SECTOR 2 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.2 (2008 = n/a; 2006 = n/a) 2.7 All media fairly reflect the voices of both women and men. Although more women are rising to elevated positions in government and business in South Africa, men seem to continue dominating the news as sources of information and comment. One of the reasons is “lazy journalism” with journalists selecting the “usual” sources and experts they have approached all along without looking for new ones. Comments on economic issues, for example, will be sought from mainstream economists who are usually men – a reflection of the gender balances in society as a whole: “if the society is conservative the media will also be conservative”. It was argued that this should not be an excuse for the continuing imbalance in gender representation: “Where the media shape opinion they must be responsible so they don’t advance sexism. It’s not going to happen simply on the basis that there are other sources of information. You find the source of information based on what value you want to challenge. Media are powerful and so they can begin to include voices that challenge those values.” 34 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2010