Representation of women in the news : an analysis of The New Times and Imvaho Nshya newspapers in Rwanda

Abstract

The research on gender and media in Rwanda has been limited over the past 20 years. Although women in Rwanda constitute an important force in the building of the nation, the media have not reflected this important development. This study investigates the representation of women in the news section of the Print media via an analysis of The New Times and Imvaho Nshya newspapers. It sheds light on the type of stories in which women appear and the roles in which they are depicted. The study also investigates the type of stories female journalists report on in comparison to their male counterparts and identifies some patterns. Attention is also paid to the female voice in the print media in terms of women as sources of news and women as subjects of news. The data of this study was generated through a quantitative content analysis research. The content analysis was conducted on articles of the New Times and Imvaho Nshya newspapers and was based on the research questions regarding frequency of appearance of women in news stories compared to men and the roles played by women when they are portrayed in the news. The study revealed that there is a big gap between men and women when it comes to coverage of hard news stories. The study also reveals a negligible effort in projecting women and a noticeable imbalance in the assignment of news stories to journalists. These findings are consistent with the existing academic literature at both global and regional context. Due to the limited research in this field in the Rwandan context, this study is one of its kind and its findings are instructive for the print media filling the gap in the literature.