Teaching Women in the News: Exposing the "Invisible Majority" independent producer. The work from any Rohmer, Eric, and Claude Charbol 1988. one of these periods alone would have es- References Hitchcock: the First Forty Four Films. tablished him as a major figure in film his- (Trans. Stanley Hochman) New York: tory. Unfortunately, the most comprehen- Dutelbaum, Marshall, and Leland Poague, Continuum Publishing. sive current biography of this fascinating eds. 1986. A Hitchcock Reader. Ames: Rothman, William. 1982. Hitchcock: The character (Spoto 1983) is marred by an un- Iowa State University Press. Murderous Gaze. Cambridge: Harvard pleasant (and unfulfilled) agenda. Hitchcock, Alfred. 1948. "Let 'Em Play University Press. 2. "Alfred Hitchcock Dies," Los Angeles God." Hollywood Reporter 100:47 (11 Spoto, Donald. 1983. Dark Side of Genius: Times, April 29, 1980, p. 1. The second October). Reprinted in Sidney Gottlieb, The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. Boston: headline, in type half the size, is "Carter ed. 1995. Hitchcock on Hitchcock: Se- Little, Brown. • Picks Muskie to Be Secretary of State." lected Writings and Interviews. Berkeley: Truffaut, Frangois. 1984. Hitchcock. New 3. The most casual computer search will University of California Press. York: Simon and Schuster. yield scores of recent papers and books on Hitchcock, Alfred. 1965. "Motion Pictures," Hitchcock's films. Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 15. Re- 4. Hitchcock's 1936 classic Sabotage, printed in Gottlieb 1995. adapted from Joseph Conrad's The Secret Hitchcock, Alfred. 1973. "The American Agent, should not be confused with two Cinematheque." Interview and documen- About the Author other Hitchcock films, The Secret Agent, or tary. 1942's Saboteur. Leff, Leonard J. 1987. Hitchcock and Jonathan Kirshner is assistant professor of 5. Hitchcock's technique also made it dif- Selznick: the Rich and Strange Collabo- government at Cornell University and au- ficult for producers to reedit his work by ration of Alfred Hitchcock and David O. thor of Currency and Coercion: The Politi- using extra footage and master shots rou- Selznick in Hollywood. New York: Wei- cal Economy of International Monetary tinely called for in the studio system (Leff denfield and Nicholson. Power (Princeton University Press, 1995). 1987, 215). Robello, Stephen. 1990. Alfred Hitchcock His research focuses on the relationship be- and the Making of Psycho. New York: tween political economy and national secu- Dembner Books. rity, and international monetary relations.

Teaching Women in the News: Exposing the 'invisible Majority"

Penny M. Miller, University of Kentucky

Suppose your local newspaper, or discussion sections of large lecture names, not pronouns), byline, or the New York Times, or the college courses. photo of a woman and, using the daily, became an exclusively fe- In each of these courses, the ex- other highlighter, to do the same male domain—that every expert ercise has had the same impact on for men. Then they were asked to source, byline, photograph, quota- students, who are consistently tabulate male and female totals for tion, and evaluation were female. stunned by the results. The conclu- the different categories. Each stu- Most readers might wonder why sion in every class has been clear: dent presented his or her findings women deserve 100% of the cover- when it comes to front-page report- orally, and the results were enu- age when they represent 52% of the ing, Kentucky's major newspapers, merated on the blackboard. population. By contrast, an all-male the New York Times, and the col- Overall, female bylines on the front page might not register as lege daily significantly underrepre- newspaper pages averaged 25% of anything unusual, for it is a regular sent coverage of women and are the totals. Women amounted, on occurrence in many publications often unflattering in the coverage average, to 20% of those shown in (Aprile 1993, H8). they do provide. photographs. But the most extreme In October 1994, I conducted this result had to do with textual refer- exercise in a class on women and ences to females. On average, fe- A Dramatic Lesson politics. Armed with the sectional males were the subject of only 10% front pages of the Lexington Her- of front-page references. The following hands on exercise ald-Leader, the Louisville Courier- Some students had front pages has been conducted several times Journal, the New York Times, and that contained no female bylines, at the University of Kentucky in the University of Kentucky Kernel, photographs, or references to courses on American government, I distributed 90 newspapers ran- women. Even stories on topics of introduction to political science, domly to 45 students. I also distrib- unusual concern to women, such as political behavior, campaigns and uted two different-colored marking abortion, often contained more ref- the media, women and politics, and pens to each class member. erences to men, and few or no ref- state and local politics. It takes at First, students were instructed to erences to women. least 40-45 minutes to complete, highlight in one color every textual Secondly, to gain further insight and it is particularly successful in reference to persons (noting proper into the problem of the "invisible

