THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN REDISTRIBUTION OF POWER

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THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN (RE)DISTRIBUTION OF
POWER
Irina Novikova Center for Gender Studies,
University of Latvia, 2004
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Research areas, object and foci The research
and analysis of media, gender and power in
politics are to be made where this crossroads
becomes most explicit on the national level
political election campaigns (parliamentary and
presidential level campaigns). The latest
parliamentary and presidential elections was
taken for research and analysis of printed media
(6), TV (channel political debates,
discussions), radio (political programs, debates,
discussions).
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• Two sides in the media-power relationship
• gender stereotypes (as representational aspect)
• gender stereotyping (as constructive-discursive
  aspect) in media-power relationship.

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• Research issues
• media gender stereotyping traditional/new. If
  new stereotypes emerge in media how gendered
  they are? How these stereotypes are translated
  into the political discourses?
• 2. women in political power does it change
  meanings of womanhood and power, or?
• 3. Were gender differences explicitly considered
  in policy discussions during political campaigns?
  In which ways did gender stereotypes effect
  policy discussions and in which policy issues?
• 4. Did politicians/journalists consider gender
  issues in their policy debates in media?

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• Contexts of the research
• Politics
• Transitional period of nation- and
  state-reconstruction, - transition to the market
  economy,
• joining suprantional organisations UN, EU, NATO.
• Media
• - New relations between the media, the state and
  the public
• The marketisation situation
• Gender
• Gender equality, nation-building in Latvia and
  harmonisation with the EU acquis communautaire
• Gender as a mythical category

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Politisko reklamu piemeri
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Visual foregrounding and personalisation Mainstre
aming of personalisation strategy in textual
genres (interviews, discussions etc.) - The
discussions of party programs are moved to the
secondary plane and allowed to be rather
similar to each other. - Prevalence of
so-called axiomatic statements (no alternative,
no questioning, no challenge).
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- Gender distinction - Gender
neutrality/neutralisation Gender-neutralisation
of men-politicians representations
(professionalism as a gender-neutral concept)
evokes the most important message they are a
right gender for politics and power, thus, to
prove it as a norm, exceptions are allowed.
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!!! Strategies of personalisation of a
political agent (man, mens team) and
feminisation of a political target (women) !!!
Womens trivialisation (theater) and
marginalisation in media representations of
power and politics !!! The modalities of texts
and images construct womens traditional
positions of marginal honor in the world of
politics
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• - Women politicians roles reflect back
  well-known stereotypes about a family woman,
  mother, wife or the role of honorable man.
• Honorable men remain inside the field of
  politics, but in their ambiguous positions they
  do not provoke other womens pooling and
  consolidation in public sphere and politics.
• - Instead women are allotted rights to find
  representational stereotypes in the symbolical
  positions of power.

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Very little has changed in the portrayal
of women in media - stereotyped, -
inaccurated, - biassed, - related to
scandalisation - To keep women as
constituencies and as leaders marginalised.

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Recommendations Several key areas where action
is needed a. Ending gender-silencing,
developing awareness and gender sensitisation to
involve gender sensitivity and gender literacy
educational programs for media practitioners,
media students and media faculty. Promote
programs produced and conducted by women with a
gender perspective. Organise workshops and
gender-sensitive training programs for media
professionals in broadcasting on issues of
communication and gender. b. The major challenge
is targeting media managers and gatekeepers.
Thus, identifying ways in getting them interested
in investing in gender and capitalising on it in
their broadcasting politics. c. Media policy
initiatives by womens NGOs that have to launch a
broad debate on communication and democracy, in
particular, to increase and expand the gender
sensitisation of individuals and institutions
from an early age, beginning with schools. This
is the question of social responsibility of the
media, in their impact upon womens and mens
freedom of expression and access to pluralistic
information sources.