Male ‘aggression’ was observed in the majority of news shows, according to a study conducted by University of Hyderabad (UoH) jointly with the Network of Women in Media.

Among the key findings, aggression was observed in more than 50 per cent of all news shows sampled, with the percentage rising to 85 per cent for talk shows. 

The study, “Aggressive masculinity in journalistic performance and social media discourse” was conducted by Usha Raman, Professor, Department of Communications, UoH and her research scholars, Amritha Mohan and Anuja Premika, in collaboration with the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI). 

The study monitored prime time news and talk shows on 31 television channels across 12 Indian languages including English.

Expressions of agression

Using a scale developed by the UoH team to identify and catalogue aggressive, dominant and sexist verbal and non-verbal behaviours associated with hegemonic masculinities, a team of coders from the NWMI membership analysed the television content.

Tone of voice was the most common expression of aggression (76.8 per cent), while elements that increased stridency such as sound and visual effects occurred frequently (60 per cent). 

Panels moderated by male anchors revealed relatively more aggressive masculinist behavior (54.55 per cent) on several metrics than those moderated by female anchors (12.07 per cent ), as per the findings. 

“The study was prompted by the increasing polarisation in news performance, characterised by high-decibel confrontational behavior on many shows, which often carries over into social media as well.

The researchers also looked for instances of gender positive behaviours and offered guidelines on how channels can move towards a more dialogue-based, civil mode of television news presentation,’‘ the study said.