Wasburn, P. C., & Wasburn M. H. (2011).
Media coverage of women in politics: The curious case of Sarah Palin. Media
Culture Society, 33,
1027-1041. doi:
10.1177/016344371145744
Dr. Philo Wasburn and Dr. Mara Wasburn are both professors
at Purdue University, Indiana. Each has over 40 years of experience in the
academic field, and together they have dozens of books and articles published
across numerous journals, gaining them both a credible reputation. This article
explores the phenomenon of gendered reporting, and its influence in media
coverage of women in politics, particularly those in high profile roles.
When establishing the argument the authors address five points from previous
research that suggest media coverage of women in politics: receive
less attention than their male counterparts; discussions focus on comparatively
trivial subjects; focus is largely on ‘woman’s issues’ such as abortion,
childcare, education and environment; women receive more negative coverage in
terms of their ability to provide effective leadership; and, questions are
raised about the influence of a woman candidate should she be elected. This
article questions these assumptions by conducting a qualitative and
quantitative analysis of media coverage Sarah Palin received as part of her
2008 campaign as the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States.
The continuous referral the coverage Palin received in Newsweek and
Time magazines, is justified by the dominance each has as part of a major
media corporation and the heavy reliance other news sources have on these
‘elite’ new source publications. They conclude, with exclusion
of the first point, the points above actually promoted Palin with an
‘attractive, tough, hockey mom’ image who expressed the concerns of ordinary
people, which attracted large audiences.
It recommended that the distinctive qualities of individual politicians and their particular political environment be taken into consideration in any future study of political women.
The three journalism texts that follow aim to demonstrate
how gendered reporting exists, or rather doesn’t, in other media climates
around the world, with a different political figure.
Hall, E. (Presenter). (2010, June 24). Gillard becomes
first female PM [Audio podcast]. Retrieved
from
Eleanor Hall has hosted ABC
radio’s daily news hour, The World Today, since 2001, and prior to that has
worked on numerous ABC TV news programs. Lyndal Curtis, now the Political
Editor for ABC News 24, has worked across all of the ABC’s platforms over her
20 years as a Federal politics reporter. With such experience in one of
Australia’s most trusted news sources, this podcast is a well-respected piece
of journalism. From the onset, the podcast provides an impartial recollection
of the day’s events; including the lead up to, and the results of the
leadership challenge. Unlike the
other sources, Hall allows for equal time to be given to the
discussion of Gillard and Rudd. This was also the only source to use sound
bites, or quotes of any kind, directly from the press conferences following the leadership decision. The focus was on politics; what decisions
Gillard will make, and what Rudd has achieved. Any mention of the politicians' personal lives came directly from the excerpts of their individual
speeches. Being the only female contributors seemed to have made no difference,
with this podcast being the most balanced of all the sources, and overall containing no obvious gendered reporting.
Norman, M. (2010, June 25). Julia Gillard: A woman Prime
Minister of Australia? Now that’s news. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7854913/Julia-Gillard-A-woman-Prime-Minister-of-Australia-Now-thats-news.html
Matthew Norman has more than 20 years experience as a
journalist. This experience teamed with
the reputation of The Telegraph and Norman’s reputation as a former British
Press Awards winner for his column gives this source a lot of credibility and
makes it a valuable one for comparison. The nature of a column focuses foremost
on the author’s opinion, rather than facts. This article lacks any detail into
who Gillard is as a politician and fails to include any basic details of the
events leading up to her becoming Prime Minister, which are all details
covered in the two other sources. The narrative style found in statements
like, ‘she vowed one day to punish her adoptive land… “I’m going to make all
those Neanderthal brutes pay”’, which are throughout the article creates a
sarcastic tone, which essentially disregards any importance of the topic. There
is an obvious bias against Gillard, but most of the criticism tends towards the
notion of a sexist, and even racist, Australia; ‘The notion of Cathy Freeman or
another Aboriginal female, or male… looks a stride along Thatcher-Obama
Boulevard too far’. Regarding the journal article, this is a prime example of
the stereotypical way women in politics in the media are portrayed. The author
focuses on trivial topics by describing her as ‘an out-and-proud feminist,
determinedly unmarried and happily childless, and cohabiting with… a male
hairdresser’, and fails to mention her stance on any major political issues.
Bolt, A. (Presenter) & Ferguson, J. (Presenter). (2010,
June 24). Can she handle it? [Podcast television program]. Melbourne: Herald
Sun. Retrieved from
Andrew Bolt has worked as radio commentator, blogger,
television host, a columnist and associate editor of the Herald Sun. John
Ferguson has been covering politics since 1989, and as the Herald Sun political editor. Together their experience and audience
popularity make them well known in their field, but their credibility is
questionable in this particular case, with both men having a
conservative, right wing stance.
The video, a debate between the two hosts with footage from Parliament
House from Channel Seven, is centred on speculation on the reasons behind the
leadership challenge and the future of the Labor Party. They claim the
challenge was driven by ‘internal loathing of Rudd’, and concluded the whole
situation as an ‘imperfect solution to a very complex problem’. This opinion
piece has none of the balance of the podcast with discussion solely on Gillard.
Gender reporting isn’t evident until the last minute where debate turns solely
to her personal life, without any reference to politics. While they don’t
critique or place an obvious bias in their discussion about Gillard like Norman does, it seems irrelevant in terms of the previous
content.
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