September 1996 513 The Teacher majority," students were instructed Some Kernel reporters in the Scholarly Information to be to look for positive, negative, neu- class later convened a special ses- Provided After the Exercise tral, and mixed images of the roles sion of newspaper staffers and con- in which women were portrayed. due .ed a similar exercise with After the hands on lesson, stu- Negative images were identified ar, in'1 n. Several students expressed dents can be directed to in-depth those that depicted women as vic- their outrage to some Lexington research studies on reserve at the tims, perpetrators, or discredited and Louisville newspaper reporters library. These materials can be- sources. Positive images focused and editors and wrote letters to the come the subject of stimulating fu- on women in positions of power editor for publication. A follow-up ture group discussions. and authority or as attainers of class discussion was scheduled af- Several national studies have in- noted achievement. Neutral images ter the students read assigned ma- vestigated this issue. Bridge (1996), were basic, nonevaluative refer- terials by M. Junior Bridge (1993) in a survey sponsored by Women, ences (i.e., wife, mother) or those and FAIR (1992). Two local media Men and Media1 (cochaired by where no significance was attached experts were invited to the next Betty Friedan and Nancy Wood- to the reference. Mixed images class session to discuss exposing hull), examined 20 daily newspa- were defined as a combination of the "invisible majority"; students pers (10 major market, 10 small to positive and negative roles (i.e., a were required to prepare relevant medium markets) for a one-month state senator charged with bribery). questions. period.2 The print-media analysis Overall, the portrayals of women in examined bylines, photos, and ref- stories were approximately 45% erences by and about women on positive, 25% neutral, and 30% the front page, the first page of the negative or mixed. . . . when it comes to local news section, and the opinion/ Stories about females were often front-page reporting, editorial pages. about their victimization (rape, In the content analysis of the 20 murder, domestic violence). De- Kentucky's major dailies, including the Washington scriptions of women, no matter newspapers, the New Post and the New York Times, the what the female had done—a cou- Women, Men and Media study rageous act, a major exploit, an York Times, and the showed that men rather than intellectual accomplishment—al- women were referred to or solicited most always included a physical college daily significantly for comment 85% of the time in description and a familial relation- underrepresent coverage front-page stories. Men wrote 65% ship. Even female candidates for of the front-page stories and 74% of national political office were de- of women and are often the opinion pieces. Women ap- scribed in terms of their physical peared in 33% of the front-page attire, personal feminine attributes, unflattering in the photographs. References to and and family relationships. Men sel- coverage they do provide. comments from women leaders and dom were described in this fashion. experts consistently appeared to- In fact, it was rare that a male's ward the end of stories and com- marital or parental status was In the context of this women and mentaries, or did not appear at all. mentioned. politics course, future discussions Even when the issues commented The students also noticed that and follow-up materials (see appen- on had more direct impact on certain front-page stories focused dix) also related media coverage to women, such as breast implants, on the gender of women in nontra- electoral success and failure, to the sexual harrassment, abortion, and ditional roles (e.g., a female state relative effectiveness of female of- domestic violence, men's voices trooper and a female construction ficeholders, to female voting behav- dominated front pages. Although worker). This emphasis on gender ior, and to gender variations in in- "six percent of the front pages ex- implies oddities, and the focus on terest and participation in political amined carried no female refer- gender diminishes other qualities. issues and processes. ences, there were no front pages In scanning the inside pages of The same exercise in five Ameri- devoid of male references" (Bridge their particular newspaper sections can government discussion sections 1996, 3). for gender references, the students in February 1995 was followed by The same patterns cropped up in observed that women were under- extending the lessons concerning an examination of five nightly news represented everywhere except in invisible women to the invisible (or shows3 by Bridge (1995). The tele- the advertisements, where often negatively visible) African Ameri- vision analysis focused on the num- female models appeared only for can, Hispanic, and Asian American ber of women reporting the news, their beauty of sensuousness. populations, the effects of media anchoring news programs, and be- Third, students were asked to treatment of minorities on voter ing interviewed within a news express their feelings about what perceptions of poverty/immigration/ story. In the study of TV network they had observed. Most were agi- discrimination policy, and the diffi- news (ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS), tated, and heated discussion ensued culties minority interest groups face men reported 80% of the nightly about positive actions to redress in achieving concrete legislative news stories. At least one day on these coverage patterns. results. three of the five nightly news shows

