In the current campaign period, gender has become an issue because the way female politicians are often covered and represented in the media is at times scandalous. The issue has aroused great interest in recent weeks particularly from women candidates, political parties and others concerned about the possible consequences of media coverage of women politicians and candidates and their performance. Thus, gender-sensitive reporting has particular resonance for female politicians and (female) equal rights advocates mainly because they speak to the processes of democratisation characterised by (un)fair and (in)equitable access to media space and resources. For this, the media are seen as ‘unfair’ to most female candidates. There are many factors that inform media coverage and representation of female politicians.

Source: Standard Digital June 10, 2017 19:50 UTC