Tools for Gender and Media Advocacy
Gender and media advocacy can sometimes appear to be a daunting task.
You have identified issues of concern which, among others, include the marginalisation and stereotyping of women in media portrayals in your local context, the use of violence against women to attract audiences, and the confining of women to lower positions in the newsroom.
Determined to challenge and improve these, you are at once faced with some tough questions: what to do, when to do it and more importantly how to conduct a consistent, sustainable and successful advocacy campaign.
Where do you begin? Following the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) of 2005, the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) developed ‘Mission Impossible’: A Gender and Media Advocacy Toolkit. The toolkit is a practical resource for information, guidelines and tips on how to approach and conduct advocacy on gender and the media.
Aimed primarily at activists and organisations concerned with gender in media, the toolkit covers a range of topics and offers concrete steps towards successful gender and media advocacy.
The toolkit draws on diverse experiences of successful gender activism aimed at the media, and highlights case studies of successful initiatives aimed at changing gender representation and portrayal in and through the media.
The toolkit is divided into two sections:
Section one defines the conceptual issues on gender and media advocacy. It examines why the media should be a focus of gender and feminist activism. It highlights the key issues for gender and media advocacy using the findings of the GMMP 2005. It also discusses the various target audiences significant to achieving change.
Section two provides the practical information on the steps, tools and strategies that can be helpful in gender and media advocacy. It offers handy tips and pointers on how to engage with the media and how to put gender on the news agenda.
A complete version of the toolkit can be downloaded from www.whomakesthenews.org,perhaps the only site on the internet currently entirely dedicated to gender and media.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 1: Putting Gender on the Media’s Agenda
Chapter 1. Why Focus on the Media
Chapter 2. Why is Gender an Issue for the Media?
Chapter 3. What is Gender and Media Advocacy?
Chapter 4. Who Makes the news? Issues for Gender and Media Advocacy
Chapter 5. Who are the Target Audiences for Gender and Media Advocacy?
Section One Appendix
Glossary, Key Points to Remember
Gender, Media International Obligations
Section 2: Building Gender and Media Campaigns
Chapter 1. Where to Begin?
Chapter 2. Do your Homework!
Chapter 3. Creating the Right Message for the Right Audience
Chapter 4. Transforming the Media through Policy
Chapter 5. Getting the Issue on the Media’s Agenda
Chapter 6. Keeping Track of Advocacy Work
Section Two Appendix
Glossary, Key Points to Remember
Advocacy Planning Tool, Gender and Media Checklists, Qualitative Monitoring Questions. International Dates for Advocacy, List of Resources