514 PS: Political Science & Politics Teaching Women in the News: Exposing the "Invisible Majority"

(NBC, CNN, and PBS), not one women the opportunity to speak Woodhull argues. "It means that if female reported a story. Although for themselves and voice their con- the press does not report your exis- females reported 61% of the CNN cerns. Even in stories about issues tence, for all perception purposes stories, only 23% of those inter- relating directly to women (e.g., you do not exist." It's called feel- viewed by CNN were women. On silicone gel breast implants and ing "invisible."5 Groups that are average, three out of four inter- Norplant birth control usage), most consistently excluded from the views for the five different news- writers quoted male experts. In press eventually stop looking. Ac- casts were with men (Bridge 1995, 8). stories about abortion, writers reg- cording to Woodhull, in 1970, 78% Since 1989, the Women, Men ularly quoted abortion-rights advo- of U.S. women read a newspaper and Media project's annual surveys cates and anti-abortion spokesper- on a given day. By 1990, that figure have consistently concluded that sons. The women directly affected had dropped to 51%. Male readers women are "significantly under- by specific restrictions, however, also jumped ship, but their plunge represented" in the news (Bridge were rarely used as sources. Sec- was not so dramatic—from 77% to 1993, 1). This work and some stud- ond, when women made it to the 64%. To put the gender gap into ies conducted by FAIR (Fairness front pages, they often did so be- perspective, Woodhull said that if and Accuracy in Reporting) have cause of their familial relationship newspapers could get women to raised sobering concerns about the to a front-page male—in over one read in the same proportion as men responsibility of the media in shap- third of the Kentucky stories, a do, they would gain four million ing people's views of the world and readers (1993, 43^15). their picture of women's place in it In her book on women newspa- (FAIR 1992). per columnists, Maria Braden To put the gender gap writes that, while women journal- into perspective, ists do not always agree on issues, Information Available Nearby "one fact stands out: Women's Woodhull said that if voices often contrast significantly Local and state interest groups with those of men" (1993, 16). If have also collected data that can be newspapers could get newspapers fail to give expression made available to students. In women to read in the to that contrasting voice, then Kentucky, the national research, women will either not find it, or plus expressed interest by the Ken- same proportion as men will have to find it elsewhere. tucky media industry in increasing Some researchers have suggested readership/viewership by women, do, they would gain that the gender gap in the news has prompted the Kentucky Commis- four million readers. contributed profoundly to the sig- sion on Women (KCW) to conduct nificant underrepresentation of similar research on statewide women in elected and appointed 4 dailies. woman was referenced only as a offices at all levels of government For a two-week period each wife or mother. (Braden 1996; Cook, Thomas, and quarter beginning in the summer of In reviewing media coverage of Wilcox 1994; Kahn 1994a). The 1992, KCW analyzed the Courier- the 1992 elections, the KCW study electability of women candidates Journal and the Lexington Herald- found that male candidates were for local, statewide, and national Leader, and in the last quarter also usually referred to by name, with offices may be significantly influ- examined the Kentucky Post (Kruz- little descriptive wording attached. enced by differential press treat- ich and Campbell 1993). This analy- By contrast, references to female ment. Female candidates may be sis focused on gender references, candidates often included identifi- covered differently because of stan- bylines, and photos on the sec- cation of gender, and in some cases dard operating procedures of the tional front pages of the papers, eliminated their names altogether. press, as well as stereotyping by and on positive, negative, neutral, reporters and editors. In recent and mixed images of the roles in U.S. Senate and statewide races, which women were described. female candidates have consistently Drawing Conclusions KCW's research results fall gen- received less coverage than men erally within the range identified by The in-class exercise, in combi- and coverage that is more focused national studies. In summer and fall nation with academic research and on their chances of winning, less 1992, 15% and 13%, respectively, the localized advocacy-oriented devoted to issues, and more likely of sectional front-page stories were work, can lead to fruitful and to emphasize their possession of by or about women; in the winter, broader discussions led by the in- typical feminine traits and their it rose to 22%. The portrayal of structor or media experts. strengths in typical female policy women in these stories was approx- What difference do these cover- areas (Kahn 1994a, 1994b, 1992, imately 50% positive, 25% neutral, age patterns make? Nancy Wood- 1991). and 25% negative or mixed. hull, a founding editor of USA To- Both the extent and nature of Two broad conclusions follow day, maintains that it makes a media coverage greatly affect pub- from this analysis. First, coverage tremendous difference. "There is an lic perceptions, and research docu- of women's issues seldom offered act called symbolic annihilation," ments that reporting on women is

