Missing Voices and Gendered Ageism –Patterns of Invisibility in Global News Media

Abstract

News media has an agenda-setting function in society and has an important role for democracy. Earlier research has indicated that there is a male bias in the news. This paper suggest that there is also a global pattern of age bias in the news. Using data from the sixth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) from 2020 that covers news from 116 countries, patterns on gendered invisibility and ageism is revealed, creating a symbolic annihilation of voices and perspectives. The data collected from newspapers over the world indicate a clear imbalance in terms of visibility. Men dominate all adult age groups in the news. Children are rarely seen in the news, with girls are slightly more visible than boys. Teenagers are slightly more visible and have a gendered balance. Men in the ages 50–64 years are most likely to be in the news. Men keep the media attention even after retirement ages, but when passing 80 years, men and women are more or less invisible, but still with a male dominance. The global trend over time in newspapers is that women above 50 years has become more invisible. This indicates that news media contributes to gendered ageism.