What+makes+women's+Issue?

Minic, D. (2008). What Makes An Issue A Woman's Hour Issue?. Feminist Media Studies, 8(3), 301-315. doi:10.1080/14680770802217345.


 * Abstract**: "This paper revisits the issues raised in debates on the politics of recognition from the point of view of media practitioners and their experiences in covering women's issues and perspectives. It explores the concerns regarding the attempts to improve media coverage of women's issues and perspectives by looking into one particular women's program, BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour's. The analysis is based primarily on interviews with members of the Women's Hour team and complemented by basic information on the presence of different subject areas and speakers in a sample of actual programming. The paper explores the criteria employed by journalists in their day to day decisions regarding the issues and approaches appropriate for the specialist women's program. It discusses interviewees' definitions of Women's Hour items and the three main factors that influence their selection of issues and the ways to approach them. The first factor concerns the identity of the program: its issues, voices, and their diversity. The second factor is the listeners or, more broadly, the public ad the ways it shapes Women's Hour. The third factor is the professional and institutional context of the program. The concluding discussion examines the ways in which woman's Hour combines or oscillates between recognition and deconstruction of women's/gender identities, producers' interests and the perceived interests of their audiences, and feminist policies and journalistic principals".
 * Abstract taken from paper.

-"Women in the news make up 21% of all news subjects" - There is more representation of women in the following topics, celebrity, arts, sports, social and legal (not more then men but more then other areas) - Women are much less represented in economy and politics. - GMMP (Global Media Monitoring Project) lobbying for a change in the media, similar monitoring projects started in the 1900's. -The show went from women's domestic topics/issues to "offering women's views on current issues and communication information about issues currently affecting women". This show has been able to talk about thing that are not talked about in other popular media texts. -Looks at the Deconstructionist's approach, now used to change both minorities and majorities, therefore can change everybody's sense of self. -Fraser and Stevenson point out a struggle between creating equality for all, as well as respecting differences at the same time.
 * Important Points:** (facts from article 2007)
 * This is good because now a women's hour is not about domestic tasks, but real every day issues that effect everyone, just with a women's twist/perspective.
 * In Western culture there is movement towards empowering women on a whole new level. Trying to always create a new and improved you. Still working on issues of equality but huge advancements have been made. Now men and women have the opportunity to be the stay at home parent, women not just looking for decent job, but the best job.

This article is relevant to our study as out CARE project leader was interested in women's rights closer to home as well as in third world countries. Even close to home there is still a power struggle between men and women, but nothing like the poverty stricken countries. It shows that in developed countries the power struggle is one that is closer to the "top", instead of fighting for women's rights to work, or to have a life of her own, the struggle is for management/CEO positions and making even women feel like she is powerful.
 * Why this article is relevant:**