Abstract

The women's liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s utilized various means for activism and demonstrations, but women also used the judicial system to fight for equality in the workplace. This study focuses specifically on the field of journalism and how female reporters used the courts to fight the gender discrimination that was widespread and unbridled before the creation of legislation that outlawed it. The lawsuit filed by Mary Lou Butcher and approximately 90 other women against The Detroit News is one such case that exemplifies the process of filing a gender discrimination lawsuit, as well as the events that led to the suits and the impact that it and similar lawsuits had on the field of journalism and the women's liberation movement as a whole. Using textual analysis to examine the coverage of these lawsuits by industry literature and by the publications challenged by the lawsuits demonstrates what the field of newspapers and magazines was like during the time of the cases. Comparing the same media during the times of the lawsuits and post-settlement reveal how they contributed to an adjusted view of female journalists and aided women's acceptance in American newsrooms.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2012

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Voss, Kimberly

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Journalism

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004306

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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