TTLV: Managing gender-sensitive content on online newspapers

1. Student's full name: NGUYEN THI THANH THUY 2. Gender: Female
3. Date of birth: October 3, 1978
4. Place of birth: Hai Thuong Ward, Nghi Son Town, Thanh Hoa Province
5. Decision on student admission No. 2948/2021/QD-XHNV dated December 28, 2021, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
6. Changes in the training process: None
7. Thesis title: Managing gender-sensitive content in online newspapers.
8. Major: Media and Journalism Management; Code: Pilot Program
9. Scientific supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Oanh, Academy of Journalism and Communication
10. Summary of the thesis results:
With the aim of assessing the current state of content management of gender-sensitive information on online newspapers and proposing solutions to improve management quality in newsrooms, based on theoretical research, this study has developed a checklist for managing gender-sensitive content on online newspapers with 4 criteria and 22 scales. The research results show that, alongside some achievements of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism in general and online newspapers in particular in gender-sensitive communication over the years, there are still many online publications lacking gender sensitivity, evident in their message content and presentation style. In the management of gender-sensitive content, the awareness of journalists (including leaders of news agencies, reporters, editors, etc.) in their various positions is also insufficient in fulfilling their role as "gatekeepers," creating, controlling, and censoring gender-sensitive information. The development of processes for producing gender-inclusive news articles, managing the frequency of media coverage on gender issues, creating dedicated pages and sections, or implementing a Gender Index in the media have not received sufficient attention and active implementation from online newspapers.
The causes identified are both objective and subjective, focusing on several key factors: the lack of effective legal regulations, journalists' continued lack of gender sensitivity, the phenomenon of chasing views based on public taste, and the public's limited ability to critically analyze misleading gender-related messages. Furthermore, underlying issues stem from historical and cultural factors, and especially the professional capacity and gender responsibility of journalists in producing gender-equality media coverage.
Research approaches from communication theories such as Framing Theory, Agenda Setting Theory, and Gatekeeper Theory show that media outlets are crucial "gatekeepers" in controlling the content of information containing gender-related issues. Therefore, the gender awareness and responsibility of media outlets will determine whether journalistic products contain gender-related issues, as evidenced by the "framing" of gender concepts and characteristics within the media outlets. While the media audience is not the direct creator of the "agendas," they play a vital role in participating in those agendas. Therefore, promoting media to raise gender awareness among the community indirectly involves them in contributing to and critically evaluating articles lacking gender-related content.
Based on research results obtained using qualitative and quantitative research methods combined with the advanced data scanning tool Social Listening Plus, the thesis has identified three main groups of solutions for managing gender-sensitive information content on the internet: 1) Solutions for improving policies; 2) Solutions for building and improving the content management process of media organizations; and 3) Solutions for training and enhancing gender-related skills for reporters/journalists. Simultaneously, the thesis also offers several proposals and recommendations to the Party and State; to state management agencies in the field of press and media; to media organizations; to reporters and journalists; and to the media audience.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

 

1. Full name: NGUYEN THI THANH THUY 2. Sex: Female
3. Date of birth: 03/10/1978
4. Place of birth: Hai Thuong ward, Nghi Son town, Thanh Hoa province
5. Admission decision number: 2948/2021/QD-XHNV dated December 28, 2021 of the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
6. Changes in academic process: No
7. Official thesis title: Managing gender-sensitive information content on electronic newspapers
8. Major: Media Management
9. Code: Pilot
10.Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Oanh, Academy of Journalism and Communication
11. Summary of the findings of the thesis:
With the desire to assess the current situation of managing gender-sensitive information content on electronic newspapers today and propose solutions to improve the quality of governance at journals, based on theoretical research, the thesis has built a Checklist for managing gender-sensitive information content on electronic newspapers with 4 criteria and 22 scales. The results of the study show that, in addition to a number of achievements made by the Vietnamese revolutionary press in general and electronic newspapers in particular in the work of gender equality in years, there are not few recent works on electronic newspapers lacking gender-sensitive information content, expressed through the content of the message and the form of presentation. In managing gender-sensitive information content, due to the awareness of journalists (including leaders of press agencies, reporters, interns, etc.), they do not do a good job as a "gate keeper" in creating, controlling and censoring information lacking gender sensitivity. The development of the process of producing news articles with gender mainstreaming, managing the frequency of media articles about gender, building specialized pages, columns, or implementing the Gender Indicators in the media has not been really appreciated and actively implemented by electronic newspapers.
The identified causes are both objective and subjective. structured, legal regulations have not been realized and journalists still lack gender sensitivity. Besides, there is view attraction according to the public's taste which does not have much ability to react to false gender messages. In addition, the root cause is also due to historical and cultural issues and especially the professional capacity as well as gender responsibility of journalists in producing gender-equal media.
Approaching research from communication theories such as Framing Theory, Agenda Setting Theory and Gate Keeper Theory shows that: Journalists are the important "gate keepers" in controlling information content with gender sensitivity. Therefore, journalists' gender awareness and gender responsibility will determine whether or not the press products contain gender sensitivity, as shown by the "framing" of journalists' gender concepts and characteristics. The media public, though not directly the creator of the "agenda", has a very important role to play in participating in that agenda. Therefore, promoting communication to raise gender awareness for the community is also indirectly involving them in the process of contributing and criticizing articles lacking gender sensitivity.
On the basis of research results by qualitative and quantitative research methods combined with the advanced search data scanning tool Social Listening Plus, the thesis has shown groups of managing gender-sensitive information content on the survey with 3 main groups: 1) Solutions for policy improvement; 2) Solutions for building and completing the content management process of the press agency; 3) Solutions on training to improve gender capacity for reporters/journalists. At the same time, the thesis also makes a number of proposals and recommendations for the Party and State; for state management agencies in charge of press and communication; for press agencies; for reporters, journalists and for the media public.
12. Practical applicability, if any:
1) Used as reference and learning materials for tutors and students of Multimedia major, Vietnam Women's Academy, Module of Gender in Media.
2) Used as a reference for press agencies and journalists
3) Used as a reference for students of journalism, communication and public interest.
13. Further research directions, if any:
1) Publishing monographs (Editing and compiling from the thesis and adding 01 book chapter: Some working skills for journalists on gender topics).
2) Deepening the existing quantitative data to write international publications.
14. Thesis-related publications:
1) Gender stereotypes in building images of men and women from framing theory, Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference, Vietnam Women's Academy, November 2022.
2) Promoting the role of the press and media in promoting gender equality in Vietnam, Journal of Propaganda (electronic version), December 2022.
3) Safety for women and children in cyberspace, Journal of State Management, 2023.
4) Gender sensitivity in the form of news articles in electronic newspapers, Journal of Science, Vietnam Women's Academy.