September 1996 515 The Teacher quantitatively deficient and, often, ing Like America? Not Yet..." New York, NY 10001 qualitatively problematic. Only Women, Men and Media Study. Wash- EXTRA! when more representative, realistic ington, D.C.: Unabridged Communica- "Missing Voices: Women and the tions. U.S. News Media" Special Issue, portrayals of women, men, and mi- . 1995. "Slipping from the Scene: norities are adopted can responsi- News Coverage of Females Drops." 1992 (publication of FAIR) ble social change occur. Women, Men and Media Study. Wash- Freedom Forum Media Studies Center ington, D.C.: Unabridged Communica- 580 Madison Avenue Thus, the in-class exercise on tions. 42nd Floor exposing the "invisible majority" -. 1996. "Marginalizing Women: Front- New York, NY 10022 can be a real eye-opener for stu- Page News Coverage of Females De- Media Studies Journal dents and media professionals alike clines in 19%." Women, Men and Media Gender Bias in the Media Project Study. Washington, D.C.: Unabridged and can lead, through widely avail- Kentucky Commission on Women able additional sources, to a funda- Communications. Cook, Elizabeth Adell, Sue Thomas, and 614A Shelby Street mental academic and cultural chal- Clyde Wilcox, eds. 1994. the Year of the Frankfort, KY 40601 lenge. Woman: Myths and Realities. Boulder: International Women's Media Westview Press. Foundation FAIR. 1992. Missing Voices: Women and 1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W. the U.S. Media. EXTRA! New York: Suite 1201 FAIR. Notes Kahn, Kim Fridkin. 1991. "Senate Elections Washington, D.C. 20036 in the News: Examining Campaign Cov- Journalism and Women Symposium 1. The Women, Men and Media project erage." Legislative Studies Quarterly 16: School of Journalism was established in 1989 to examine diversity 349-74. University of Missouri in news coverage; it is funded primarily by . 1992. "Does Being Male Help: An P.O. Box 838 the Freedom Forum, an international organi- Investigation of Gender and Media Ef- Columbia, MO 65205 zation dedicated to free press, free speech, fects in U.S. Senate Races." Journal of Media Watch and free spirit for all people. Politics 54:497-517. P.O. Box 618 2. The major newspapers reviewed by . 1994a. "The Distorted Mirror: Press Bridge in February 1996 include the Atlanta Coverage of Women Candidates for Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Constitution, Chicago Tribune, Houston Statewide Office." Journal of Politics Media Watch Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Miami Her- 56:154-73. 517 Wellington Street West, #204 ald, New York Times, Seattle Times, St. -. 