Sunday network news shows have had a historical problem of being too male (and too pale). Unfortunately, during the weekend of the 2018 Women’s March with marches happening not only across the country but also around the world, it remained more of the same. Only men were guests.
To add insult to injury, the 2nd Women’s March happened this weekend and barely got a mention on those shows. Media Matters puts it into perspective:
On January 20 and 21, one year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, hundreds of thousands of protesters turned out in hundreds of marches and other events in the U.S. and worldwide to unite to support women’s rights. The protests emphasized encouraging women to engage in the political process and expressing shared disdain for the oppressive policies of the Trump administration. According to Politico, there were an estimated 600,000 attendees at the Los Angeles march alone. One of the March’s main events, called #PowerToThePolls, took place in Las Vegas, NV, on January 21 and aimed to register one million voters.The Women’s March described the effort as targeting “swing states to register new voters, engage impacted communities, harness our collective energy to advocate for policies and candidates that reflect our values, and collaborate with our partners to elect more women and progressives candidates to office.”
Despite the worldwide impact of the marches, the major Sunday political talk shows -- which include CNN’s State of the Union, ABC’s This Week, CBS’ Face the Nation, NBC’s Meet the Press, and Fox Broadcasting Co.’s Fox News Sunday -- were nearly silent on the topic. These shows often set the tone and priorities for media coverage for the rest of the week.
Yet another example of why diverse media representation is so important. While there was a government shutdown happening, it was the first anniversary of one of the biggest protests in U.S. history. Hundreds of thousands of people—if not more—participated in affiliation actions over the weekend. All of it deserves a lot more attention.