The Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) has awarded WomenVoices Newspaper with a Certificate of Recognition for recording the highest number of women as news sources. The award was presented during the launch of FeJAL’sMedia Monitoring Report on Friday, July 12, 2024, in Monrovia.
WomenVoices Newspaper, along with the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) and OK FM, was recognized for its dedication to championing the coverage of women’s issues in the Liberian media. The newspaper has been a leading voice in ensuring that women’s voices are heard and represented in the media. The honor also included the provision of media-related gadgets (Recorders).
FeJAL praised WomenVoices for its commitment to gender sensitivity and for actively seeking out and including women as news sources in their reporting. The newspaper has been instrumental in promoting gender equality and highlighting the stories and experiences of women in Liberia.
Moreover, FeJAL recognizes that the award serves as a testament to WomenVoices’ efforts in promoting gender equality and empowering women through the media. They acknowledged that the newspaper has set a high standard for gender-sensitive reporting and has become a role model for other media outlets in Liberia.
The Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) is dedicated to empowering female journalists across Liberia. Its mission is to promote gender equality, uphold freedom of speech, and support professional development in the media industry.
Following the recognition, WomenVoices Newspaper expressed gratitude for the recognition and pledged to continue its work in amplifying women’s voices and advocating for gender equality in the media.
The Women Voices was birthed on March 10, 2011, with a vision to have all the voices of women and vulnerable people in society heard through our platform. Women Voices is owned and operated by Mrs. Helen Nah Sammie while Cllr Yvette ChesonWureh chairs the board of Directors.
For more than a decade, the newspaper has been dedicated to providing a platform for women to share their stories and perspectives, and to ensure that their voices are heard and valued in society. Moreover, the entity’s existence has reflected greatly on the Liberian society, especially women and children.
The report:
I. Executive Summary
The Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) under the Internews-USAID Media Activity is continuing the monitoring of Media Institutions in Liberia to provide a comprehensive understanding of the portrayal of women and gender issues within news coverage. This report provides content analysis of ten (10) Monrovia-based radio stations and newspapers that maintain an online presence. The data collection period spanned from March 1 to May 31, 2024, marking a significant time-frame for a quarter analysis. The newspapers under scrutiny include Women Voices, Inquirer, FrontPage Africa, Daily Observer, and New Dawn, all pivotal players in shaping public discourse. On the airwaves, ELBC, Lux FM, Truth FM, Prime FM, and OK FM were monitored closely, reflecting the diverse media landscape in Liberia.
The core aim of this exercise is to analyse how women are portrayed and represented in the Liberian media, shedding light on the quantity and quality of their coverage. By delving into 9 key thematic areas, including Domestic Violence (DV)/Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Sexual-Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Human Rights, Politics, Health, Development, Economy, Sports, and Empowerment, a nuanced understanding of gender dynamics in media emerges. The findings unearth a notable trend where women predominantly serve as news sources in SGBV and DV/IPV narratives, underlining the pressing issues of gender-based violence in society. Conversely, male voices dominate thematic areas like sports, politics, security, human rights, economy, and development, showcasing a gender disparity in news representation.
INTRODUCTION
The Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) is one of Internews’ implementing partners under the USAID Media Activity. The five-year Media Activity aims to enhance human and institutional capacity of the media sector while advocating for and maintaining current media freedoms to reliably carry out responsible journalism, drive reforms, and increase revenue.
In collaboration with seven media partners, Internewsendeavors to bolster the capacity of the media to produce reliable, relevant, and accurate information; enhance the media’s ability to serve as a conduit for information between citizens and government; improve the organizational and financial sustainability of community radio stations; and strengthen the enabling environment for freer media.
As an integral part of the USAID Media Activity, FeJAL is tasked with conducting media monitoring. In the second year, FeJAL conducted a seven-month media monitoring of ten Monrovia-based print and broadcast institutions to evaluate women’s representation and portrayal in the Liberian media. The ten media outlets monitored were: ELBC, Prime FM, LUX FM, OK FM, Truth FM, Daily Observer, New Dawn, Women Voices, FrontPage, and Inquirer. The process aimed to evaluate the quantity and quality of women’s portrayal and representation in news coverage within the Liberian media.
Data amassed during this phase (2023) of the media monitoring initiative revealed that only 740 (24%) women were featured as news sources, while men accounted for 1923 (61%) of the news sources and unspecified sources made up 466 (15%) of the total 3128 (100%) stories documented. In the category of reporters/presenters per gender, women constituted 787 (25%), while men comprised 1670 (53%) and unspecified gender 671 (22%) out of the 3128 (100%) presenters/reporters recorded. In 2023, Inquirer newspaper had the highest number of male reporters with 492, followed by New Dawn with 431 and OK FM with 422. In the same year, OK FM had the highest percentage of female reporters at 65%, followed by Truth FM and Inquirer at 23%. Whereas, the news sources per media outlet indicated that LUX FM had the highest representation of women at 90%, followed by OK FM at 66% and ELBC at 56%.
Due to the aforementioned discovery, which showed low women representation in media coverage,interventions were made by Internews at some media outlets to enhance the portrayal and representation of women in the media. As the project seeks to narrow the gender inequality in the Liberian media, mediamonitoring continued in year three at the same ten Monrovia-based media outlets between March 1 and May 31, 2024.
