News Coverage of Violence against Women

Engendering Blame

Marian Meyers explores evidence that shows that news coverage in North American cities routinely depicts criminal violence against females differently from the way it depicts violence against males. She argues that this serves to perpetuate traditional, inegalitarian gender stereotyping.

Using original research and qualitative textual analysis, the author discloses the underlying ideology, myths and assumptions within news coverage, and points out the ways in which news broadcasting affects how we view the world and our lives. Meyers advocates a re-examination of crime news from a feminist perspective and a broadening of traditional understandings of the social construction of news to include issues of gender, race and class.