Portrayal of women in The Daily Nation's Saturday Magazine

Abstract

This research project delves into the 'sensitive' issues of gender (im)balance prevalent in our society, and particularly as it is handled by a section of the mainstream media. It is a response to the call for affirmative action and the result reverberations that have shaken society down to the core. The power of the media is undoubtedly almost immeasurable, and for such an issue to have the desired impact, one cannot ignore how the media handles it. The media are reputed to set the agenda of what people think, falling short of determining how they think about phenomena. The choice of the Daily Nation is deliberate, largely owing to its popularity and dominance in the region. Statistics show that it enjoys a daily readership of about three million. Across the world via the internet, it is on record at achieving a day's browsing of 800,000, which is about eight times its nearest challenger. There is no doubt, therefore, that how it portrays the image of women in the Saturday magazine is fundamental.