II. Methodology and Scope
Data informing this report were derived from five radio stations and five newspapers in both print and broadcast formats, all based in Monrovia. Among the selected media outlets, only three radio stations, namely Prime FM, LUX FM, and OK FM, are recognized as Media Activity partner media outlets.
The monitoring process entailed a daily desk review of news content from both radio and newspapers. For newspapers, this process involved sourcing, reviewing, and coding relevant news materials, while for radio, it encompassed recording, editing, and coding news reports.
The coding sheets were precisely crafted with a variety of indicators emphasizing diverse thematic areas.
Data extracted from the coding sheets were entered into Excel code frames, followed by running queries to aggregate and disaggregate findings for various results highlighted in this report.
III. Thematic Areas Monitored
The thematic areas covered during this monitoring are:
• Domestic Violence/Impunity Partner Violence
• Sexual Gender Based Violence
• Human Interest
• Politics
• Health
• Development
• Economics
• Sports
• Empowerment
IV. Statistical Findings
The chart above illustrates the distribution and ratio of narratives generated by gender. Out of the 1689 stories documented, the analysis exposes a disparity in the production of stories, with a mere 17% attributed to female producers, while stories crafted by male producers account for 55%. The remaining 28%represents stories produced by individuals of unidentified gender across various news outlets. This stark contrast underscores a significant gender gap prevalent in the newsroom.
A total of 1689 news stories were monitored. The graph depicted above illustrates the distribution of frequency across various media outlets. The Inquirer newspaper boasted the highest number of stories at 448, closely followed by FrontPage Africa with 351stories.
An examination of evaluated narratives unveiled a disparity in gender representation among prominent figures. Women constituted 19%, men 40%, and individuals of unidentified genders the remaining 41%.
This data illustrates the under-representation of women as key figures in news stories, possibly due to societal perceptions that women lack expertise in pivotal subjects such as politics, economy, and development. Consequently, the likelihood of approaching them for interviews is diminished, resulting in a lack of female voices being heard.
From the data presented, LUX FM exhibits a notable predominance of female story producers, comprising 87% of the total. Following closely is OK FM with 65%. Conversely, FrontPage Africa and Daily Observer show significantly lower figures, with only 6%, 7%, and 0% of stories being produced by women respectively.
On the other hand, media platforms such as Women Voices, Inquirer, and Truth FM display a modest improvement, with women accounting for 23% of their story production. Additionally, a considerable percentage is attributed to the category of “Other,” indicating unidentified genders of story producers in certain outlets.
An additional analysis was undertaken to ascertain the proportion of women featured as news sources or subjects in the collective stories published by selected media outlets. Women Voices emerges as the front-runner with the highest representation of women, constituting 44% of their total stories as evaluated by the media monitoring team.
This is closely trailed by ELBC and LUX FM, which exhibit 40% and 33% representation of women, respectively. Daily Observer, Truth FM, and Prime FM, which encompass the smallest number of stories appraised during the monitoring period, demonstrate 12%, 11%, and 0% representation of women, correspondingly. It is apparent that these media outlets necessitate enhancing their representation of women, particularly Prime FM, which presently stands at 0%. This data is vividly depicted in the aforementioned graph.
In the thematic area of Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), women are prominently represented, constituting a significant 80% of the subjects/sources. This is closely followed by the theme of Domestic Violence/Intimate Violence (DV/IPV), where women make up 70% of the participation. However, when shifting our focus to topics such as Sports, Economics, Development, Security, and Politics, the presence of women is notably diminished. This disparity necessitates immediate attention and enhancement.
The domain of Security, vital to peace and other developmental endeavors, demonstrates a particularly meager representation of women, standing at a mere 6%. This inadequate portrayal in critical spheres underscores the urgency for a more equitable gender representation in media coverage.
V. Narrative Findings Per Media Institution
Reporters/Presenters Per News Outlet
Lux FM demonstrates dominance as the institution with the highest number of female newscasters/reporters at 87%. However, the media house faced technical difficulties less than a month into the monitoring period, rendering it inactive until the end of the assessment. Following closely behind Lux FM is OK FM, boasting a 65% female newscaster/reporter ratio.
Truth FM and Inquirer each featured 23% of female newscasters/reporters, while Women Voices and ELBC had 20% and 13% female representation, respectively. On the other hand, New Dawn, FrontPage Africa, and Daily Observer reported the lowest percentages of stories produced and presented by women, with figures of 13%, 6%, 7%, and 0% respectively. Notably, the category of “Other,” representing unidentified genders of reporters, held a substantial percentage in print media outlets like Women Voices, Inquirer, New Dawn, Daily Observer, and FrontPage Africa.
In a separate analysis, the percentage of women featured as news sources or subjects in the total stories published by selected media outlets was examined. Women Voices led the pack with 44% representation of women in their stories, closely followed by ELBC at 40% and Lux FM at 33%. OK FM featured 29% of females as news sources, while FrontPage Africa, Inquirer, New Dawn, Truth FM, Daily Observer, and Prime FM reported figures of 18%, 17%, 16%, 12%, 11%, and 0% respectively. FrontPage Africa notably covered the highest number of SGBV stories.
