Uplift Magazine

Because we do have them, you know…

By: Sarah Barnes, 12.01.2010 | Comments (1)

Freelance journalist Jo Middleton, who wrote about her late blossoming love of Sex and The City for Uplift back in July, got in touch just recently to tell me about an interesting project she has become involved in…

Women’s Views on News is a not-for-profit online news service run by a group of female freelance journalists (headed by Alison Clarke) who are keen to report world news from the perspective of women. Like any other news service, Women’s Views on News will source and relate current major news – the only difference will be that women will be giving us the facts. Here’s what the WVoN team have to say about this small, but significant, shift;

So why women? Well, there are dozens of women’s magazines covering a broad range of interests, but none of them provide news and current affairs from a woman’s perspective in any meaningful way. There are, therefore, thousands of stories that should be told, but just aren’t.

Indeed, according to a recent survey, four out of every five people featured in news stories worldwide were men, and just ten percent of all news stories focused specifically on women.

There are a number of reasons for that, but one of them is the dominance of men on news desks. As news editors, they are the ones with the power to decide which stories are newsworthy and, crucially, which are not.

Whatever the reason, the end result is that the views of women are ignored. That sends out a message to women – that their opinions are just not as important as those of men. Or that they do not have the same validity. This site will redress that imbalance.

The site has just recently re-launched, but is still looking for contributors. So, if you are a writer covering women’s news, women’s experiences of news-worthy events or commenting on current news stories, get in touch with Women’s Views on News through their website.

Ooh, and don’t forget to keep up with Jo Middleton’s slummy mummy goings-on over on her blog!