United States: women protest lack of women on "Meet the Press"

Off Our Backs, May/Jun 2005 by Verma, Priya, Douglas, Carol Anne, Pleatman, Rachel, Chapman, Annsley, Et al

On April 10, women gathered outside NBC's Washington, D.C., studio to protest the shortage of women pundits invited to discuss religion and public policy on "Meet the Press." Catholics for a Free Choice organized the event, which was attended by members of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

The protest was sparked by an episode of "Meet the Press" in which only male religious leaders were invited to discuss "Faith in America."

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), a media watchdog organization, recently conducted a study that found that only 39 percent of the guests on "Meet the Press" were women, only one of whom was a woman of color. Similar shows were also examined, with ABC's "This Week" coming in last place with only 22 percent female guests.

FAIR suggested that the lack of female guests is a result of a lack of women in newsrooms. Few female writers obtain the highest positions in journalism, which is where shows like "Meet the Press" get their so-called experts.

-info from Feminist.org