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Loading ...Media covers gay marriage minimally
Just 0.3 percent of the news in 2009 devoted to same-sex marriage according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism examining media coverage.
In 2009, the California Supreme Court ruled on Proposition 8; Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled Iowans had a right to gay marriage, marriage equality battles were fought in Maine and Washington state, and Washington D.C. legalized gay marriage.
The study broke down the analysis by type of media outlet and found that marriage equality was covered most by newspapers, counting for 0.5 percent of news stories. In online news sources, gay marriage was 0.3 percent of coverage. Evening network news covered gay marriage the least; just 0.1 percent of stories were about the topic.
Unsurprisingly, MSNBC (which airs The Rachel Maddow Show, hosted by the first openly-gay anchor to host a prime-time news show program in the country) covered gay marriage the more than any other cable networks, while Fox covered it the least.
Twenty percent of news stories were on the economy, one percent was devoted to Michael Jackson, and race, gender and gay issues counted for 1.7 percent.
Is it just me noticing, or is the media as a whole a bit selective with which stereotypes they show us on the TV? Black/Hispanic “criminal” Missing white girls, White gay couples. Even in the jobs paper in Springfield Ma:Old white woman;Indian guy; Younger white woman; asian guy; Old white guy; middle aged black man; Younger seemingly mixed woman; white guy with dreads; middle aged white woman.5 white people cleverly mixed into a bare minimum quota. Why not do more? Why is Northampton so white? What’s with the cost of living? Are we supposed to just die if we can’t afford it? Even when people discuss SSI benefits disability whatever. I know quite a few people who use these programs. And I’ve used foodstamps myself, but why do people complain about these programs when all that same money just goes to the grocery stores, convenience stores and it ALL gets spent. So who’s losing?
I don’t think this is a commentary on the media as much as it’s a commentary on how the nation is “coming down for a breather” after the ridiculous scapegoating between 2003 and 2006. I’d rather have minimal coverage at this point in the struggle than over-the-top, fear-driven nonsense that took place four or five years ago. The straights could use some “calming down” time, IMO.