Study shows male and female candidates treated differently by newspapers

The work of male reporters at Iowa’s largest newspaper was evaluated in a national survey to find out how republican presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole was depicted in newspaper stories. Male reporters at the New York Times, the L-A Times, U-S-A Today and the Washington Post focused more on Mrs. Dole’s personal traits than her policy pronouncements. But the men at the Des Moines Register tended to focus more on George W. Bush’s personal traits according to Marie Wilson of “The White House Project.” She says it’s the only paper where Bush got more coverage than Dole.In 1999, 23-percent of the paragraphs in Des Moines Register stories about Mrs. Dole’s focused on her personal characteristics. By comparison, 30 percent of the stories the Des Moines Register wrote about George Bush last year were focused on his personal traits.Wilson says her “White House Project” seeks to enhance public perceptions of the capacity of women to lead.