Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2018
Capstone Advisor
Melissa Chessher
Honors Reader
Claudia Strong
Capstone Major
Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism
Capstone College
Public Communications
Audio/Visual Component
yes
Audio/Visual Location
https://www.dropbox.com/s/38iebtqg0zg12yo/HOMAN%20-%20Portfolio%20final.pdf?dl=0
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
yes
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Communication | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Journalism Studies | Women's Studies
Abstract
I am publishing a book, titled On the Record: Notes from 20 Powerful Women in Journalism, and a corresponding website, ontherecordbook.squarespace.com, aimed at high school and college students who want to learn about and make a difference in journalism and digital media. The book and website consist of interviews with women in those fields with a focus on ideas — how they’re generated, how they become successful and how they shape the changing industry, with additional resources and information for students. The book will be self-published, printed and distributed to high schools and libraries in the Syracuse area, and the website will be promoted online, especially to students and journalism social network groups.
The goal of the project is to encourage young women to make positive changes in the media, especially during a time when honest and skilled journalism is so necessary, and female empowerment is critically important. In my research, I found that about 62 percent of newspaper and news site bylines were by men, while women constituted 38 percent of contributors. Moreover, I found that those figures have remained largely unchanged since at least 1999, fluctuating between 35 and 38 percent women. It became clear to me that there is a lack of progress in achieving equality in journalism. Through this book, I want to show young women that they can become successful journalists and digital media mavens, they can write about any subject area from politics to culture to science to fashion and they can look up to the women who are making positive changes in the industry now.
Recommended Citation
Homan, Jacqueline, "On the Record: The Power of Women's Ideas in the Changing Media Industry" (2018). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 1267.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/1267
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
