How you can help journalists cover the gender wars - accurately and without bias
Make your voice heard
It’s frustrating to see outlets that ought to be trustworthy and impartial take sides again and again on sex and gender - and it’s usually the gender-identity affirmative side. But there are ways to everyone can intervene to make a difference.
PRAISE
Journalists love compliments. If they’re speaking up to defend women and single-sex spaces, let them know how much you appreciate their voice. They don’t have to be long - short and sweet is just as good.
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It’s not purely to massage their ego. Every tweet, Facebook comment or letter to the editor will encourage them (and their bosses) to cover this subject further. If you can’t be ‘out’ publicly, think about setting up an email in a different name.
READ
Spot a gender critical story online? Don’t scroll by, click on it. Read it or at least scroll right to the bottom. News organisations count every click and collect data on how many people are ‘reading down’. If editors see that these stories have ‘clickability’ (essential for advertising revenue) they will continue to highlight them. Perhaps subscribe to one of the newspaper online sites via one of these stories.
COMPLAIN
When you spot journalists calling men ‘she/her’ – particularly in the context of sex crimes – complain. Guidance for print journalists from IPSO (The Independent Press Standards Org) does NOT say that journalists MUST use ‘she/her’ for these criminals. Instead, they guide journalists to be accurate. For your complaint to be handled properly, you must first complain to the newspaper itself. If they do not give a satisfactory response, complain again. If they fail to address the issue a second time or try to fob you off, complain to IPSO.
It’s the same with broadcast media, only it’s progressed to Ofcom, and if the BBC, then you must first exhaust the BBC’s complaints. Be prepared with the BBC to have your initial complaint rejected - they almost always are. Push on through the next stages if you can.
Perhaps go public (if you can) with your complaint on social media. Share your letter with your followers and let them see the response. PLEASE be mindful of GDPR rules about sharing other people’s emails addresses with other people – you might want to obscure those in some way. You can share names and titles at the organisation so other people can formulate their own complaint. Standard email formats can be found on a Google or other search.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
It’s tempting to write to editors and rant. But keep your complaints factual, simple and to the point. Most letters and emails over 250 words will be edited before they are published, so self-edit before they have the chance to cut your words for you. Add your name and address to show you are a genuine reader or viewer. If you do not wish these details to be published, tell them. They will add: [Name and address supplied] to the letter.
LISTEN OUT FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD
Television and radio shows thrive on public interaction. They need your texts, emails, WhatsApp messages and phone calls to keep their programmes lively and engaging. Most channels now have debates where viewers and listeners can call in.
Perhaps keep a note on your phone or by your radio of the text numbers or email addresses (some are quite difficult to catch first time round) so you can drop a quick message to the host. DO BE AWARE that once you’ve texted in, the producer may call to ask if you want to come on the show. If you’re not keen, that’s absolutely fine. A polite: ‘No thank you’ will suffice.
If you DO feel confident about talking on the show, ask for five or ten minutes to collect your thoughts and WRITE DOWN four or five key points you want to get across. Keep going back to that piece of paper if you start to falter. Any personal stories will come across really well – ie if your daughter has had to play against a boy in her football team or you’ve been on a women’s hospital ward with a man etc. These human angles cut through the more general ‘culture war’ debate. And breathe. Nerves can make you garble. Stand up to take the call and smile when you say hello to the host, you’ll feel more confident and that will come across in your voice.
KEEP US INFORMED
If you follow journalists who cover gender issues on Twitter, keep in touch and keep telling us about what’s happening in your area. It’s impossible to read everything but if you see us tweeting about a particular subject – say, men in sport, and you’ve seen an interesting news story or statistic, reply to us with the link. It may just provide the missing piece of a jigsaw for a great story. Follow @JournalismSEEN on Twitter to see what journalists are doing behind the scenes.
AND FINALLY…
Let the BBC know what you want it to report up to the election by using this link. They have been particularly biased against gender critical stories.
Please see this, from the Editor of Brighton & Hove News! He's setting a high bar, in the heart of Wokedom on Earth! He's obviously made a decision that the crazies infesting Brighton don't represent the demographic of the rest of his readership! About time too!
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2024/06/24/women-shelter-in-shop-after-protesters-tail-them-from-rally/