Women’s Media Center Programs
The Women’s Media Center is dedicated to amplifying progressive women’s voices through the media, specifically around the theme of “Women as Leaders and Peacemakers.” We believe that women serve as leaders in a variety of ways that aren’t always fully recognized by the traditional media. Our goal is to identify women who are serving as leaders and peacemakers in a variety of settings, and to get their voices heard in the media.
Every day, we work with our partners throughout the women’s and progressive movements to help tell the important stories from and about women. Whether by promoting stories and campaigns through our Web site, providing guidance on media strategy, or directly pitching issues and spokespeople to the media, the Women’s Media Center (WMC) serves as a one-stop media resource for our partners.
For reporters, we offer access to timely news and commentary from experts and news makers in the women’s and progressive movements. Please sign-up for our media distribution list to receive news and spokesperson availability alerts from the Women's Media Center, or contact our Media Director for more information.
Through our Progressive Women’s Voices program, the WMC works to amplify the voice of progressive women in the media, while building a new class of experts and commentators to fuel the conversation. We are currently looking for outstanding women candidates for our first class. Candidates should be experts in a given field, with some media experience and exposure. The WMC will offer, over a three month period, a series of media trainings, op-ed trainings, issue briefings, and networking sessions to each class. The WMC will then pitch these experts to the media, with the goal of acquiring a consistent, highly visible slot for their opinions.
WMC Style Guide
Just as good journalists examine their words for correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, and style, so too will they want to check for sexist language that could unfairly represent their subjects.
In a dictionary-thesaurus format, Unspinning the Spin: A Guide to Accurate, Bias-Free Language provides brief, succinct background on each sexist and other biased term along with alternatives that allow media to choose the best words or phrases that are accurate, elegant, and inclusive.
Unspinning the Spin distinguishes among gender-free, gender-fair, and gender-specific words. The Guide is scheduled to be released in Fall 2008, written by Rosalie Maggio and edited by WMC Founders Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem.
Media Training
The first step to making women more visible and powerful in the media is to provide more women with the tools and training they need to confidently speak out through the media as articulate, polished spokespeople. To that end, the WMC has created a media training program that teaches prospective spokespeople how to create their message and deliver it in any media format.
The Women’s Media Center works with individuals and organizations to craft personalized courses to fit different needs and experience levels. Our programs range from Media Training 101 to messaging workshops to advanced training for experienced professionals.
We want to make the Media Training Program accessible to a wide range of organizations and individuals, and therefore work with organizations to create a program and fee structure that fits their needs and budget. For more information, please contact us.
Women in Entertainment Project
Beginning in spring 2007, the Women’s Media Center teamed up with Emmy-award winning producer and Friends’co-creator Marta Kauffman to convene groups of women who work in the entertainment industry creating television and film content. Spurred by the abysmal statistics representing women in powerbroker positions in Hollywood and the often one-dimensional portrayals of women onscreen, the Women’s Media Center set out to make a difference.
The Women in Entertainment Project works to ensure that strong, women-centered stories get into the hands of women entertainment creators who can bring them to fruition. We identify engaging, uncovered, captivating, entertaining stories focused on women’s lives or told from a woman’s perspective. The WMC is represented by entertainment attorney Susan A. Grode for this program. |