23 research outputs found
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Reassessing balance: News coverage of Donald Trump’s Access Hollywood scandal before and during #metoo
Sexual abuse became an important part of news coverage in the months leading up to Donald Trump’s presidency and continued to dominate news cycles with the emergence of the #metoo movement. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the increasing amount of stories about sexual abuse have actually advanced social justice. We conducted content and textual analyses of newspaper, cable television, and online coverage of the Access Hollywood scandal before and during the #metoo movement (N = 1890) to understand how the journalistic objectivity norm of balance via issue dualism influenced reporting on sexual abuse. Television and right-leaning media had the highest levels of rape myth acceptance in their coverage for both time periods. The use of issue dualism advantaged Trump as Bill Clinton and other prominent accused men shifted focus away from Trump and largely overlooked the women coming forward against Trump. The objectivity norm of balance reduced and politicized this complex issue, as well as gave power to Trump’s retaliation while minimizing the serious accusations that have been brought against him
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She Persisted … and So Did He: Gendered source use during the Trump Access Hollywood scandal
After years of recorded misogyny, the release of an Access Hollywood tape on 7 October 2016 revealed Trump stating he grabs women by their genitals without their permission. This study examines the gatekeeping process of traditional and online media covering this issue, focusing specifically on source use. A content analysis (N = 847) of television, newspaper, and online media shows that television and conservative sources have the highest gender disparity in source use; whereas online media focus the most on female perspectives. Results also show that many Republicans paid lip service to Trump’s actions, but overall defended him—dismissing the severity of sexual violence while maintaining hegemony. Male sources had a positive relationship with defending Trump and a negative relationship with defending survivors. Female sources had a positive relationship with defending survivors only. Conservative and television sources defended Trump more than survivors; liberal, online, and newspaper sources defended survivors more than Trump. Overall, women are still marginalised within the political process by both traditional news media and politicians
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Bro, foe, or ally? Measuring ambivalent sexism in political online reporters
The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) measures hostile (overt antagonism towards women) and benevolent (chivalry) sexism. Previous research shows that political ideology contributes to ASI. Yet little attention has been given to increasingly popular political websites in terms of measuring sexism. Furthermore, recent firings of news professionals over accused sexual misconduct reveal the seriousness of sexism in the news industry. This study surveyed political online reporters (N = 210) using ASI and predicting sociodemographic and organizational factors. Results show benevolent sexism levels mostly similar for all factors, but not hostile sexism. Those working for conservative websites had higher levels of hostile sexism, but website partisanship had no significance for benevolent sexism. Men reported higher levels of hostile sexism and protective paternalism, but not complementary gender differentiation. Overall, individual levels of conservatism also predicted hostile sexism, but not benevolence. The pervasiveness of benevolence jeopardizes women’s progression in the workplace. High levels of hostility ultimately endanger newsrooms, as well as negatively impact political coverage of gender related issues
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Ambivalent Sexism and Gay Men in the US and UK
Intersectionality addresses power structures and systemic oppressions tied to marginalized identities, which qualitatively differentiates marginalized individuals from each other. This study examines the intersection of gender, sexuality, and nationality to understand possible sexist attitudes of gay men in the US and UK. It uses the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory along with five predictor variables: religiosity, political ideology, nationalism, anti-immigration attitudes, and news consumption. The importance of this study is to analyze a potentially overlooked source of sexism. Results show UK participants had significantly higher benevolent sexism, but US participants had significantly higher hostile sexism. Self-identified conservatives in both countries had the highest hostile sexism, but benevolent sexism was not significantly different according to political identity. Religiosity was a significant predictor variable of benevolent sexism in the US and UK. Nationalism and anti-immigration attitudes were significant predictor variables of hostile sexism in the US and UK. Consuming conservative news was a significant predictor variable of hostile sexism in the US only. This study illustrates the importance of intersectionality in order to identify problematic attitudes, even within an already marginalized group
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Measuring Gender in News Representations of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
This study examines the influence of gender in asylum news coverage. Through a content analysis of UK print and online news media (N = 2,018), we examine the gender of the reporter and the gender of the refugee or asylum seeker. The individual and routines levels of gatekeeping are used to show how both impact news coverage. All reporters used a similar story format, but women reporters focused significantly more on women, health and social issues, and culture and sports. Women reporters also used more nongovernment sources. Men reporters covered terrorism and violence committed by refugees and asylum seekers significantly more. Reporting by men receives greater prominence as men reporters had twice as many bylines as women reporters. Furthermore, men refugees and asylum seekers were identified eight times more than women—but mostly in connection to crime, terrorism, and violence. Women refugees and asylum seekers were usually connected to health and social issues
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What a year! the framing of marriage equality through media's selected sources in 2013
The issue of same-sex marriage continues to be a focal point in U.S. media. The topic garnered a substantial amount of attention in 2013, with the repeal of Defense of Marriage Act, the legalization of same-sex marriage in eight U.S states and five foreign countries, and the passage of the Russian Anti-Gay Law. The question at hand is how U.S. newspapers framed these stories throughout the year. The authors utilized a qualitative content analysis of source quotes included in articles about same-sex marriage in The New York Times. The findings from this analysis reveal the use of not only the traditional equality master frame but also uncovered themes of children, inevitability, political evolution, and fear. The results also unearthed a lack of human interest perspective. This study adds insight into how citizens of the United States are exposed to (and may ultimately define) the issue of same-sex marriage
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Pacifying the dragon? How expatriate media professionals are gatekeeping in the Chinese media system
China is currently characterized as having a censored media system, which poses challenges to expatriates (expats) who work within the Chinese media system. This study analyzes the motivations for expats to work in China through a gatekeeping lens. Through in-depth interviews of expat media professionals, themes of limited acculturation emerge, as well as few opportunities for input during gatekeeping processes related to hard news, but there are more opportunities for input in the production of business news, entertainment, and lifestyle programming. Although content is restricted, participants laterally influence their colleagues by mentoring them based on individual-level forces such as professional values and education. Censorship is accepted by expats as unchangeable. Social system forces become more manifest instead of being implici
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Protecting the Ladies: Benevolent Sexism, Heteronormativity, and Partisanship in Online Discussions of Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
The recent adoption of bathroom bills restricting trans* people’s access to public bathrooms of their choice in the United States has elicited a vigorous public debate invoking benevolent sexism, heteronormativity, and partisanship. This analysis includes 9,764 online comments posted on the 13 most-shared articles or blog posts about trans* bathroom accommodation from September 2015 to September 2016. The common themes in such discussions were arguments promoting benevolent sexism, including that women and girls need protection by men and from men and that sex differences are natural. Results showed that support for trans* access to public bathrooms was most prevalent in discussions on left-leaning sites, whereas opposition was most prevalent in discussions on right-leaning sites. Most, but not all, benevolent-sexism themes were prevalent in comments on right-leaning sites. The results are discussed in the context of their theoretical implications for the literature of benevolent sexism and heteronormativity
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Mobile masculinities: An investigation of networked masculinities in gay dating apps
This study argues that hegemonic masculinity is still prevalent as well as conciliatory to inclusive masculinity when applied to networked masculinities in homosexual spaces. The authors contend hegemonic masculinity is a macro-level process that informs micro-level processes of inclusive masculinity. Employing a textual analysis of 500 individual profiles in gay dating apps (Scruff, GROWLr, GuySpy and Hornet), findings indicate networked masculinities are informed by the two concepts. A resulting process of “mascing” is created and introduced in this study. Mascing in gay males to reinforces their own masculinity, while also maintaining masculine norms by seeking out masculine partners. The process is a form of policing that reinforces a masculine elite within the gay dating app community