The controversy over Don Imus' comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team was discussed on this morning's Meet The Press. And who was at the table analyzing the racist and sexist attacks fired at these young women? David Books of The New York Times, John Harwood of The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Gwen Ifill of PBS' Washington Week and the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson.
Mr. Russert, is it true that you're thinking of changing the name of your show to Meet the Men?
I mean, think about it--even on this topic that was screaming out for female experts on your panel, there was only one woman, three men, and you, Mr. Russert.
I never miss your program; I love it. But come on--it's time to give viewers equal representation of male and female experts. Don't underestimate how many of us want to hear from more women.
True, you're not alone falling behind on this initiative.
SheSource.org -- an organization dedicated to "closing the gender gap in news media"-- reports that:
● On the influential Sunday morning political talk shows, women represent only 14% of guest appearances ("Who's Talking?" The White House Project, 2005.)
● On the three main U.S. broadcast networks, 87 percent of expert sound bytes are provided by men. (Women, Men and Media and The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, 1998)
● Despite their growing ranks as experts in fields ranging from national security and military spending to technology and health care, women continue to be drastically underrepresented in the news media as policy shapers and leading voices of authority on critical issues. We've heard from journalists that say the main reason they do not quote women as experts on a range of topics is simply because they do not know how to find them.
So here's a solution:
SheSource.org closes the gender gap in news coverage by making it easy for journalists to connect with women experts on topics of interest. With a few quick clicks, journalists can find women experts in a variety of fields across the country.
Call To Action
Viewers--demand to hear from women in the news media as policy shapers and leading voices of authority.
Contact major media outlets and insist on hearing women authorities in the media. And hey, you can even make broadcast networks' jobs easier: recommend sources like SheSource.org. Start an e-mail and phone campaign today insisting on this change. Start with Meet The Press--Tim Russet is moderator. Betsy Fischer is the executive producer. Michelle Jaconi and Rebecca Samuels are producers. Contact them. Then move down the list to the other programs. Make it happen.
It's time.
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What is SheSource.org?
From their website: "SheSource.org is an online braintrust of female experts on diverse topics designed to serve journalists, producers and bookers who need female guests and sources. SheSource.org includes spokeswomen from a variety of backgrounds, representing demographic and ethnic diversity as well as expertise in areas, ranging from security, the economy, and politics to law, peacekeeping, humanitarian crisis, and more."
"SheSource.org is the cornerstone of an initiative by The Women's Funding Network, The White House Project and Fenton Communications to foster a more representative public discourse by increasing the number of women whose opinions are reflected in the news media."
How SheSource.org Works
Journalists can search for experts by issue, keyword, name or region using our advanced search tool. A list of women who fit the search criteria will be displayed with a link to their biographies, photos, and video (where available). SheSource.org's expert's full biographies include detailed information about their area of expertise, media experience, background, and contact information. As a journalist you can sign up for our news advisories with available experts on the week's news.
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A portion of this post originally appeared in Debra Condren's post, "Hair, Hemlines and Husbands: Time to Shift the Focus".