This chart was produced by the OpEd Project as part of their 2012 Byline Report. The Byline Report provides an analysis of the race and gender of contributors in major newsmedia publications, with an aim to “track the ideas and individuals that are most influential – shaping public opinion and policy, driving resources and talent, and assigning meaning to the world, in our national and global public conversation.” This particular chart focuses on the gender of contributors in major “Legacy Media” (NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and the Wall Street Journal) on different topics of interest. Women are charted in blue, men are charted in orange.

discussion

Analyze the chart and think critically about the following questions. On what topics do men’s perspectives dominate, on what topics do women’s perspectives dominate, and what topics have relatively equal contributions across gender? What are the fundamental reasons why these imbalances in contributions exist? What impact do you think this has on broader society?

In a “new media” environment, do you think the types of stories that get told in mainstream legacy media like the NY Times still matter? Why or why not?