the women and men who said they get their news from the Internet had tertiary qualifications.

What news genres audiences prefer

• Women and men prefer short news reports to any other news genre but there are interesting exceptions: Most of the women (52%) and men (49%) interviewed said they preferred short news reports to any other news genre. Conversely only 29% of women and 33% men said they like in-depth features. In Swaziland only 7% of women identified in-depth features as their most important news genre. However, in Mauritius 56% women and 44% men said they preferred in-depth features. This may partly reflect the fact that in Mauritius, where almost all news stories are in French, there is a journalistic tradition of detailed and in-depth stories. It also probably reflects the higher literacy and education levels in Mauritius.

• Opinion and commentary are viewed as distant by most audiences: Only 4% women and 5% men chose opinion and commentary as their favorite news genre. This may be attributed to several factors, such as the fact that this genre is generally associated with newspapers (which are not the main source of news for many citizens) and the fact that the appreciation of such news may be correlated to levels of education. However, this finding also raises editorial challenges. Leader pages are generally the preserve of small elites of (largely male) decision-makers and influential personalities who might draw the interest of policy makers but are apparently seen as distant by the majority of news consumers. Conscious efforts to diversify the sources of opinion and commentary (including giving greater voice to women) could help to grow audiences, especially for newspapers.

• More women than men prefer interactive news: Another significant finding is that 14% women and 12% men chose "news that asks for feedback, such as letters to the editor" as their favorite news genre. Being able to debate through, and challenge the media is an important tenet of democracy and citizenship, as well as the public’s watchdog function over the media. The finding shows that contrary to the perception that women do not have time for, or are not interested in current affairs, they are in fact keen to engage with the news.

Who decides on where to get the news

• There are still gender gaps in who decides on news medium, but women are increasingly making independent choices: Some 54% women and 61% men said they make their own decisions about where to get their news from. Although the 7% difference between women and men represents a significant gender gap in the extent to which independent choice is exercised, the fact that the majority of women make their own choices reflects an important advance for gender equality in the region. Moreover, only 12% of women and 9% of men identified their spouse or partner as the person who selects the news medium. Some 22% women and 28% men identified another "family member" as being influential in their choice of news medium. The fact that women are not as influenced by others, and especially by their spouses, as might be expected in the choice of news medium is a significant finding for media marketing, which has tended to treat women as invisible.

Audience perceptions of how women and men are represented and portrayed

• There are mixed perceptions about women’s representation in the news: Equal proportions of women (40%) said they felt that the news "does reflect the interests of women and men equally" as those who said the news "does not reflect the interests of women and men equally". Similarly, 39% of men said they felt that the news "does reflect the interests of women and men equally" compared to 44% who held the opposite view. The question about the extent to which women feature as news sources elicited similar split responses, with just about even proportions of women and men saying women are "seldom" used as news sources to those who said they are "often" used as news sources. These mixed perceptions contrast with one of the most unequivocal findings in the GMBS: that on average women constitute a mere 17 percent of news sources. They are also at odds with the finding, especially among women, that the news would be more interesting if it carried more women’s views and voices (see below).

• But strong perceptions about gender biases in portrayal: On the other hand, there was a strong correlation between the findings of the GMBS and audience perceptions of the roles and way in which women and men are portrayed in the news. According to both the GMBS and the GMAS respondents women are most likely to be portrayed as models/beauty contestants; victims, health workers; home-makers; sex-workers and citizens. Both studies also show that in reality and in the perception of consumers men are most frequently portrayed as politicians; government officials; police; business person; criminal and sports person. The combined findings suggest that – possibly as a result of socialisation and the expectation that "men make the news" – neither women nor men have given much thought to gender balance in the news, but they are instinctively aware of gender bias. This poses a challenge to activists to step up gender and media awareness and literacy campaigns among consumers, as well as to editors, to diversify their news sources and agendas (see also the section on news preferences below).

• And especially strong views on the use of sexual images of women: Amongst the women sampled, 42% found sexual images of women in the news "uncomfortable" and 43% found them "insulting". The comparative figures for men are 35% and 33% respectively. This finding, which is mirrored across all countries, is echoed in the response to the question of what women and men would like to see less of in the news, in which sexual images featured highly, along with topics such as violence and war. The two findings together challenge the widely prevailing view that sexual images of women sell the news, and especially newspapers. The extent to which audiences, and especially women, viewed such images as demeaning should be pause for thought for media decision-makers who defend the use of sexual images on grounds that this is vital to their bottom line.

