Q: Why do you believe The Global Report on Women in the News Media is needed?
RO: The project comes at a time when the media is being seen – especially in our part of the world – as a tool for development, and yet no one has ever done qualitative analysis on the status of the media, especially in terms of gender representation. A lot has been written in terms of the experiences women face while working in the media, but there is no information or data on how gender is being used in terms of human resource policy or content. Therefore, this project will debunk myths which have surrounded the status of media, give a clear road-map on the gaps that exist and offer suggestions on what can be done to make the media – which derives its authority from society – to be truly the reflection of the society.
Q: What impact do you think this project will have?
RO: The project will be able to produce data that never used to exist, offer comparative analysis on the status of the media from around the world, and it will be used to for advocacy and change policies within the media houses.
Q: What prepared you to oversee the research for your area of the world?
RO: In 2005 I was the regional coordinator for WACC on the Global Media Monitoring Project and realized that even as we were looking at the media content, we needed to look further and analyze who is behind content development and what environment they are working in. I have also done a lot of media training in the region and was instrumental in introducing gender and media in East Africa. I have been able to work with the media houses as the secretary general of the Editor’s Guild to sensitize them on why gender issues matter when it comes to media content. So for me the project was long overdue, and being part of it has been a learning lesson on issues which I never knew existed.