Females in sports, entertainment and media are underrepresented and often negatively portrayed in mainstream media today.

One 2014 US News article gives an overview of women’s representation across fields, which will be useful to give a brief introduction before diving into the subsections. Women’s representation in the media is not representative of the 51% of women in the U.S.

Some female athletes feel the need to sexualize themselves to be both marketable and feminine, one study says.

            This section will focus on how women are viewed based on their portrayal in the media and advertisements. A study by the International Journal of Human Science analyzes female athletes who don’t want to seem homosexual or masculine, so they sexualize themselves in ads. The study mentions Lolo Jones and Danica Patrick, both well-known female figures in professional sports. The coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was studied, comparing men’s and women’s sports, particularly volleyball. “Self-objectification theory” is mentioned, which would be interesting to research more and discuss in this section. To counter this, ESPN's recent Body Issue shows female athletes who love their body and are proud of their athletic build. I’ll also examine how women are told to look on television and what norms they’re expected to conform to. A panel hosted by National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), about how African-American girls and the expectations for their hair in a professional workplace, relates to the topic of how women are expected to look for the camera.

            VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE (with Lauryn Froneberger, a member of NABJ)
1. Why was the panel important for UMD students?
2. Why do black women have a tougher time with their image in the news than white women?

Entertainment industry continues to underrepresent women, with only 42% of major characters and speaking roles going to females.

            In this section I’ll examine the women in entertainment, behind the scenes and on screen. How female characters are portrayed, what types of roles women hold and how the crew is made up, gender wise. The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has many studies about women in entertainment and their studies have been mentioned in several news articles. One Fortune article highlights the findings of one study relating to the gender gap and the disparity in minority races too. DATA GRAPHIC HERE

            VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE (with Morgan Perry, an aspiring female screenwriter)
1. Why do you think it’s important for women to have a strong presence, on and off screen?
3. What do women bring to writing and acting that differs from what men provide?

It looks like women in the media are on the rise, observing 2013 bachelor’s degree graduates who found full-time jobs, 70.4% were women and 65.95% were men.

            In this section I’ll discuss the future of women in the media and how to change the trends we’re seeing now. I’ll highlight prominent women in media today, like Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts. I’ll highlight Julie Burton, President of the Women’s Media Center and the mission of the organization. Women’s Media Center has many great resources and guides that encompass their research about how women are currently viewed in the media. They also have several projects promoting women’s equality and featuring women doing great work in the media. DATA GRAPHIC HERE
           VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE (hopefully with Cassandra Clayton or Kalyani Chadha, professors in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism).
1. How you do you believe women are currently portrayed in the media, in any sense? 
2. How is the Philip Merrill College of Journalism preparing its students, especially women, for the job market today? 
3. As a former journalist at NBC, what advice would you give to aspiring female journalists, based on your experiences?

***Addition***
I will be interviewing Adrianne Flynn and Linda Steiner. I will no longer discuss NABJ or interview a member. Questions below, respectively:

1. In your personal opinion, how you do you believe women are currently portrayed in the media, in any sense?

2. How is the Philip Merrill College of Journalism preparing its students, especially women, for the job market today?

3. Are there any initiatives, on campus or not, that you know of that promote the success of future female journalists? If so, can you elaborate?

1. Through your personal research, what have you found to be the biggest struggle facing women in the media today?

2. Looking to the future, how can women help themselves become more positively portrayed as serious journalism professionals?

3. What do women bring to news and newsrooms that differ from what men can offer?