Gender perceptions of media practitioners

• Sex of journalist not seen to make a difference, but the principle of equality in newsrooms gets a thumbs up: Audiences do not seem to perceive any major gendered differences to the way in which male and female journalists report, but a significant majority of men and women in each country endorsed the principle of gender equality. Studies on editorial content have generally failed to establish a strong correlation between the sex of the journalist and the extent of gender bias or sensitivity, but show that a more progressive environment is created by having gender balance in newsrooms. This underscores the importance of media houses adopting gender policies and of gender training for both male and female journalists.

What audiences would like more and less of

• Women and men want more positive, human interest news: Women and men across the six countries said they would like to receive more positive, local and human interest news. In addition women want more stories on women’s rights.

• Audiences, especially women, would find the news more interesting if the ideas and views of women were reported more often: Both women and men, but especially women (69% women, compared to 45% men) felt that the news would be more interesting if the ideas and views of women are reported more often.

• Audiences strongly endorse the challenging of stereotypes: Both women and men, but especially women (76% women, compared to 56% men) agreed that the news would be more interesting if it carried stories about women in a wider range of roles. This finding is consistent across all six countries. Women and men also want to see more men portrayed in non-traditional roles such as parents, care-givers and home-makers.

Key recommendations
These findings have important implications for different stakeholders involved in the production, dissemination, marketing and consumption of the news, as well as in creating conducive policy environments for this. The key recommendations emerging from the study include:

Media decision-makers: marketing
Those involved in the business side of the media need to identify women as a distinct and critical segment within the media market; gather gender disaggregated data as part of their market intelligence and devise strategies that capitalise on the market potential among women media consumers as well as seek to meet their news needs. Specific findings that warrant further attention among media marketing departments include:

• More women than men get their news from television.
• Although there is a strong gender gap among newspaper readers, in Namibia there are more women than male readers.
• There is considerable scope for marketing the Internet as a source of news both among women and men.

Media decision-makers: editorial
Editors should take note of the clear messages about editorial content arising from the study, and adapt their policies accordingly, as this will also help in growing markets, especially among women. These preferences include:

• More positive, human interest and local stories.
• More stories on women’s rights.
• The views and voices of women in all their diversity.
• Stories that challenge gender stereotypes, including those about men in non-traditional roles.
• Less images that portray women as mere sexual objects.
• Less violence and war.

Editors should also explore ways of making the news more interactive and accessible, for example by seeking out more views and voices, especially among women, in the opinion and commentary pages.

Media practitioners
To generate more gender balanced, diverse content that challenges gender stereotypes, there is need for gender training of media practitioners. The fact that audiences do not perceive much difference in the way that male and female journalists report suggest that such training is important for both sexes.

Gender and media activists
The mixed perceptions among audiences about the representation of women in the news, but desire to see greater balance and diversity fairness, especially among women audiences, suggests the need for gender and media activists to:

• Conduct gender and media literacy using the findings of the GMBS and GMAS.
• Produce user-friendly materials from these studies that can be used for education, generating debate, lobbying, creating and extending awareness and training.
• Disseminate the findings of the research as widely as possible and link them with the findings of the GMBS.
• Use the GMBS to grow the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network and all its affiliates at country level.

Citizens and media consumers
The main objective of activism such as that described above should be, as the GEMSA slogan puts it, to "make every voice count, and count that it does." The findings suggest strong views on, yet a lack of a direct response to, the news and those who make it. The news media will ultimately only become more responsive to women and men if they interact more directly with content through:

• Audience response channels such as letters to the editor and talk back shows.
• Opinion and commentary.
• Complaints mechanisms within media houses or as provided by media regulatory authorities.
• Where warranted, consumer demonstrations, boycotts or other forms of activism.

Media policy makers
Media policy makers, including government communication ministries and authorities, independent regulatory authorities as well as self-regulatory and advocacy bodies created by the media industry itself to set standards and promote a conducive environment have a critical role to play in:

• Promoting awareness of the GMBS and GMAS that both point to gender biases in the news.
• Initiating policies that promote diversity, gender balance and sensitivity in the news.
• Promoting higher education and literacy levels, as well as media literacy, particularly among women, so as to afford all citizens more choice in where they get the news.
• Promoting greater access to the information superhighway, particularly among women.

Structure of the report
In addition to this executive summary, the report contains an overview of the research design and consolidated findings as well as individual country reports structured as follows:

• Executive summary including a summary of the key findings.
• Country context including a description of the media environment and research sites.
• Research findings including detailed quantitative and qualitative analyses.

The final chapter on the way forward summarises key conclusions and recommendations, targeted at different stakeholders both at national and regional level.

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