APPROACH:
Public Radio International's (PRI) 'Across Women's Lives' is an 18-month public media initiative that explores the connections between the status of girls and women and improvements in health and economic development, particularly in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Through highly personal and relatable telling of women's stories, PRI and its flagship daily global news program 'The World' will show how efforts to improve women's lives lead to better outcomes in areas such as nutrition, vaccination rates, maternal and pediatric care, family planning, and sanitation.
PRI and 'The World,' with its 30-person newsroom and access to hundreds of BBC and independent reporters worldwide, will examine successful efforts and how they can be replicated elsewhere, as well as what hasn't worked, and why. A weekly drumbeat of stories will explore efforts to improve communities by raising the status of women. The capstone of 'Across Women's Lives' will be five special series (20-25 stories total) that explore the status of women at five life stages: birth/infancy, early childhood, adolescence/young adulthood, middle age, and old age.
Story topics include: Building Leadership among Adolescent Girls in Southern Africa; Empowering Tanzanian Women Pastoralists; How Elevating the Political Roles for Indian Women Improves the Status of Indian Children; and Women's Sexual Health in Bangladesh.
Evidence from PRI's experience and emerging research indicates that a focus on solutions energizes people and inspires them to action (Curry and Hammonds, 2014). To capitalize on the audience's emotional connections to issues, simple engagement actions will be provided to spur involvement and repetition of the message through social networks. Through social media and partnerships with other media, including young influencers and NGOs, this approach will be targeted to women and adult Millennials, groups with high potential interest in these topics, to share their insights, participate, and act.
'Across Women's Lives' will be broadcast on PRI's 'The World,' and will be featured on PRI.org. PRI will distribute 'Across Women's Lives' content through iTunes, Facebook, and other social media. Selected stories will be republished by editorial partners, including AllAfrica.com, Global Voices Online, and others.
ACTION PLAN:
September 1, 2014 - November 30, 2014: Planning phase and team building
During this planning period, PRI will hire new staff focused on 'Across Women's Lives.' This team will work with PRI and 'The World's' leadership to develop and define the editorial plans, travel plans, and schedules for the five special series and other stories related to 'Across Women's Lives,' and develop audience engagement and promotion strategies. PRI and 'The World' will also identify and build key partnerships, and design an online 'home' for 'Across Women's Lives' on PRI.org. PRI will survey radio audiences about their knowledge and perception of women in the developing world.
December 1, 2014 - February 29, 2015: First 'Across Women's Lives' life stage series (TBD in planning phase) + ongoing drumbeat coverage.
PRI and 'The World' will produce and publish the first special series (4-5 stories) for broadcast and digital channels and implement associated audience engagement activities connected to the series, with a focus on Millennials and women. PRI will analyze broadcast, digital, and social metrics to assess the effectiveness of these efforts and adjust accordingly. PRI will conduct qualitative research about our coverage, targeted to Millennial audiences.
PRI and 'The World' will also conduct ongoing weekly drumbeat coverage of women and girls in response to news events.
March 1, 2015 - May 31, 2015: Second Series (TBD) + drumbeat coverage.
Same activities as for the first series.
June 1, 2015 - August 31, 2015: Third Series (TBD) + drumbeat coverage.
Same activities as for the first series.
September 1, 2015 - November 30, 2015: Fourth Series (TBD) + drumbeat coverage.
Same activities as for the first series.
December 1, 2015 - February 29, 2016: Fifth Series (TBD) + drumbeat coverage.
Same activities as for the first series. PRI will also survey audiences about their knowledge/perception of women in the developing world.
Research has long shown that investments in raising the social, economic, and educational status of women result in improvements in community health, education, and economic development in society overall (The Millennium Project, 2011). As a result, promoting gender equality and empowering women was explicitly named as one of the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals. While great strides have been made in some areas, such as increasing literacy rates, progress in other areas, such as reliable access to health services, has been unequal and fragmented, especially for women in the world's poorest nations (UN Commission on Population and Development Report, January 2014).
At the same time, coverage of women's issues is abysmal. The 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project showed that media coverage of issues of special concern to women, such as gender-based violence and women's economic participation, made up less than 1.5% of the world news during the monitoring day.
As Bill Gates noted in his 2014 Annual Letter, one of the biggest obstacles to fighting poverty and disease in the developing world is the myth that extreme poverty is intractable and the poor are doomed to be poor forever. Similarly, widely-held perceptions that the status of women is so deeply ingrained in culture and history that rapid gains are impossible may be an obstacle in engaging the public in taking action or supporting aid efforts.
Public Radio International (PRI) believes the combination of telling compelling stories while offering innovative engagement opportunities could lead audiences to think, feel, and act differently about women's experiences worldwide. By employing solutions-focused journalism and changing the narrative the public hears about girls and women, PRI will help to change public perceptions about the possibilities for progress and improvement. And by changing that perception, PRI can inform millions and inspire them to make the world a better place.
