Women in Mass Communication: Challenging Gender Values

by Pamela J. Creedon

Women in Mass Communication focuses on what may be the single most important issue for professionals in the area of mass communication in the next few decades -- the increasing feminist presence and proliferating feminist perspectives within the field. The volume begins with a look at the study and teaching of mass communication, including such topics as a feminist perspective on media law, gender in a global context, women of colour in communication, and the effect of women communication teachers on their students. Contributors call for significant changes in the way we think of mass communication and represent pioneering efforts to extend feminist theory in the area. The second section examines the status of women in television, ad

464 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

Pamela J. Creedon is Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa, who served as Acting Dean at Zayed University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences following her retirement. She started her 35-year academic career at The Ohio State University and began her administrative career as Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University. Editor of the first three editions of Women in Mass Communication, she spent 15 years in the public relations profession before entering academe.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a useful book with plenty of lines to quote in essays and more to make you think. Looks at women as presented in or working in media, advertising, health communication, education communication, semiotics, teen magazines, faith, global media, online, sports reporting (poor access to locker-rooms or sexual harassment and some vilification by male reporters) etc.
As this is an American book there are looks at how some of the minority race women are represented in the media.
Quotes include: "The glass ceiling is not glass after all; it consists of a very dense layer of white men." (Berkeley, 1999, p.105)

Many surveys and researches are quoted. Also many authors; references given at the end of each chapter.
P283 - 325 are references and author index. 329 - 335 subject index. The author index lists authors by first initial so I am unable to say how many women are cited.

[Alessia]

Note to self: read Chapters 4, 15 and 16 (could pick it up again for the other chapters eventually).
Interesting insights on the relationship between mass communication and social change as seen through a feminist lens. A morsel of thought to remember: there is a difference between women-produced media and feminist media; there is a very important difference between women's representation in media or women's employment in media industries and the potential for structural and ideological social change that women's presence in these contexts can give.