Strength in Numbers: Business Sections Gain More Female Readers

By Annalyn Censky
May 24, 2007 04:28 PM

As more women ascend the corporate ladder and the gender gap in big business slowly decreases, journalism isn't standing by idle. Newspaper business sections are attracting more women readers, whether or not editors say they're actively targeting the female demographic.

Used to being told "only white men" read the business section, journalists are now seeing readership numbers nearing the 50-50 ratio in the gender demographic. A 2005 Media Audit study of 87 newspapers showed 42.3 percent of business section readers were women. A separate study, commissioned by Scarborough Research in 2006, showed 50 percent of female weekday readers turned to the business and finance sections of newspapers.

Bernie Kohn, assistant managing editor for business news at The Sun in Batimore, said while his department isn't "consciously setting out" to attract more female readers in particular, the paper's recent increase in personal finance and consumer news coverage is drawing more women to the business pages.

When The Detroit News launched its "Money and Life" personal finance page a few years ago, it likely attracted more female readers who manage their family's finances, said Deputy Business Editor Susan Carney. However, the paper isn't trying to target women, she added.

Similarly, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer isn't deliberately pushing for more female readers in particular, said Business Editor Margaret Santjer, but more women are connecting with the paper's retail and consumer stories. Santjer also said that using diverse sources and providing infographics (such as tip boxes) can appeal to more readers in general, possibly decreasing the gap between men and women readers.

"We don't have a policy that we need to have more women in our stories, but we try to look for diverse voices," she said. "If you can help people navigate their lives better through things like tip boxes, you can have a more appealing section. And that doesn't just apply to women."

The Sun's "People on the Move" page, featuring briefs and mug shots of local professionals who've earned promotions, has broadened readership at their newspaper, Kohn said. Often, up to about 60 percent of the people featured on the page are women.

"People are seeing themselves in the paper more now," Kohn said. "We have a responsibility to be inclusive of the entire community in what we do, and to get away from thinking we're going to only appeal to retirees and white guys in suits."

Straying away from appealing just to "white guys in suits" may mean hiring more female reporters at newspapers.

At The Houston Chronicle, four out of six online business columnists are women. Female reporters also pull a lot of weight in The Sun's business news section, where 13 of the 19 reporters are women.

Kohn said the paper didn't set out for it to be that way though; it just so happened that those women were the most qualified candidates for the job.

And as far as a national trend goes, Kohn said he's not sure that many papers are taking big steps in pushing for more female readers. However, it's likely the numbers of female readers have increased anyway, he said.

Business columnist Cheryl Hall of The Dallas Morning News said appealing to women readers, like male readers, comes down to the same skill -- making the story "a good read."

"I don't feel female readers are that different from male counterparts," she said. "They want interesting reading that they can pull life lessons from or be 'edutained' or simply amused by.

"Obviously there are topics more geared to women than men, just as there are topics of more interest to accountants than restaurant owners. But everyone wants a good read."

Annalyn Censky is a summer intern for the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

Please enter your friend's e-mail address

Please enter your e-mail address

If you would like to include a message, please add it here:

Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism