"Why Journalism Has A Gender Problem"

Question

by Corinne Segal

The journalism industry is severely lacking in leadership by women and racial minorities, according to the Nieman Reports story published Wednesday.

This year’s census by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), which looked at diversity at print newspapers, shows women accounting for 35.4 percent of supervisors. This barely marks an increase from 1999, when women made up 33.8 percent of supervisors. Women run three out of the 25 biggest U.S. titles and one of the top 25 international titles. They make up 37.2 percent of overall newspaper employees, a whole three-tenths of a percent increase from 1999. Racial minorities fare even worse, comprising 13 percent of overall employees.

In broadcast newsrooms, women make up 31 percent of news directors and 20 percent of general managers, according to a 2014 survey by the Radio Television Digital News Association. The fewest female leaders appear in radio, where they account for 23 percent of news directors and 18 percent of general managers.

The trend is not limited to the U.S., or even to media. A survey of 500 media companies in nearly 60 countries discovered that men hold 73 percent of management positions. And among Fortune 500 CEOs, women account for 4.8 percent.

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Question
Use the article to answer the question.

What would happen if you reversed the order of paragraphs 3 and 4?

(1 point)
Responses

The focus of the article would shift from old statistics to trends in the industry.
The focus of the article would shift from old statistics to trends in the industry.

The importance of the problem would become clearer because the worldwide impact would be centered sooner.
The importance of the problem would become clearer because the worldwide impact would be centered sooner.

The extent of the problem would be lost on readers because they would not receive all the data.
The extent of the problem would be lost on readers because they would not receive all the data.

The broader implications of an idea would be discussed before the reader understands what the idea is.

Answer 1

The correct response would be:

The broader implications of an idea would be discussed before the reader understands what the idea is.

Reversing the order of paragraphs 3 and 4 would mean starting with the global statistics about media leadership and overall corporate diversity, which might confuse readers who are still trying to grasp the specific context of the journalism industry in the U.S. Before understanding the local statistics, readers would be presented with broader implications, potentially leading to a lack of clarity about the specific issues within U.S. journalism.