P.S. A Column On Things

End April 16 Column

Female Journalists in the Media, Again

In March 2007, I got this note:

I am currently completing my final year of schooling at Hornsby Girls' High School in Sydney, Australia. As part of the Society and Culture course, a personal interest project is required and I have chosen to do mine on the portrayal of female journalists in film and television over recent decades, how accurate these representations are, and the values they promote to women.

Now, as a rule, I believe such questions are better answered by Prof. Joe Saltzman of USC and his site, Image of Journalists in Popular Culture. However, I do have a page of my responses to previous queries about the depiction of women journalists in the media, which, when googled, continues to bring me such queries directly. Here are her questions and my answers for your (edification?)

1. What are some of the most common stereotypes you have come across of female journalists in film and television?

Basically, female journalists are depicted as fearless and talented individuals, ready to drop their career at the drop of a marriage proposal--the same image they've had since the 1930s (you really should read Girl Reporter by Howard Good). They are usually childless and marry later in life.

2. What are the sorts of stereotypes of male journalists you have come across?

Until the 1990s, most male journalists were depicted (with reasonable accuracy) as alcoholics with bad marriages. They were married to their jobs, and they self-medicated for their adenaline addiction by drinking. Now they are depicted as faceless members of a threatening, undifferentied mob of print and electronic reporters and photographers--as are female reporters. Reporters used to be the good guys. Now they are the bad guys.

3. Do you believe these stereotypes are in any way justified? What would you say they reflect about gender assumptions in our society today?

When I started in journalism, there was a bottle of alcohol in every other desk in the newsroom. By 1982, when my old paper was closed, having alcohol in the newsroom was a firing offense. It has taken the media a while to catch up with the new reality. Again, based on my own experience, the best women reporters are single and/or childless, although that is starting to change. The media business expects you to love it more than you do your personal life.

And, of course, the societal sterotype is that a man who loves his job more than his family is a hard-working hero whose wife doesn't understand him, while a woman who loves her job more than getting married is a frustrated soon-to-be spinster, who will, as I said, drop everything to get married when the right man comes around. A double standard to be sure.

4. To what extent are gender prejudices still evident in film and television portrayals of female journalists?

Many more women are depicted in journalism jobs today, which is an accurate reflection of the changing complexion on newsrooms. As with every other kind of role in tv and films, bald, old, ugly male journalists are acceptable, but female journalists must be young and drop-dead gorgeous. And, they must be dressed in a way that is wildly inappropriate. Any woman reporter who dressed like the ones in films and television would be laughed off the street, because between the tight dress, the low cut and the high heels, she literally, physically, couldn't do her job.

5. Popular figures such as Bridget Jones and Ugly Betty would appear to be exceptions to the stereotype of glamour that is often portrayed. How would you say they have contributed to the image of the female journalist in popular culture?

They are the exception that proves the rule. And Bridget Jones and Ugly Betty are still prettier than 50% of all women journalists--and 90% of all men.

6. Female journalists are often depicted as embodying the ideal of 'having it all'. Do you believe this is a positive image young people should aspire towards, or a negative image that results in unrealistic perceptions of the world of work?

They are frequently shown as "wanting it all," but are generally shown having to make a choice between career and family. Women make both choices on the screen, but are rarely depicted as living a successful and balanced life--which a lot of women journalists do. Choice, of course, makes for good drama, but if TV and the movies were in the business as serving as role models for young people to aspire to, they'd occasionally show a woman who--just like a man--can have a family and a journalism career.

All depictions of journalism in films and on television result in unrealistic perceptions of the world of work. Journalism is frequently likened to other career fields, in which long periods of waiting around, doing nothing and being bored, are interrupted by brief periods of frenetic activity. I, myself, use to read the entire morning paper, then the first edition of the afternoon paper, then suddenly shifted gears and spent two hours frantically pounding out copy for the noon deadline of the afternoon paper I worked for. Screen depictions either leave out the long boring parts or make short shrift of them. A realistic depiction of journalism would be as boring as hell.

7. Do you believe that the tendency in Hollywood blockbusters to show journalists working for top fashion magazines or TV stations rather than for small local newspapers or radio stations has been a significant factor in painting an unrealistic picture to audiences?

Of course, the majority of the jobs are in smaller markets (in the US, there are virtually no radio news jobs left), so, yes, it is an unrealistic picture. But again, as boring as life really is on a big-city newspaper or glamorous magazine, it is way more boring in Portland, Oregon, where I am from.

8. Many films, even if they are not specifically about journalism, often include it as a subplot, for example as the female protagonist's occupation (eg's would include films such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or Suddenly 30). How would you account for journalism and media-orientated occupations being such a popular choice of career for female protagonists?

