On the other hand, the only man interviewed was described as a high-ranking police officer who did not approve of what his son was accused of having done. Herein lie the stereotypes of the strong resilient man and the weak emotional woman. The women might also have given their opinion on the crime if it had been put to them, but they were written off as ‘emotional’. It is common for women to appear in the news in stereotypical situations that differ from those of male newsmakers. Women are least likely to be found in stories about politics, government, economics and business. The survey found that only 14 per cent of news subjects in political stories and 20 per cent in economic stories were women. Gender of News Subjects in Local, National & International Stories 1995 - 2005 1995 2000 2005 % of women % of men % of women % of men % of women % of men 22 14 17 17 78 86 83 83 23 17 15 14 77 83 85 86 27 19 18 20 73 81 82 80 Local National International Foreign 17 83 18 82 21 79 Total Global Media Monitoring Project, 2005 The invisible sex In the world reflected by news stories around the globe, women remain largely invisible. On a global scale, the GMMP 2005 survey found that women make the news, not as figures of authority, but as celebrities (42 per cent), royalty (33 per cent) or as ordinary people. Female newsmakers outnumber males only as homemakers and students. As authorities and experts, women barely feature. They are depicted as eyewitnesses (30 per cent), giving personal views (31 per cent) or as representatives of popular opinion (34 per cent). In contrast, men comprise 83 per cent of experts and 86 per cent of spokespersons. The fact that there were some percentages of gender views expressed in a balanced manner proves that it is not impossible to produce news stories that are gender sensitive. The analysis report recommended that concerted action is needed in the following areas over the next five years to increase gender awareness in the media: advocacy and lobbying; media policies and accountability; organisational targets and in-house monitoring; sensitisation and training of journalists; media analysis skills; and development of monitoring mechanisms. “Without strategies for change in these areas, most news will continue to be at best gender blind, at worst gender biased,” notes Margaret Gallagher, author of the GMMP report, Who Makes the News? So This Is Democracy? 2005 -22- Media Institute of Southern Africa