About the Media Hall of Shame

Women will not be truly equal until we have full and fair representation in the media - a fact long recognized by the National Organization for Women. As far back as 1966, NOW's founders addressed the impact of media on women's lives. Ever since then, NOW's leaders and members have fought for media justice for women.

During the 2008 presidential elections, media misogyny reached toxic levels. Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin were the targets of the some of the most extraordinarily sexist (and racist) attacks we've witnessed in a long time. It's long been true that women who serve in or run for political office (and the women and girls in politicians' families) are subject to gender-based double standards and slurs. Remember the verbal abuse Rush Limbaugh heaped upon Chelsea Clinton when she was only 13 years old? In case you don't, Rush referred to her as the White House "dog" -- among other egregious offenses.

Because insults like this demean and stereotype all women, NOW originally created the Media Hall of Shame to call attention to some of the worst offenders from the exceptionally hostile domain of 2008 election coverage. We asked YOU to rate these "Hall of Shamers" on our misogyny meter, and the bottom of the barrel were dis-honored at the 2008 National NOW Conference.

The popularity of the Media Hall of Shame led NOW to create this 2.0 version. This time around, we're featuring outrages that take place both within and beyond politically-focused news media. We'll be covering content from primetime television, movies, music, advertising, the Internet, kids TV, video games and so much more.

NOW speaks out against a wide range of media violations, but now you can find them all in one spot -- right here. We may even spotlight a positive example of women-friendly media every once and a while.

And, best of all, we still want to know what you think! In addition to rating each one of our posted offenders, you can nominate someone to the Hall of Shame, and the most popular or outrageous nominees may be added to the website. Most importantly, women's rights supporters can take action by talking back to the media -- we'll provide the links. If enough of us speak out, we can do something about the negative images and messages coming from and through the media. See the take action link at the end of each post, and don't just get mad, do something!

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