Punditry: Still White, Still Male

Over at the Nation, Ari Melber points out that Clinton's run for the White House, which was increasingly a feminist quest and ended with a strong statement for the rights of women, hasn't changed much in the world of punditry, where white men still dominate.

In print:

The most traditional location to reach the political establishment, the Washington Post opinion section, is brazenly male-dominated. Seventeen of the 19 columnists are men; only three of the columnists are racial minorities. Guest op-eds could present more voices, but they rarely do. This year, only 12 percent of the Post's guest pieces came from women, according to a May count by ombudsman Deborah Howell. At the New York Times, eight of the ten weekly columnists are men; one is black.

And on TV:

Most anchors, producers and writers in television news are women, according to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, yet the vast majority of prime time hosts, who dominate campaign coverage and frame presidential debates, are white men. That includes all the Sunday morning hosts, all the prime time hosts on MSNBC, and all but one of the prime time hosts on CNN and FOX.

And here are the stats on racial diversity. Also not good:

According to a recent, two-year study of the four major Sunday talk shows by Media Matters, out of over 2,000 guests, 77 percent were men and 82 percent were white... Latinos were almost completely absent, comprising one percent of the guests....a 2005 Urban League study of the Sunday shows found that a staggering 69 percent of all the appearances by black guests were made by just three conservatives — Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Juan Williams. The study found that appearances by black commentators "other than Rice, Powell and Williams account for less than 3% of all guest appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows."

Just think of MSNBC's primetime elections lineup. You've got Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann anchoring the show, with Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, and Howard Fineman adding comment. The back bench has some additional diversity, with one African-American and one woman, and Norah O'Donnell plays a Vanna White role with the exit polls. But if you want a quick and dirty explanation of why MSNBC had a troubled relationship with candidate Clinton this primary season, look no further than the faces on the screen.

Comments

Yes, blame everything and everybody except yourself (Hillary). The entitlement victim mentality of American Women will continue to be in full force. What is Feminism really? Victim. Victim. Victim. Blame. Blame. Blame.

Posted by: stevo on 06/09/08 at 9:29 AM Respond

The comments by Stevo prior to my posting are exactly why many women who supported Clinton are hesitant to support Obama in the up coming general election. According to a poll I heard on MSNBC today, 22 % of Clinton's supporters are leaning towards McCain in the general election and a big part of that is due to how women perceived, real or not, how the media treated Clinton vs. Obama.
I would also like to postulate that part of Clinton's support may have come from the more moderate members of the Republican Party who feel that McCain has pandered far too much to the extreme right wing of the GOP while Clinton presented a more centrist position. Like it or not, Obama has had a lot of difficulty appealing to working class and blue collar people and Latinos. There are many out in the states that Clinton won in the primaries that simply feel that Obama is too left wing for them to support. The Clintons moved themselves to the center right from the start back when Bill was running for President. The perception is that they represent the center--even though Clinton and Obama share many of the same positions on issues. And as a matter of fact, Clinton's health care plan is much more progressive than Obama's who would hope to negotiate with the insurance companies (!!!!!) to get coverage.
So please, if we are to win the White House, you who have been so vocal against Clinton should learn to tone it down a bit and think about what is most important--winning back the White House.

Posted by: Rachele Levy on 06/09/08 at 2:24 PM Respond

Rachele sums it up beautifully.

As for stevo, it's nice of you to attempt to critique the mentality of "American Women", but perhaps you should read a book first, either on feminism (what it actually is), or on the fallacy of generalizations.

Posted by: KM on 06/09/08 at 3:45 PM Respond

I am a Clinton supporter. Will under NO circumstances vote for Obama. If the White House goes to the GOP for 4 more years, so be it. Don't blame the Clinton supporters, blame the DNC for "selecting" one of the least qualified nominees in decades. "You can't fool all of the people all of the time."

Posted by: BARB on 06/16/08 at 4:10 AM Respond