Publication
Title
Enduring gender bias in reporting on political elite positions : media coverage of female MPs in Belgian news broadcasts (2003-2011)
Author
Abstract
In Belgium, like in numerous other democracies, the representation of women in parliament has risen sharply in recent decades, partly because of gender quota legislation. This rapid evolution implies that traditional notions on the presence of gender bias in media reporting need to be re-assessed. Relying on data from more than six thousand full newscasts, we examine the allotted speaking time to members of parliament (MPs) from 2003 until 2011 in the two main television news broadcasts in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to determine which factors influence the probability and volume of television news coverage of MPs. The results indicate thateven controlling for alternative explanationsnews media persist in a biased treatment of female MPs: Female MPs are significantly less likely to be allotted speaking time, and they receive less speaking time than their male colleagues. Moreover, results show that this gap in media coverage is present especially for elite and thus newsworthy positions. Apparently, gender bias in the media persists, even when the political system evolves rapidly toward equal representation.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The international journal of press/politics. - Cambridge, Mass., 2008, currens
Publication
Cambridge, Mass. : 2015
ISSN
1940-1612 [print]
1940-1620 [online]
DOI
10.1177/1940161215596730
Volume/pages
20 :4 (2015) , p. 395-414
ISI
000362522900001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 12.03.2024
Last edited 13.03.2024
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