Media activism groups work to bring about change in the mainstream media, but their gains are often limited. Drawing on theories of the political function of news in a democracy, media sociology, and feminism, this article focuses on the specifi c experience of Gender Links, a Southern African gender and media organization founded in 2001. An analysis of institutional materials and 25 in-depth interviews shows that Gender Links is using a professional-technical approach to feminist media activism that is insuffi cient in bringing about deep and long-term change on an ideological level. It is suggested that Gender Links could benefi t from more emphasis on political and countercultural approaches. The research also highlights some of the other dilemmas posed by issues related to funding, networking, the grassroots, press freedom, the profi t motive, and the strong backlash from a patriarchal culture.
From 1994 to 1999, the global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) implemented a gender mainstreaming policy in its newsrooms. This study examined organizational changes and news coverage that IPS advocated, as well as methods employed to bring about these changes. It shows that IPS has not been able to mainstream gender into all aspects of the organization and news coverage, and it considers reasons for the lacking implementation of the policy, while documenting IPS's efforts to improve women's access and representation in international news.
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