New for Fall 2021, the DMJ Department is offering a special topics course DMJ393 Gender and Journalism, taught by Prof. Rachel Somerstein.

In the U.S., more men than women report the news in every medium: TV, radio, online, and newspapers.

Those women who are in the industry tend to be underpaid compared with their male colleagues. They are also less likely to hold leadership positions. This underrepresentation is even more pronounced for women of color.

In the first part of this course, we review the latest data about this gender and racial breakdown, with special attention paid to the beats where men and women, and where white men in particular, tend to cluster. We consider the stakes around women’s disproportionately low contribution to this form of public culture and we consider the experiences of trans and non-binary people as well.  In the second part of the course, we turn to work about gender, race, and representation in news, considering the degree to which women, non-binary people and people of color are symbolically annihilated: either shown in stereotypical roles or absented from the news-world altogether.

3 credits, Prof. Rachel Somerstein. See schedule for time/ location of class meetings.