A panel discussion on women in the media held last Monday night filled every seat in the D’Angelo Ballroom.

Four panelists commented on the most recent findings of the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) that focused on women’s representation in the media.

The Division of Mass Communication and World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), a non-governmental organization, co-sponsored the event. The St. John’s Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists provided refreshments for those who attended.

The GMMP took place on Nov. 10 last year. Groups from 130 countries monitored the news from major media outlets based on density and diversity. Internet news was monitored in 25 countries.

Sophomore Nicole Stanley attended in order to get extra credit for her class. She took notes on the information presented during the two hour discussion.

“I thought the information was interesting and inspiring,” Stanley said. “It made me want to be a journalist even more to help change the face of women in the media.”

Marilyn Greenwald, Sarah Macharia, Heidi Evans, June Nicholson discussed the results of the report in front of a large crowd of students and professors.

Greenwald is a professor at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, Macharia is a staffer at WACC, Evans is a reporter for the NY Daily News, and Nicholson is professor and director in the School of Mass Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Macharia presented the statistic that 24% of people interviewed, heard, seen, or read about in mainstream broadcast and print news are female.

Stanley also noticed and pointed out that there were more females than males in attendance.

“I looked around the room, and most of the people sitting near me were female. That was interesting to me. Maybe this generation of students will bring a new face to these statistics,” she said.

According to the report, one-fifth of top editors are female. Marilyn Greenwald spoke about the way that these women are presented.  Specifically, that thee “talking-heads” on television news programs are often chosen for their physical appeal.

Greenwald pointed out that physical attributes often affect ratings on television newscasts.

The figures presented were news to some students.

“I had no idea things were this unequal,” Stanley said. “This has really opened my eyes.”