Report Reveals Major Gender Gap In 'Notable Deaths' Coverage

There seems to be a major gender gap on lists rounding up the most notable deaths of the year.

Mother Jones' Dana Liebelson examined lists from various newspapers—including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Denver Post—and found that men considerably outweigh women as publications report on the most notable deaths of 2012.

According to Mother Jones' findings, The New York Times listed 108 men on their list, and only 29 women. The Boston Globe listed 83 men and only 19 women and the Denver Post listed 36 men and 10 women. Liebelson wondered, "So is the issue that notable women aren't dying—or that newspapers aren't reporting it?"

Liebelson examined the same publications and found that an average of 77 percent of notable deaths reported were about men. She also looked notable deaths reported over time in the New York Times, and found that while the amount of notable deaths coverage increased, the gender gap did as well.

The grim findings are consistent with other studies about women in the media. A study put out by The OpEd Project in May 2012 found that men still dominate bylines on articles published across various news outlets. A study released in October found that articles written by male journalists dominate the front pages of British newspapers. In June, a study revealed that more men were quoted in the press about the presidential campaign, even when topics pertained to women's issues or the female vote.

(h/t Mother Jones)