1994b. "Does Gender Make a Differ- Toronto, Ontario Louis Post-Dispatch, USA Today, and ence? An Experimental Examination of Canada M5V 1G1 Washington Post. The smaller-market pa- Sex Stereotypes and Press Patterns in pers examined were the Albuquerque Jour- National Association of Media Women Statewide Campaigns." American Jour- 157 West 126th Street nal (NM), Beacon-News (Aurora, IL), Cou- nal of Political Science 38:162-95. rier (Findlay, OH), Daily Camera (Boulder, Kruzich, Rosanne, and Lindsay Campbell. New York, NY 10027 CO), Enid News and Eagle (OK), Joplin 1993. "Analysis of Gender Fairness in National Council for Research on Globe (MO), News-Times (Danbury, CT), the Media/Media Roundtable Project." Women Pine Bluff Commercial (AR), Sun-Journal Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Commission 47-49 East 65th Street (Lewiston, ME), and Tuscaloosa News (AL). on Women. New York, NY 10021 3. The nightly television news shows Woodhull, Nancy. 1993. "Covering Wom- A Directory of Women's Media monitored by Bridge in January 1995 include en." The American Society of Newspa- National Federation of Press Women ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN (World Today), and per Editors Annual Report: 43-45. PBS (MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour). Box 99 4. Thanks to Marsha Weinstein, former Blue Springs, MO 64013 Kentucky Commission on Women Execu- off our backs tive Director, and Lindsay Campbell, execu- 2337-B 18th Street N.W. tive assistant, for their leadership in con- Appendix Washington, DC 20009 ducting and promoting this research. Several public and private groups are Organization for Study of 5. Woodhull was the featured speaker at Communication, Language, and the gathering of Kentucky journalists in working on research, writing, and pub- Frankfort, Kentucky, on June 12, 1993. The lishing reports on how women are por- Gender media roundtable was sponsored by the trayed in the news: Department of Communication Kentucky Commission on Women and the Studies Bluegrass Chapter of the Society of Profes- American Women in Radio and University of San Diego sional Journalists. Television, Inc. San Diego, CA 92110 1101 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Political Woman Washington, D.C. 20036 276 Chatterton Parkway Association for Women Journalists White Plains, NY 10606 References P.O. Box 2199 Unabridged Communications Fort Worth, Texas 76113 Junior Bridge, Director Aprile, Diane. 1993. "Women in the News: Center for Media Literacy 1737 Preston Road The 'Invisible' Majority Wants to be 4727 Wilshire Boulevard, #403 Alexandria, VA 22302 Heard Too." Louisville: The Courier- Los Angeles, CA 90010 WINGS, Women's International News Journal, 4 July H8. Communications Research Associates Gathering Service Braden, Maria. 1993. She Said Whati Lex- 10606 Mantz Road ington, KY: University Press of Ken- P.O. Box 5307 tucky. Silver Spring, MD 20903 Kansas City, MO 64131 . 1996. Women Politicians and the Media Report to Women Women and Language Media. Lexington, KY: University Press FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Communications Department of Kentucky. Reporting) George Mason University Bridge, M. Junior. 1993. "The News: Look- 130 West 25th Street Fairfax, VA 22030

