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MEDIA LITERACY AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE
Strategies, Debates and Good Practices
focus on personal appearance than on issues (Braden 1996; Norris 1997; Ross
2000; Witt, Paget and Mattews 1994); women are more likely to have their titles
(such as Senator or Representative) dropped and they are more often referred
to by their first names or as ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mrs.’ (Falk 2008); women politicians are
more likely to be described in terms of the personal traits associated with
traditional ‘female’ stereotypes (Kahn 1994); media refer to women more
informally than men (Baider 2007); the press discusses “female” issues more
frequently when covering women politicians and reports “male” issues more
extensively with men politicians (Kahn 1991, 1994; Kahn and Goldenberg
1991); news coverage is more likely to emphasize women politicians relation to
powerful or influential men (Baider 2007; van Zoonen 2006); the press is more
likely to cover women candidates as losers (Anderson 2002; Falk 2008); media
use more highly charged language to report the speeches of female politicians
(Gidengil and Everitt 2003); and, when men are quoted they are more often
than women backing their statements with reasoning or evidence (Aday and
Devitt 2001).
2. Visibility and Quality of the Coverage
Earlier studies concluded that male politicians usually receive more press
attention than women (Kahn 1992, 1994, 1996; Kahn and Goldenberg 1991;
Norris 1997; Scharrer 2002; Serini, Powers and Johnson 1998). For example,
Norris (1997) found that female Prime Ministers and Presidents received a
smaller amount of press coverage in the week after their election than did
equivalent male leaders. However, more recent works have showed that, as
women have attained higher levels of representation over time, the amount of
coverage has balanced (Atkesonn and Krebs 2007; Devitt 1999; Kittilson and
Fridkin 2008) or even reversed to women’s advantage (Banwart, Bystrom, and
Robertson 2003; Bystrom, Robertson and Banwart 2001; Trimble 2007).
Quantity is important because if women receive less coverage they may enjoy
less name recognition (Jalalzai 2006; Kahn and Goldenberg 1991), and the
politicians who have less coverage are less likely to be recognized and be
supported by the polls (Kahn 1996). But even if women do not receive less
coverage than men, quality of coverage may differ. Different researches have
found that women politicians are more likely to be identified in spousal or
parental roles than men (Banwart, Bystrom and Robertson 2003; Falk 2008),
the press coverage is more likely to focus on how women look and what they
wear than do reports of men politicians, and media are more likely to focus on
the age of a woman politician than a male politician (Braden 1996; Bystrom,
Robertson and Banwart 2001; Falk 2008; Fernandez 2008).
Falk (2008) also suggests that women are more likely to have their professional
background dropped in news stories, so they are shown with less experience.
With regard to gender, different studies show that the gender of women
politicians is more likely mentioned than male’s (Bystrom, Robertson and
Banwart 2001; Falk 2008; Gidengil and Everitt 1999; Heldman, Carroll and
Olson 2000; Norris 1997). As Falk (2008) points out, this mention of women
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