Watch Out Listen Up Media Activism Campaign

Watch Out, Listen Up!
Media Activism Campaign

"We are putting the four major networks on notice: Watch Out, Listen Up! And, move over Nielsen, feminists across the country will be tuning in with a critical eye and announcing our own ratings," said National Organization for Women (NOW) President Patricia Ireland.

Watch Out, Listen Up! is NOW's campaign to create a more socially responsible and diverse U.S. media. Teams of Feminist Field Analysts will monitor prime-time network programming during the February Sweeps Month. While Nielsen rates television shows based on popularity, NOW will evaluate them based on content. The feminist analysts will rate programs by documenting incidents of violence, gender composition/stereotypes, sexual exploitation and social responsibility.

"The release of NOW's program ratings will be a moment of truth for the networks. Feminist viewers across the country will decide if ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC measure-up when it comes to treatment of women," Ireland said. NOW will analyze the results of the feminist television surveys and issue a report of the survey's findings.

"Media activism is crucial in the fight for women's rights. Watch Out, Listen Up! is another step toward making television more relevant to women's lives and more responsive to women's needs," Ireland said. "Stay tuned to NOW to find out if the networks will get cheers or jeers from women!"

Components of the Campaign:

Network Analysis - Television analyst teams are viewing programming on four broadcast networks during the February sweeps period. Each team is analyzing one network's primetime programming on a designated night of the week during the month. The teams are recording what they see in a diary provided to them and rating the programs based on four categories: violence, gender composition/stereotypes, sexual exploitation and social responsibility. After the teams complete their work, they will return their diaries to NOW where we will analyze the content of primetime programming. NOW will release the results, naming network programming that performed the worst in the survey and highlighting a few bright spots on the tube.

House Parties - On May 7, activists will gather for house parties to discuss the state of media, share woman-positive entertainment, strategize to improve the media and prepare for actions to pressure networks to act more responsibly.

Week of Action - During the week of May 8, NOW chapters and other groups of activists will contact networks to speak-out about the state of television programming. The goal will be to encourage networks to meet with NOW representatives to discuss how television programming might better represent and inform women.

Feminist Ratings - Media monitors are reporting the primetime programs they watch during February's sweeps period and may also assess the content of those programs. Monitors will utilize the same criteria as the network analyst teams to help them evaluate their favorite shows. NOW will announce the results, including the rankings of programs feminists watch as well as their concerns and suggestions for improvements in these shows.

Watch and Listen Report - Every Monday NOW will post a brief media review on our web site. The review will include cheers-and-jeers type comments, feminist picks of the week (video rentals, tv shows, movies, books, etc), quick media facts, recommendations from the latest National NOW Times survey--information both fun and thoughtful. Visit the Watch Out Listen Up site frequently to read the media column and get updates on the campaign's progress.