Good The Toronto Star Article Review Example

Investigation of How Women and their Works are Featured in the Print Media

Feminist organizations and independent feminists in Canada have frequently been accusing the media of gender biases. They have been arguing that a large number of women journalists still face discrimination in employment and reporting certain issues. Despite the actual representation of female journalists and what they represent, it is also that noted women in top executive positions are also not being offered enough space in them to present their interests. Nonetheless, most print media have been presenting women in pejorative ways. In this regard, it will examine the number of female editors, bylines, photographs, letters to chief editors and amount of materials or sections that could classified as of women interests. This paper would prove these claims by studying five mainstream newspapers as The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The National Post, The Global and Mail and The Vancouver Sun as on 3rd April 2015.

Statistics: Editor-in-Chief: 100% men (1 man)
Photos on cover page and letters to the editor section: women: 30% (10); men: 70% (23).
Letters to the editor: 27% (3); men: 73% (8).
Special section for women: 0
The Toronto Star is one of the broadsheet daily newspaper in Canada that begun its publications from 2011. On its front page, a picture of a couple, a man and woman who are coping with liver cancer, dominates the page. The editor-in-chief of the Newspaper is man, Michael Cooke. However, out of 11authors of the letters to the editor, only 3 are women.
However, there were small photos that showed about 22 pictures for men while the women pictures were only 7. Indistinguishable picture were several, about 12, and they both men and women mixed in various events. However, the newspaper does not have any sections that are specifically classified for women, apart from those that relate them with men like “Personal”, “Entertainment”, “Employment’ and so forth. However, for bylines the magazine is very much biased; women only take up 12 slots out of the total of 72. Although the magazine has tried to balance both genders, as far as power relations are concerned, one can note that women are still put in inferior roles. For instance, as pictures show men as policemen, women can be seen mostly in fashion industry, housewife duties and soft games (The Star n. pag).

The Toronto Sun

Statistics: Editor-in-Chief: 100% women (1 woman)
Photos on cover page and letters to the editor section: women: 25% (7); men: 75% (21).
Letters to the editor: 23% (5); men: 77% (17).
Special section for women: 1 (The Women Fast And Furious)
The Toronto Sun is a newspaper that is published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is editor-in- chief is a woman, Wendy Metcalfe. Currently, the newspaper has 21 writers, of whom only 8 are female. On its front page, without 4 photos that are indistinguishable, about 21 photos belong to men while only 7 are for women. Of all 22 authors to the editor, only 5 are female. In the pictures, one can realize that women are being depicted in inferior roles. The pictures show them preparing food, repairing love relationship, wearing sexy clothes, and so forth. Men can be noted as policemen, leaders and so forth. The dominant on the front page belongs to a man, as a leader. However, enlightened women who authored the letters to the editor can be seen commenting on leadership events and personalities. However, the newspaper has a special edition of magazine for women called “The Women fast and Furious”, although seen as sexist (The Toronto Sun n. pag).

The National Post

Statistics: Editor-in-Chief: 100% men (1 man)

Photos on cover page and letters to the editor section: women: 30% (8); men: 70% (27).

Letters to the editor: 10% (1); men: 90% (9).
Special section for women: 0
The National Post is another Canadian Newspaper produced in Toronto. Its editor in chief is Stephen Meurice. Out of 53 writers, only 10 are female. On the front page of the newspaper, the top and the relatively dominant photo is that of a man, Jason Kenney being interviewed. Out of 57 pictures, only 8 of them are for women, while 19 of them are male and the rest are indistinguishable. In its news coverage, the newspaper is a bit balanced, as it has presented both men and women in leadership positions. Men are however, presented as crime mongers, but tougher. Women are represented in entrepreneurship and arts. However, one can realize that women are still being depicted as sexist in some cases, although men can be their co-stars. Moreover, out of the 10 writers of letters to the editor, only one was authored by a woman. The woman is enlightened and has been commenting on issues to do with leadership in the country. For instance his latest letter features Couillard on how he is willing to use gimmicks of racism to attack those selling privatized liquor. However, the newspaper does not have any section that is specifically preserved for women interests (The National Post n. pag).

The Mail and the Globe

Editor-in-Chief: 100% men (1 man)
Photos on cover page and letters to the editor section: women: 20% (4); men: 80% (16).
Letters to the editor: 20% (4); men: 80% (16).
Special section for women: 0
The Mail and the Globe is a nationally distributed newspaper in Canada, and it is based in Toronto, although it is printed in six cities. Having a weekly readership of about 950,000, as in 2011, the newspaper comes second in circulation after The Toronto Star. It is edited by David Walmsey, as the Chief Editor. Its dominant picture on the cover page features a defiant Mongolian political prisoner who remains on his course despite the challenges he faces in prison. However, out of the 20 pictures on the cover page only four are for women. Currently, although there are 20 trending letters to the editor, only four have been authored by women. However, they touch on important topics like War on Syria, aboriginal issues and the general leadership in the country. On bylines, of about 87 writers, only 13 are female. It is also important to realize that there is no section in the newspaper that is specifically set aside for women. However, in the Globe Life, one can realize that women have been given a lot of opportunities to author their interests. In this regard, women are reporting reality issues like being childless by choice, general motherhood, celebrity, struggle with diseases and so forth. However, the newspaper has not derogated women very much. Featured women have been commenting on national and international issues in politics, economics, society and so forth. Otherwise, some have been featured regarding parenting, and participation in arts (The Globe and Mail n. pag).

The Vancouver Sun

Editor-in-Chief: 25% (1 woman); men: 75% (4 men)
Photos on cover page and letters to the editor section: women: 40% (8); men: 60% (12).
Letters to the editor: 23% (7); men: 77% (23).
Special section for women: 0
The Vancouver Sun newspaper is published in the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Sold nationally, it is considered the largest newsroom in Vancouver. Currently, the company has four senior editors: Harold Munro, Valerie Casselton, Gillian Burnett and Adrienne Tanner. Out of its 29 known bylines, only 3 are female. Although the front page has not given special recognition to any personality, it has streamed pictures of Blackhawk team sportsmen, depressed woman after the loss of insurance cover and road traffic jam. Out of the twenty photos on the front page of the Newspaper, only eight of them are for women. Currently, out of the 30 trending letters to the editor, only 7 of them have been written by women. The women have written letters on national budget, whipping children in school, lack of accountability, deadly encounters and so forth. Although the newspaper does not distinctly have a special place for women, it has featured them variously in its “Life Magazine”. Women have been contributing in cookery, entertainment, arts, fashion design and surgery, relationship and so forth. However, there are those that exhibited advanced careers like medicine and surgery. The newspaper has not indicated any variant stereotype of women at a greater instance. Apart from cookery and star model, Members of both genders have been appearing in the same careers, entertainment, parenting and so forth (The Vancouver Sun n. pag).

Works Cited

The Globe and Mail. Home. Globeandmail.com, 2015. Web. 2015,
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/>The National Post. News. Nationalpost.com, 2015. Web. 2015,
<http://news.nationalpost.com>
The Star. Home. Star.com, 2015. Web. 2015, <http://www.thestar.com/>
The Vancouver Sun. Home. Vancouver Sun.com, 2015. Web. 2015,
<http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html>
Toronto Sun. Home. Torontosun.com, 2015. Web. 2015, <http://www.torontosun.com/>