Newspaper coverage of female and male senatorial candidates in terms of their age, marital status, children, appearance, and sex: 2006-2008 elections.

摘要

More women served in Congress at the start of the twenty-first century than any previous decades. However, in the past, women were less likely to run for office and get elected. Simultaneously, women who ran in the 1980s were disproportionately disadvantaged by media portrayal in comparison to their male opponents. Recent studies suggest that press coverage has changed by becoming more gender neutral. Yet, difference in newspaper coverage continues to persist when it comes to female candidates' personal characteristics. Because the majority of research studying this phenomenon utilizes data from the 1980s to 2000, it is important to ask whether in the past decade the difference in coverage of personal characteristics in print media has changed. To answer this question, coverage of male and female senatorial candidates running in the general elections of 2006 and 2008 is analyzed. The content analysis of 2,707 newspaper articles suggests that, overall, male and female candidates receive relatively equal amounts of attention to personal characteristics. However, sex is mentioned more frequently for female candidates while age, marriage, children, and appearance are more often mentioned for male candidates.