Ah, that one is easy, and Prof. Joe Saltzman of USC has written about it on several occasions. Making someone a journalist, even if that career choice is a subplot, allows them to go anywhere, at any time, do anything and ask questions of anyone, including people both above and below their social station. It provides more dramatic means of exposition than having a character talk to himself or explain the situation to his spouse. Plus, you get to do a montage of all those swirling headlines.

9. How would you say the portrayal of female journalists in film and television over recent years reflects: a) the status of women in today's society b) the values of women in today's society

The increasing frequency with which female journalists are portrayed, and the sometimes loft positions they are seen to have, reflect an actual improvement in the status of women as journalists--which is a shame, as the field is in the process of collapsing, just as they get a seat at the table.

The values of women are reflect in the female journalists most frequent conflict: family or career. As this is also one of conflicts most frequently faced by all professional women today, its depiction in the case of female journalists, reflects a values discussion that is ongoing in most industrialized countries.

More on Macs

My good friend, the contributor of Technobriefs, Craig Reynolds, read my item about Macs last week. As a Mac and Unix user who eschews the products of Redmond whenever possible, he dropped me this missive:

I enjoyed your PSACOT post Shocking Macintosh News. You know, these days it is really easy to transition from Windows to Mac, since new Macs use Intel processors, they can run Windows apps easily. Apple offers Bootcamp which lets you dual boot between OS X and Windows. And there is a really great app called Parallels Desktop for Mac which runs a Windows desktop in an app window on OS X's desktop. This lets you, for example, cut and paste between Windows apps and OS X apps.

Speaking of Vista's security features (like asking users endless obscure questions they can't possibly understand and distract them form the occasional important ones) I assume you have seen this ad?

I wasn't sure what you meant by "its file structure prevents you from 'really' knowing what is going on". All advanced computing and user interface concepts depend on abstraction and information hiding. (Which disk block holds your desktop folder? Why does "My Network Neighborhood" look like a file folder?) I use the Spotlight (cmd-space) to find files on my Mac, I rarely pay attention to directory hierarchies anymore.

Any user interface which is not your accustomed one will feel like "computing with gloves on". I never have felt as productive as I was back on the Symbolics Lisp Machine in the 1980s.

Re "creeped out that all apps are on the screen at once" -- I assume you know you can hide any app with cmd-H and switch between them with cmd-TAB. You can hide individual windows of an app with the yellow "-" button.

I ran into this shortly after reading your post: This stupid stuff doesn't happen on a Mac

Technobriefs

by Craig Reynolds

DRM and the major labels: could this be the beginning of the end for the self-defeating anti-consumer stupidity of DRM on music? Apple signaled it was ready for fully open fully interoperable DRM-free content with Steve Job's February post Thoughts on Music. A breakthrough was reached this week when EMI announced plans to sell DRM-free music, at higher quality for a 30% premium: EMI Teams Up With Apple, Becomes First Major To Drop DRM ("This is pretty surprising news, and not only because it involves a major label making a smart decision about online distribution for the first time in, well, forever..." See also Apple, EMI offer higher-quality DRM free downloads and EMI unlocks anti-piracy software on music). The European Commission takes Apple's side, saying the onus is on the music labels: EU says record firms force iTunes to limit access ("Our current view is that this is an arrangement which is imposed on Apple by the major record companies and we do not see a justification for it.") Lastly, a veteran musician says to self-publish: Dick Dale's advice to artists: stay the hell away from labels.

Robots: a random collection of novel robotic architectures: Amoebalike Robots for Search and Rescue,  Robots with rhythm could rock your world and Robotic Fleas Spring into Action (Tiny rubber bands can power microrobots that could serve as ultrasmall sensors).

Yet another pyramid construction theory: the BBC wisely used skeptical quotes in its headline: Mystery of Great Pyramid 'solved'. Nothing at all about real pyramids was solved or proven, just that Jean-Pierre Houdin's proposed construction technique probably could have worked. Personally, I still like the "cast in place" theory, e.g.: Egyptian Pyramids Used Some of the Earliest Concrete Cast by any Civilization (see The Pyramids: An Enigma Solved). Speaking of new technology applied to ancient construction materials: Novel Experiments On Cement Yield Concrete Results and Ancient Greek Amphitheater: Why You Can Hear From Back Row.

New for Mac: Office 2008 for Mac slips into beta and Google Desktop for Mac which integrates with Apple's Spotlight local file search utility. From Macworld: Google Desktop for Mac released and First Look: Google Desktop for the Mac.

