[ecrea] CfP - Women in the Media: Who Creates the News?

Women in the Media: Who Creates the News?

So far, the research has shown that women have less voice in the media 
than men do, both as the creators of news, the subjects, and the 
interviewees. This exclusion is especially in the most appealing 
sections such as politics. Moreover, some research studies show that 
women traditionally occupy so called “feminine” area such as health, but 
when those areas move to the news and become part of the news agenda 
then women get pushed out and men take over what used to be a feminine area.

Therefore, this book wants to examine the position and experience of 
women in the media in both respects, i.e 1) whether they are now 
experiencing the privilege of writing in the most important and most 
popular sections such as news, or are they still regulated to the place 
of women: health, lifestyle and food, and 2) whether they are used as 
sources by journalists and if so in which areas. Thus, news is 
understood as a product not just created by a journalist (be it male or 
female) but also as a product created by its sources due to journalistic 
dependence on sources (be it male or female) that are sometimes driving 
the coverage of the media.

We are interested in both western and non-western perspectives, which 
would enable full cultural and intersectional exploration of the issue. 
For example, in the US, now president Donald Trump’s campaign was 
partially centred on demeaning women and their position in the society. 
This sexism has continued into his presidency and affecting women 
right’s issue such as access to birth control. Scholars have been 
reporting about problematic representation of women in the US media for 
decades, and it would be relevant to find out to what extent Trump 
relied on these mechanisms or if he altered them (i.e., his constant 
criticism of mainstream media as fake news). Has the election and 
presidency changed the experience of women in the media?

On the other hand, non-western countries have also faced other 
legislatives demeaning to women, e.g. proposals to ban abortion by 
elected Governments such as in Spain. In some other countries, such as 
post-Communist Europe, women have been seen as birth givers and those 
who are supposed to care for ethnic purity of the nation. Thus, it would 
be significant to see how media in variety of countries portray women 
and to what extent are women used as speakers for news coverage and to 
what extent female journalists occupy important positions in newsrooms.

Thus, proposed chapters should concentrate on the news production and 
aim to explore what topics women cover in respected case study, and for 
which stories are women used as sources. Chapters can be single studies 
but comparative and regional studies are particularly welcome. 
Historical perspectives or chapters offering historical analysis and 
linking history with present are also encouraged.

Abstracts should be sent by 15 January 2018 to both editors at the 
following email addresses,
(M.Topic /at/ leedsbeckett.ac.uk) and (sydney.heifler /at/ seh.ox.ac.uk)

Abstracts should not be longer than 500 words, and the completed 
chapters should be no more than 7000 words. Extensive theoretical 
introductions are not necessary in chapters because an introductory 
study will provide an overview of existing work and debates surrounding 
the position of women in the media. Case study context should be 
explained in each chapter.

When we receive an abstract, we will contact the publisher. We aim to 
publish the collection in the UK or the US, and we have contacts with 
mainstream academic publishers who have expressed interest in publishing 
this book.


Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: 15 January 2018
Decisions: 15 February 2018
Full chapters due: 15 June 2018

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