REPORT: By A Nearly 2 To 1 Margin, Cable Networks Call On Men Over Women To Comment On Birth Control

By Faiz Shakir and Adam Peck/Think Progress

President Obama’s regulation mandating that health insurance plans offer free birth control is an issue that most directly affects women. And yet, the cable news chatter over this controversy has been driven mostly by men, according to a new ThinkProgress analysis.

From Monday through Thursday evening, the leading cable news channels – Fox, Fox Business, MSNBC, and CNN – invited almost twice as many men as women onto their shows to discuss contraceptive coverage.

Out of a total of 146 guests who discussed contraception, the cables invited 91 men compared to 55 women as commentators. In other words, males comprised 62 percent of the total guests who commented on contraception. Fox was the most gender stratified network – on the Business network, 10 of 11 guests were male; on the News side, male pundits took up 65 percent of the guest lineup (28 men vs. 15 women). Sixty percent of MSNBC’s lineup was male (44 men vs. 31 women). And while CNN was more evenly balanced, it was still slightly tilted in favor of male perspectives (9 men vs. 8 women).

A note on methodology: The survey did not include male or female hosts of shows who happened to comment on the controversy. Some guests, like Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), appeared more than once during this stretch, but on different programs and networks. Each appearance was counted separately.

Contraceptive coverage is an issue where female perspectives should be heeded and understood. When it comes to contraceptive coverage, adding women’s voices on everything from their experiences with insurers to the decision’s impact on women voters can only make for a richer conversation. Hopefully, those individuals responsible for booking television guests will be more cognizant of gender sensitivities going forward.

In 2010, CEO Pay Went Up 27% While Worker Pay Went Up 2%

By Pat Garofalo

Households across the country are still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, with unemploymentfalling very slowly, while foreclosures are still increasing, along with poverty rates and oil prices. However, one group of Americans is doing very well — corporate CEOs, whose pay is returning to pre-recession levels:

At a time most employees can barely remember their last substantial raise, median CEO pay jumped 27% in 2010 as the executives’ compensation started working its way back to prerecession levels, a USA TODAY analysis of data from GovernanceMetrics International found.Workers in private industry, meanwhile, saw their compensation grow just 2.1% in the 12 months ended December 2010, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median CEO pay last year was $9 million, the highest since 2007. The median CEO bonus was $2.2 million. Family wealth, meanwhile, is currently down $12.8 trillion from its 2007 peak.

REPORT: Fox Gave Far More Airtime To Supporters Of King's Anti-Muslim Hearings Than To Opponents

From media matters

According to a Media Matters analysis, in the days leading up to Rep. Peter King's (R-NY) controversial hearings on Muslim radicalization, Fox News gave far more airtime to supporters of the hearings than to opponents. Fox gave more than 1 hour and 35 minutes worth of airtime to supporters, while giving roughly 30 minutes to opponents and hosted at least 28 guests who supported the hearings versus just eight who opposed them.

During Week Of King's Hearings, Fox Gave Far More Airtime To Supporters Than Opponents

From March 7-10, Fox Gave Hearing Supporters About 1 Hour And 35 Minutes Of Airtime Versus About 30 Minutes For Opponents. Media Matters examined Fox News' coverage of King's hearings during all programming from March 7 through March 10. During that period, Fox gave supporters of King's hearings at least 1 hour and 35 minutes of airtime while giving opponents of the hearings at least 29 minutes and 44 seconds of airtime. Guests expressing no clear position during discussions of the hearings were labeled as "neutral."

Guests expressing support for King's hearings outnumbered those opposing the hearings 28 to eight. Three guests expressed no clear opinion during discussion of the hearings.

METHODOLOGY:

Guests during Fox News programming from March 7-10 who expressed support for King or King's hearings were labeled as supporting the hearings while those expressing opposition to King or King's hearings were labeled as opposing the hearings. Guests who did not clearly express a position for or against were labeled as neutral.

The original data can be viewed here. Media Matters calculated the amount of time for each segment using the following criteria:

• Segments featuring a simple interview between a single guest and a single host in which King's hearings were the only topic of conversation were timed from the beginning to the end of the segment, which included relevant questions or comments directed at the guest by the host.

• Segments featuring a simple interview between a single guest and a single host in which King's hearings were one of multiple topics of conversation were timed from the beginning of the first sentence mentioning or referencing the hearings to the end of the last sentence referencing or mentioning the hearings, which included relevant questions or comments directed at the guest by the host.

• Debates between two opposing viewpoints on the hearings were timed from the beginning to the end of the segment. The time was split evenly between the two viewpoints, which included relevant questions or comments by the host.

• Panels featuring multiple guests who spoke consecutively on the hearings were timed according to the amount of time each guest spoke, which included questions or comments directed at each guest by the host.

• Panels featuring multiple guests who spoke on multiple topics including the hearings were timed from the beginning of the first sentence mentioning or referencing the hearings to the end of the last sentence referencing or mentioning the hearings, which included relevant questions or comments directed at them by the host.

Shep Smith apologizes for ‘lack of balance’ in Fox News report

By David Edwards

Fox News host Shepard Smith is known for demanding fairness at a network that often isn't balanced. On Tuesday, Smith went so far as to apologize for a report that only interviewed one of the three candidates in the New Jersey gubernatorial race. Fox News reporter Shannon Bream only spoke with the Republican candidate Chris Cristie.

After the interview, Bream told Smith that they had asked to interview the Democratic candidate, John Corzine. "We have in multiple requests, and when it comes in, we'll let you know."

"Wow. I didn't know that was about to happen. My apologies for the lack of balance there. If I'd had control it wouldn't have happened," lamented Smith.

This video is from Fox News' Studio B, broadcast Oct. 27, 2009.