Technobits: How multicore will reshape computing keynote at Multicore Expo by MIT's Anant Agarwal --- Online play can help researchers tackle tough computational problems --- New Bar Codes Can Talk With Your Cellphone --- Life And Death Of A Photon 'Filmed' For The First Time --- Spintronics It may be possible to store a bit of data on a single atom and retrieve it --- LED lit parking garages seem safer --- FBI checks gambling in Second Life virtual world and Virtual ants simulated in Second Life --- Orwell's London neighborhood covered in spy-cameras how chillingly Orwellian --- From Bakelite to Plasma: TV Through the Ages pictorial history from Wired  --- A Tool Worthy of Batman's Utility Belt --- If We Taught English the Way We Teach Mathematics... (via).

Meet the Robinsons

3.5 stars out of 5

I forced my 25 year old daughter Marlow to accompany me to Meet the Robinsons in Disney Digital 3D. Even in 2D it would have been fun. Even without the 1952 Donald Duck cartoon in 3D (gives you a chance to see how far 3D has come) it would have been fun. Yes, it is rated G, but, as with the best G rated films, there were a few sly references (Lost in Space, 2001 a Space Odyssey) to keep the adults interested and amused--but they weren't entirely necessary. Time travel is a tired trope (and this film doesn't even try to deal with the grandfather paradox), but its probably new to the under-ten crowd. The plot, of course, is disposable, but most of the gags were funny for young and old alike. Funny and clean. The combination, along with the use of Adam West as voice talent, was enough to wring an extra half star out of me. I enjoyed it and would recommend it, even if you don't have children.

LaSusa Links, Dern offers Conspiracy Parody, Speckert/ Google / April Fool, Surman on Helvetica, Tough Year At Ivys

Tom LaSusa surfs the web so you don't have to: K.I.T.T. for sale... Houdini slideshow... Software to detect fake photos... Holy Crap, she lived!... The Worlds of Jim Henson and Edward Gorey finally meet!... No Fair, Madonna's Got an iPhone! ... Guy Climbing Everest to Make a Phone Call... Google Search for 'Snake' Takes On Whole New Meaning.

Daniel Dern forwards this: Uncomfortable Questions: Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job?

Glen Speckert points out that last week's column (hint; think of the date) was incomplete without a mention of Google TiSP.

Since I don't live in New York, if it weren't for Barry Surman, I would not know that the Museum of Modern Art is saluting 50 Years of Helvetica. I've used a lot of this type face over the years, but frankly I don't care for it, and I believe what I was told was "usability research" back in 1997-2001 when I was running websites: sans serif faces (like Helvetica--or the default type font of Typepad, which hosts this blog) are harder to read then serif faces (like Times New Roman, the screen font in which I write this column).

Students at MIT are passing around this one:

• EDUCATION | April 4, 2007
  A Great Year for Ivy League Schools, but Not So Good for Applicants to Them
  By SAM DILLON
  It was the most selective spring in modern memory at America's elite schools, according to college admissions officers.

Dan Grobstein File

Dan points out:

Did you know that if you type "Rudy Giuliani for President" into Google, you get a sponsored link for Mitt Romney for President?

[ed. note: you can pay Google for a paid link on any term you like--and the scale slides, so I am sure they are charging the Romney people an arm and a leg (and the McCain and Giuliani people as well]

• News Blog: The Midwest is more religious than the Middle East
• INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | April 2, 2007
  Qaeda Is Seen as Restoring Leadership
  By MARK MAZZETTI
  A new generation of leaders has emerged under Osama bin Laden to cement control over the network’s operations, U.S. officials said.
• BUSINESS | April 3, 2007
  Lost and Very Rarely Found
  By CLAIRE ATKINSON
  Small electronic gadgets are the items most easily left behind, but travelers leave all sorts of things on planes and in hotel rooms.
• NEW YORK REGION | April 3, 2007
  Relatives of Interned Japanese-Americans Side With Muslims
  By NINA BERNSTEIN
  An unusual legal brief draws parallels between the government’s treatment of Japanese and its treatment of Muslims since 9/11.
• NEW YORK REGION | April 4, 2007
  Substitute Teacher Tells History Firsthand
  By PAUL VITELLO
  Arnold Blume, 81, has carved out a niche at the intersection of teaching and oral history.
• OPINION | April 5, 2007
  Op-Ed Contributors: Spinning Into Oblivion
  By TONY SACHS and SAL NUNZIATO
  The major labels wanted to kill the single. Instead they killed the album. The Recording Industry Association of America wanted to kill Napster. Instead it killed the compact disc.

From SF Gate:

• Disease Underlies Hatfield-McCoy Feud
  MARILYNN MARCHIONE, Associated Press, 04/05/07
  (04-05) 18:08 PDT , (AP) -- The most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts. Dozens of...

End April 9 Column