Women in the news: analysis of the news programs of TVE, Antena 3, Telecinco, La Sexta, and Cuatro

Abstract

The ‘Observatory of Information Quality on Television’ (OCITV) aims to study/analyze television news programs. OCITV has analyzed more than 10,000 pieces of more than 200 television news programs from the five major Spanish networks uninterruptedly since 2014 (TVE1, Antena 3, Cuatro, Telecinco and La Sexta). Objectives: It is proposed here to study the presence of women in the aforementioned news programs as well as their referential frameworks and, consequently, to generate a reflection on the importance of television information in a democratic, plural, tolerant and inclusive society and to address and describe the way in which television news constructs reality. Methodology: Quantitative content analysis is preferably used on a sample of 125 news programs (5,274 pieces), broadcast between 2018 and 2023, complemented with qualitative analysis.. Results: It is evident that although the Spanish population is mostly female, their representation in the news is still significantly lower than that of men, both in terms of voices and leaders, and usually incorporates representation biases in the news frames, very frequently linking news about women with issues such as violence, political controversies or personal problems in the professional field. Discussion: The mission of promoting gender equality continues to be the task of the entire society, but especially of those public agents or operators who occupy relevant places in the social structure, as is the case of the media and, more specifically, television.