516 PS: Political Science & Politics Creating a Critical Thinking Learning Environment

Women Are Good News Women, Men and Media 1550 California Street, Suite 6318 Mount Vernon College About the Author San Francisco, CA 94109 2100 Foxhall Road N.W. Women in Cable and Washington, D.C. 20007 Penny M. Miller is associate professor Telecommunications Women's Media Project of political science 230 West Monroe Street NOW Legal Defense and and director of un- Chicago, IL 60606 Education Fund dergraduate studies Women in Communications 99 Hudson Street, 12th Floor of the Department of j 10605 Judicial Drive, Suite A4 New York, NY 10013 Political Science at Fairfax, VA 22030 Women of Color Resource Center University of Ken- Women in Film 2288 Fulton St., Suite 103 tucky. She is also a 6464 Sunset, Suite 900 Berkeley, CA 94704 member of the Ken- tucky Long-Term Hollywood, CA 90028 Women of Color Organizations Policy Research Center Board, the Ken- Women's Institute for Freedom and Projects: A National Directory tucky Center for Public Issues Board, and of the Press Women's Wire the White House Commission on Presiden- 3306 Ross Place, N.W. 435 Grand Ave., Suite D tial Scholars. Recent publications include Washington, D.C. 20008 San Francisco, CA 94080 Kentucky Politics and Government: Do We Women Make Movies Stand United? (University of Nebraska 225 Lafayette Street, Room 207 Press, 1994), Political Parties and Primaries New York, NY 10012 in Kentucky (University Press of Kentucky, 1990, with M. Jewell), and The Kentucky Legislature: Two Decades of Change (Uni- versity Press of Kentucky, 1988, with M. Jewell).

Creating a Critical Thinking Learning Environment: Teaching Statistics to Social Science Undergraduates1

Allan B. McBride, University of Southern Mississippi

Analytic thinking skills are highly formance on standardized tests. ing. High on the list of reading prized in academia, and yet there is Whimbey and Lochhead's work on myths is the myth that reading speculation and some evidence that problem solving and comprehen- aloud, or even moving your lips as such skills are in decline among sion, which comprise integral com- you read, is a habit that good read- contemporary students. The puta- ponents of analytic thinking, in- ers reject. In fact, Whimbey and tive decline has been attributed to, cludes several concrete methods Lochhead assert that reading aloud among other things, too much tele- that they report are used by good and subvocalizing are important to vision viewing and the wider avail- problem solvers—maintaining a comprehending challenging mate- ability of post-secondary education. positive attitude toward problem rial. The remaining myths that the Whatever the cause, faculty mem- solving, being concerned with accu- authors attack are a reflection of bers at secondary and undergradu- racy, breaking complex problems their aim to encourage reading ate institutions of learning are down into parts, avoiding guessing, practices that result in greater com- quick to point to an inability of stu- and being active in the problem prehension rather than greater dents to perform well on tasks that solving process (26-27). speed in reading (137-40). For ex- require such skills. A recent article The first two methods are largely ample, among these they note that in PS (Hoefler 1994) argues that psychological, requiring the prob- the superior problem solver reads political scientists have been slow lem solver to be convinced that the carefully and slowly while focus- to embrace teaching methods that problem can be solved and to rec- sing on challenging words and address these deficiencies and that ognize the importance of under- words that are central to the mean- they should begin to give greater standing the facts and relationships ing of the text. attention to the issue of critical and in the problem fully and accurately. As a faculty member in political analytic thinking. A key to the second recommenda- science who has borne the primary One set of educators (Whimbey tion, according to Whimbey and responsibility for teaching research and Lochhead 1986) has gone be- Lochhead, is fastidious reading and methods, statistics, and computer- yond complaints to offer some very rereading of relevant materials. based data analysis for both under- specific suggestions to faculty Reading is such an important ac- graduate and graduate students in members to help them challenge tivity that they devote an entire our program, I have been inter- their students to improve their chapter to it and note six myths ested in developing some ap- thinking ability as well as their per- that are often associated with read- proaches to teaching that would

September 19% 517