#WhoTalks: How Did the 6 Shows Do in the First 6 Weeks?
« See all of the Who Talks? monthly infographics!
We're giving you an exclusive sneak peek at the latest Who Talks? data! Find out what’s new, which shows need a push, and which shows are starting to show improvement.
A Quick Who Talks? Refresher
Who Talks? monitors the number of appearances by male and female analysts on three major television news networks: CNN, Fox, MSNBC. Any show guest who is not the host (or substitute host) and is asked to comment on the 2016 presidential election is counted.
Anderson Cooper 360 and The Rachel Maddow Show
Here’s a sneak peek at our new data from the past two weeks: between March 28th and April 8th, Anderson Cooper 360 featured 54% women analysts in discussions of presidential politics. Anderson Cooper 360 and The Rachel Maddow Show had Hall of Fame gender ratios for the first four weeks of Who Talks?. (Scroll down to see their numbers in the first month infographic). We are disappointed to see that The Rachel Maddow Show had only 18% women analysts between March 28th and April 8th. Maddow’s numbers were impacted by a March 30th episode with an interview of Hillary Clinton that included no analyst discussions.
But even in the first four weeks of Who Talks?, Maddow’s numbers changed dramatically from week to week, unlike Anderson Cooper who featured a consistently balanced panel. Check back here in three weeks to find out how The Rachel Maddow Show fared in April.
Morning Joe: The Original
When GenderAvenger tracked 30 hours of Morning Joe in January, the percentage of women analysts was 23%. The show’s average for the first four weeks of Who Talks? was 24%. And it shows:
"I like the double estrogen hit on this side of the table here. I mean, it's not, I've never seen this before, have you?"
—Donnie Deutsch
This was Donnie Deutsch’s response to having Mika Brzezinski and Nicole Wallace host an episode of Morning Joe. GenderAvenger wants more attention paid to women analysts onscreen, but not like this. We’re not the only ones that noticed Deutsch’s inappropriate remarks: this exchange was cut from the segment when it was repeated in the third hour.
Between March 28th and April 8th, Morning Joe started to show some improvement: the average percentage of women analysts for these two weeks was 28.5%. That’s not great, but it’s slightly better than the show’s numbers during the previous four weeks. We will post a fresh monthly infographic during the first week of May to let you know how they did. Stay tuned…
New Day, Fox & Friends, and The Kelly File: Improvement, With Room to Grow
In the last two weeks, we’ve seen slight improvement from New Day, Fox & Friends, and The Kelly File.
Average percentage of women analysts between March 28th and April 8th, 2016:
- New Day: 32%, with a noteworthy 39% last week!
- Fox & Friends: 31% women
- The Kelly File: 20%
The Kelly File has made the most progress (9%), but it also had the most room to grow. The show will have to double its current percentage of women to reach Hall of Fame status. We know it’s possible. So, will we see some serious progress in our April infographic? We are watching and will let you know.
Talking About Who Talks?
We’re picking up steam! Since we launched on February 29th, Who Talks? has appeared in Glamour, Vox, Media Matters, and more.
Action: Make Your Voice Heard
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The One Month Infographic
In case you missed it, check out our very first one month infographic, which covers the first four weeks of Who Talks?
Stay up to date:
We will be sharing monthly infographics every month until the election in November on our Who Talks? page.