All the Gender That’s Fit to Print

Abstract

This study examines how the New York Times covered a culturally significant event: the 2008 presidential election. A content analysis of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and their male counterparts examined coverage of “masculinized” and “feminized” issues and traits, and explicit novelty references. Analysis revealed that the Times promulgated stereotypic trends by providing heavy emphasis on women’s novelty, and more attention on masculinized content. Furthermore, a time-frame analysis showed that the Times gave men more issue and trait coverage than women as the primary and general election came to an end.