Gendered Crisis Reporting: A Content Analysis of Crisis Coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC Evening News Programming, 1969 - 2007 A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science Melissa A. Gerber August 2008 This thesis titled Gendered Crisis Reporting: A Content Analysis of Crisis Coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC Evening News Programming, 1969 - 2007 by MELISSA A. GERBER has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph P. Bernt Professor of Journalism Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract GERBER, MELISSA A., M.S., August 2008, Journalism Gendered Crisis Reporting: A Content Analysis of Crisis Coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC, 1969 - 2007 (55 pp.) Director of Thesis: Joseph P. Bernt Previous studies assess the representation of women in journalism; however, few specifically look at broadcast journalism and crisis reporting. This content analysis analyzes approximately 40 years of national network news crisis coverage to determine the representation of female journalists in crisis reporting. Overall, this study found while female journalists were responsible for more crisis coverage with the progression of time, women were still underrepresented. Furthermore, through categorizing the crises, this study found an association between the nature of the crisis situation and the gender of the reporters covering it; overall, female journalists were most underrepresented in accident crisis coverage. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Joseph P. Bernt Professor of Journalism iii Acknowledgments I wish to acknowledge my thesis chair Dr. Joseph Bernt for his encouragement and guidance throughout the whole processes. It took extreme patience for him to tolerate my compulsive nature and endless questions; for that I am extremely thankful. I also wish to acknowledge the rest of my committee, Dr. Marilyn Greenwald and Professor Mary Rogus, for their insight and suggestions throughout the process. iv Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 10 Gendered Reporting ..................................................................................................... 10 Newsroom Management Influences ............................................................................. 13 Gender and Crisis Reporting ......................................................................................... 15 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 5: Discussion ....................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 6: Limitations ...................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 6: Bibliography ................................................................................................... 42 Appendix A: Sample Coding Sheet .................................................................................. 45 Appendix B: List of AP Crises ......................................................................................... 47 Appendix C: Definition of Categories .............................................................................. 48 v List of Tables Table 1: Reports by Male and Female Reporters from 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .................................................................................................22 Table 2: Reports by Male and Female Reporters in Rank Order from 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .................................................................................................23 Table 3: Reports by Male and Female Reporters for each Decade from 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .................................................................................................24 Table 4: Categorized Coverage by Male and Female Journalists from 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .................................................................................................25 Table 5: Average Time Allotted to Male and Female Journalists in Minutes and Seconds per Crisis Category from 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .............28 Table 6: The Amount of Coverage by Male and Female Reporters on ABC, CBS, and NBC from 1969 to 2007 during the First Three Days versus the First Three Days through the Following Six Months of Crisis Coverage by Crisis Category ...............................29 Table 7: The Number of Stories in which Male or Female Anchors Consulted Male or Female Reporters by Crisis Category for Year and Network Combined .......................31 Table 8: Reports Anchored Male and Female Anchors through the Decades From 1969 to 2007 on ABC, CBS, and NBC .................................................................31 vi Chapter 1: Introduction In times of crisis millions of Americans turn to television for information. Journalism not only provides information; but, also, fulfills rituals and creates meaning.1 The live nature of television is used to provide security and help people process what happened. It is not so much the content of televised stories that makes television so important in a crisis but, rather, television’s particular format and style of presentation, coupled with the fact that so many people watch it simultaneously.2 Newsroom managers have to decide carefully which reporters to send into the mayhem with the task of relaying information, fulfilling ritualistic roles, and providing meaning for audiences, while at the same time remaining calm. This content analysis assesses the representation of female journalists in crisis reporting during the last 40 years. Female journalists first contributed to the broadcast industry through radio.3 During the radio industry’s infancy in the early 1920s, women, who were the wives and daughters of radio station owners, contributed as a hobby. As radio gained popularity, women became more involved in programming. By 1930, 49% of households, in the United States, had radio sets. The growth in radio resulted in more opportunities for women in music, acting, and in programming.4 However, female journalists were limited 1 Kristina Riegert and Eva-Karin Olsson, “The Importance of Ritual in Crisis Journalism,” (paper presented at the International Communication Association annual meeting, Dresden Germany, June 19-26, 2006). 2 Ronald Crelisten, “The Impact of Television on Terrorism and Crisis Situations: Implications for Public Policy,” Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management 2, no.2 (1994): 71. 3 Deborah Chambers, Linda Steiner and Carole Fleming, Women and Journalism (New York: Routledge, 2004), 29. 4 Ibid., 28. 1 to producing programming intended for other women: advice on childcare, household hints, and recipes.5 By 1940, television was in its infancy, but radio was booming; approximately 80% of households had a working radio. At the beginning of the Second World War, Americans found radio to be an important source of national and world news. As American men were drafted to serve in the war, women stepped forward and became radio personalities. By 1944 women outnumbered men as radio news announcers twelve to one. Despite these advances in the broadcast industry for female journalists, as the men came home from war, women were asked to return jobs to them. Once replaced by men, many women left journalism for homemaking.6 During the 1950s and 1960s, few female broadcast journalists were responsible for either radio or television programming.7 Pauline Frederick, Nancy Dickerson, and Marlene Sanders, represented a select few who fought for on-air time at the major television networks. They constantly felt pressured to prove themselves capable by filing stories that were nearly perfect.8 Women became more prominent in journalism during the 1970s and 1980s.9 In 1971, female journalists made up 12.8% of the broadcast industry, which increased to 32.3% by 1982.10 This shift is partly the result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which 5 Morleen Getz Rouse, “Daytime Radio Programming for the Homemaker: 1926-1956,” Journal of Popular Culture 12 (Fall 1978): 315. 6 Ibid., 33. 7 Susan M. Stacy, “The Emergence of Women in American Network Television Journalism, 1948 – 1985” (MA thesis, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, 1993), 39. 8 Ibid., 39. 9Deborah Chambers, Linda Steiner and Carole Fleming, Women and Journalism, 29. 10 Christy C. Bulkeley, “Whose News? Progress and Status of Women in Newspapers and