Presenter(s): Julia Mueller—Journalism
Faculty Mentor(s): Peter Laufer
Session 3: Pens & Clicks are Mightier than the Sword
Researchers have recently begun to realize the impact of patriarchy on language, and the consequential role of male-centric or male-normative language in separating men from women, thus reinforcing women’s roles as the “second sex” in society . Even as society takes strides towards impartiality, implicit bias is still present in the way we speak, write—and specifically, report .
This thesis examines and analyzes current industry standards of style guidelines related to the representation of women in written news in the context of contemporary psychological and linguistic research on the interplay of language and gender . Developing case studies from the results of a survey disseminated to over a thousand journalism professionals in the Pacific Northwest, this project explores current industry practices, newsroom-specific practices, gender-focused trainings or lack thereof, and the survey subjects’ own perceptions of where journalistic standards are lacking with regard to the representation of women in the news .