oa Demografische diversiteit in het Vlaamse perslandschap

Demographic diversity in the Flemish press

This study analyses the diversity of the Flemish news by looking at demographic diversity, i.e. the extent to which gender, age and ethnicity in society are proportionally represented in the news. In a constructed week (April-May 2012) (N = 4,800) 12,743 persons were mentioned, each of them were assigned to age groups, man or woman, ethnic minority or ethnic majority. The results indicate that youngsters, the elderly, women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented as news sources in the Flemish news. Especially in the case of elite sources, the news was strongly dominated by adult ‘white’ men. Women were systematically associated more often with ‘feminine’ topics such as welfare and culture, whereas news topics such as sports, politics or economics were strongly dominated by male actors. Ethnic minorities were predominantly (84,2%) connected to sport, crime and justice, and human rights including immigration.