Desperately Seeking Women Readers delves into the history of U.S. newspapers to examine the construction of female readership. Pages designed specifically for women transformed over time as the newspaper industry looked for ways to capture women readers. Harp investigates the creation and collapse of these pages before considering contemporary case studies to explore the recent revival of sex-specific pages. Interviews with professional journalists reveal the difficulties with defining news for women and the problems inherent in constructing newspapers in a sex-specific way. With a clear and descriptive style, Harp offers a fresh, original topic in communication scholarship. Desperately Seeking Women Readers is ideal for undergraduate and graduate coursework, as well as for curious readers of U.S. newspapers or historical and contemporary women's issues.
Dustin Harp is assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Part 1 Part I: IntroductionChapter 2 Newspapers, Women, Social Movements, and MoneyPart 3 Part II: The History of Women's PagesChapter 4 Introducing "Women's News"Chapter 5 From Women's Pages to Style PagesPart 6 Part III: Contemporary Women's Pages: Case StudiesChapter 7 Same Problem, Same SolutionChapter 8 Conceptualizing and Constructing Contemporary WomenChapter 9 Contemporary Complaints and ContradictionsChapter 10 Resistance, Reason, and Real ChangePart 11 Part IV: ConclusionsChapter 12 What is in a Name? An Argument for Integration Not Segregation
Dr. Harp uses key moments in U.S. media history to show the women's section as a staple of the newspaper and how it was abandoned, made over, and reintroduced as one industry's impoverished attempt to appeal to women.