Women and Media

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

4:30 p.m.

United Nations Church Center, 10^th Floor

Women, Media, Revolution: Amplifying Voices of Women Living on and Reporting from the Frontlines

Sponsored by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice

Panelists:

Prue Clarke: New Narratives: Women Reporting Africa, A project training women journalists in Africa

Jina Moore: Freelance multimedia journalist.  Correspondent for Christian Science Monitor

Jennifer Pozner: Women in Media and News

Jackee Batanda: Ugandan Journalist

Kristen Fitzpatirck: Women Make Movies

Media can be a powerful source to bring critical issues alive.  Today, women discussed the roles that media can play and has played in advancing the status of women.  A topic that struck me was the demand and supply of news media.  One of the members of the audience asked the question, “Why don’t US news sources cover international news?”  Reflecting on the question, images of the checkout lines at grocery stores flashed in my mind.  What do we see?  Hollywood hook-ups and break-ups, beauty tips, health and diet, and DRAMA.  Rarely do we see any mention of anything going on in any other country.  Unless, of course, JLo is taking an exotic vacation on a secluded island or you wanted to follow the royal wedding.  Jina Moore simply responded, “We are not interested in international news.  We are interested in our own shallow selves!!”  She then referenced how US Time magazine’s front cover differs from international front covers.  While the rest of the world is concerned with European politics, we are concerned with puppies and kittens.  It seems to me that in the US there seems to be more of a demand for mind numbing, escape-from-reality news than there is thought provoking, understanding-the-world news.  The journalist encouraged us to write to news sources and ask for the type of news we want.  Then, maybe, just maybe someone in the media might believe that we want to hear about something else.