Women

CNN's Reliably Narrow Sources

The media watchdog FAIR/Extra! has studied the guestlist of CNN's Reliable Sources to see how many critical voices were heard on the program that claims to "turn a critical lens on the media." Covering one year of weekly programs, the FAIR study found that Reliable Sources strongly favored mainstream media insiders and right-leaning pundits. In addition, female critics were significantly underrepresented, and ethnic minority voices were almost non-existent.

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Hot Flash, Cold Cash

"Last April, several hundred black-tie and couture-clad worthies crowded into the ornate ballroom of the Washington Ritz-Carlton for one more dinner on the spring charity circuit," writes Alicia Mundy - namely, the annual gala of the once-respected Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization whose stated mission is "to improve the health of women through research." In recent years, however, SWHR has become increasingly dependent on corporation contributions from pharmaceutical companies.

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From Boom-Boom Room to Cooks-Books Crook

"Gordon Andrew, who has held top communications posts at Prudential and Travelers Group, is handling the press for former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, who was indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice," reports O'Dwyer's.

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The Media: White, Male, Republican, Corporate

A new study by Fairness and Accuracy in Media (FAIR) shows that 92 percent of all U.S. sources interviewed on the nightly network news in 2001 were white, 85 percent were male and, where party affiliation was identifiable, 75 percent were Republican. Big business, too, was overrepresented. In a year in which the country lost 2.4 million jobs, corporate representatives appeared about 35 times more frequently than did union representatives.

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The Wrong Stuff

"The images that streamed from inside Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul were a propaganda dream for the United States government," notes the Independent. "Afghan women, after years of cruel subjugation by the Taliban, were daring to shed their veils and to expose their faces once again to the world and to sunlight." Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the first woman ever to become a U.S.

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Appeal from Afghan Women

The Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), which has fought against both the Soviet occupation and Islamic fundamentalists, has issued an appeal to the world community. "The people of Afghanistan do not accept domination of the Northern Alliance," it states. "The retreat of the terrorist Taliban from Kabul is a positive development, but entering of the rapist and looter NA in the city is nothing but a dreadful and shocking news for about 2 million residents of Kabul whose wounds of the years 1992-96 have not healed yet. ...

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Where are the Women?

"Here's one sure thing you can learn from watching TV: Almost all of the people who seem to know anything are men," comments Washington Post writer Paul Farhi. "Men know about Afghanistan. They know about anthrax. They know foreign policy and military strategy. They know about terrorism and counter-terrorism.

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PR Writer Decries Corporate Influence On Women's Museum

NY-based, freelance PR Writer Debra Michals criticized her former client, the Women's Museum in Dallas, in the latest issue of Ms. magazine. In the article, "Did the Women's Museum Wimp Out?" Michals claims that corporate sponsorship and the conservative politics of Texas influenced the museum to not mention certain aspects of the feminist movement. According to PR Week, Michals criticized the museum for leaving out issues like abortion and bisexuality and for putting beauty pagents in a positive light. Michals had written for the museum's inaugural exhibit.

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