A global network of women communicators & researchers. With 14 national chapters and members in 54 countries, IAWRT strives to meet the urgent global challenges faced by women in and around the media. It was established in the aftermath of World War II, see The History of IAWRT or IAWRT@ 60
By Nonee Walsh
The Global Alliance on Media and Gender has added its voice to international NGO condemnation of the high murder rate of Mexican journalists.
In May, the broad daylight shooting of veteran crime reporter Javier Valdez from the Mexico City-based daily La Jornada, was followed quickly by the wounding of Sonia Cordova and the death of her journalist son, Jonathan in a shooting in Autlan, in the neighboring state of Jalisco.They worked on the family run Semanario Costeno weekly magazine.
WINNERS
TV Documentary: Farzana Boby, Bangladesh, The Poison Thorn (Bishkanta)
Radio: Alexandra Christine Hall, (pictured) Clandestine Abortion in Chile, WINGS
Web audio: Diana Wanyonyi, Kenya, Save our Queens Campaign, Baraka FM.
The Gender Equality And Social Justice In Public Media report has been launched at the IAWRT Biennial Conference in New Deli. The eight country study of public radio and television, lead by Greta Gober & Diana Iulia Nastasia, measured representation of gender and other social justice measures such as age, ethnicity, and sexual diversity, across four continents and eight countries. ESP
Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to more than 7 year jail. Human Rights groups have widely condemned the jailing of Azerbaijan journalist Khadija Ismayilova for seven-and-a-half years, for or what Human Rights Watch calls “spurious charges of tax evasion and other economic crimes, after a politically motivated trial.
Many years ago in my university days, I was taken by this famous Chinese propaganda picture, based apparently on the late Chairman Mao’s quote, “women can hold up half the sky” depicting women leading a fairly equal gender divide of troops.
"Chilling effect on freedom of the press."Thai Journalist Chutima Sidasathian and her colleague Australian journalist Alan Morison, will not serve a jail sentence after they waited six weeks for a judgement as to whether they defamed Thailand’s navy.
The member of the month for January 2016 is Ilang-Ilang Quijano. Click on the link below to read more about her story.
By IAWRT-Tanzania Chapter
The Report on Gender Equity and Social Justice in Public Media, compiled from monitoring by chapters of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), has shown that women and girls are not engaged fully as sources of information or in decision making bodies at different levels compared to male counterparts.
The dynamism and innovation of Archana Kapoor, the head of the IAWRT India chapter, has been recognised in the 2016 Devi awards. They are run by The Sunday Standard, a publication of the New Indian Express Group, to recognise hard work and achievement, against all odds.
The President of IAWRT, Gunilla Ivarsson, participated in high level round-table discussions at the International Development Cooperation Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday December 7th in the lead up to the first General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG). ESP
The member of the month for December 2015 is Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, who was elected to the IAWRT Board, in September. Click on the link below to read more about her story.
The Global Media Monitoring Project 2015, reports little progress towards media gender parity in news in the last five years. “… the decade 2005 to 2015 has been one of stagnation” according to gender and media scholar, Margaret Gallagher. “There has been no change in women’s share of news-making roles in the traditional media (newspapers, radio, television) since 2010, and indeed almost none since 2005 [and] the new digital media (Internet and Twitter news) offer little comfort."
A very practical hand book for reporting and monitoring gender sensitivity in conflict reporting has been released by Swedish women’s organisation called The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation. The compact 14 page booklet is very hands-on, providing a tool for journalists and others who want to understand conflicts in a larger context.
April, 25-27, 2016, Beijing China: Registration now open. This year's event is themed “Let us Talk Radio”. With an insatiable quest for newer, highly mobile and more immersive experiences, radio content creators and journalists are adding new dimensions to the media landscape. Radio is riding a 'Digital Wave' wooing audiences across social media platforms, providing content on multiple mobile and stationary smart devices. .
The first International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media will be be held from 7 to 10 December 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Global Alliance on Media and Gender, a partnership involving over 800 media, civil society, academic, private and governmental organizations, incuding IAWRT, will also hold its first general meeting.
Money up for grabs for investigative reporters (applications from female reporters are especially welcome): CALL for ideas: Investigative journalists in Europe interested in privacy, the environment, finance or lobbying can apply for a by-subject cross-border grant with Journalismfund.eu. The application deadline is 25 November 2015.
