Content Analysis
Far more effective in changing the depiction of women in the media than academic theoretical studies has been content analysis, undertaken with a practical policy goal in mind. In a 1987-88 study by the Office of the Status of Women (many of the findings of which are still relevant), such analysis showed that, in television advertisements, 86 percent of voice-overs were male; presenters were male 61 percent of the time; leading male characters were frequently supported by other males while female characters were likely to have male characters in supporting roles; women were most often used in advertisements for personal care, food and cleaning products and were very seldom depicted participating in active sport; and women were most often cast as parents and nurtures but were seldom seen as the recipients of another character's care and attention.

Women's participation in radio was much worse. Only 8 percent of the advertisements in the radio sample used female characters alone while 72 percent used male characters alone. In the print media, women were primarily shown as models or product demonstrators and not engaged in any occupational activity.

This Status of Women project included the development of a teaching kit. Organizations have used this kit to educate women and teach them how to complain to the media. One of the more innovative advertising agencies took the research to heart and succeeded in persuading the Australian Meat and Livestock Company to change the thrust of their advertising campaign, from "Feed the Man Meat" to "Beef Short Cuts."

In 1993, the Working Party on the Portrayal of Women in the Media conducted a study of newspapers, television news and current affairs programs. Women gained only 18 percent of all references in 5,000 news items. In the print media, only 27 percent of by-lines and pictures included females, and only 14 percent of women's proper names were mentioned in the body of all news stories. In TV news and current affairs programs, one quarter of reports were women and only one quarter of subjects interviewed were women.

Though the results are discouraging, it is this sort of research, together with an analysis of those stories which do depict women, that needs to be done in the academy if education is going to have any impact on the media.