Local women form media watch group
Stabroek News
March 29, 2003
A number of women have formed a Media Watch Group with the aim of monitoring media coverage of women and issues of importance to women in Guyana and following-up on identified deficiences.
This step is the outcome of a recent workshop at which some 20 women were trained to critically analyse the images of women in the media and the way the media addresses women's issues.
The workshop was sponsored by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The workshop trainer was Melanie Cishecki who is the Executive Director of Media Watch Canada.
The women were drawn largely from among community activists, as well as media workers, communication students and lecturers.
According to an NDI release, the Guyana media monitoring group joins the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) whose members operate in 80 countries around the world in monitoring the portrayal and representation of women in the news on television, radio and newspapers.
Monitoring data, the release said, will provide vital information that can be used to help responsible decision-makers make positive changes that will benefit all stakeholders. It was noted that issues of importance to women are given token treatment and women experts, advocates and professionals are virtually ignored.
According to the release, the workshop provided participants with analytical tools to assess coverage of stories, columns, programmes, commercials and advertisements. In addition, particular emphasis was placed on how women are treated with respect to politics, political issues and civil society concerns. Included too, the release said, were awareness raising techniques, organizing campaigns to engage the local media and advocacy and lobbying methods.
The workshop also examined models of media regulatory frameworks used in other countries.
