Women and news consumption, women and internet use
The ombuds(wo)man at the Washington Post, Deborah Howell, has an interesting piece today about how women consume the newspaper differently than men. She writes, “Post readership research [shows] that men and women are equally interested in breaking and national news, but that women are more interested in local news, especially about schools, and in health, food and home topics.” Howell also notes that younger women with children are a tough group for the Post to attract. This is tough for a newspaper since mothers drive most household purchases and thus, are very very attractive to advertisers.
But women hold some responsibility too. Howell’s column reminds me of a 2002 study by Clark and Gorski. They posit several theories as to why nerd culture and technology is so heavily male dominated. One, they suggest, has simply to do with how differently men and women consume information online. They write,
“Men, conditioned to value and pursue technological competence, use online time to learn more about technology or to further improve professional or economic standing. But women, without the same support and encouragement, tend to use the technology for hobbies and non-technology-related self-development.”
All that online community and talking, they suggest, holds women back from leading in the hard stuff.
Similarly, men consume harder news, while women have a current affairs gap, according to Pew. Howell suggests not only bringing more female voices into the mix (in the newsroom, in management, and most difficult, into the world arena itself) but also in developing editorial coverage that appeals more to women. This last suggestion troubles me greatly. We shouldn’t dumb down or lighten the news to suit women’s tastes. Women have a responsibility to keep up with current events, and I thought this was really changing during Election 2008. Now, with no Palin or Barack daily horserace digest, will many women go back to favoring soft news? We can do better, surely.
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About Me
Morra Aarons-Mele utilizes social media strategies to help employers, employees and communities connect. She also consults with leading organizations on how women can use the internet for professional and personal development. In her spare time, Morra enjoys blogging about women and politics. Read her full bio >>
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