Part 1 News Report

News Report Requirements:

The subjects we cover in WMST 200 appear in the news daily. Part 1 of the Current Topic Project is a report on a news article which will connect our course work to the most current developments of interest to the field, especially those that impact people’s day-to-day lives.

1. Select a news article published in the last 12 months that focuses on a topic of interest to Women’s Studies [choose from the list below, or choose your own based on the criteria described in the next section of this assignment].
2. After you have read your chosen news article, respond to the questions below in a 700-1,000 word (3-4 page) report about the article and what you have learned, focusing on the aspects of interest to Women’s Studies:
   1. Title, author, publication, date, and url for your news article.
   2. Brief (1-2 sentence) summary of the main topic of the article.
   3. Why would this article be of particular interest to a Women’s Studies student or scholar? If you’re not sure, one place to start is to review the information about Women’s Studies found in Module 1: What Is Women’s Studies?.
   4. What did you learn that you didn’t already know by reading this article?
   5. Which topic, person, example, or idea in the article would you like to know more about? What questions would you suggest the reporter ask in a follow-up article?
   6. What social, political, personal, historical, economic, artistic, or other impact might the information in this article have? Why?
   7. Is there anything you read or thought about while reading the article that has relevance to your life outside of this class or outside of the article itself?

Include quotes and examples to support your discussion as part of your responses to questions 3-7. Remember to include in-text citations and a References list for all references to the article or class learning resources, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

Please note that this assignment is a report, not an essay. You must write in complete sentences, but you do not have to write it as an essay with a thesis, body paragraphs, etc.. Instead, it is recommended that you number each response as you answer the questions. To meet the word count requirement, be sure to answer questions 3-7 in detail, and give specific examples or quotes (cited!) for each answer.

There is a sample News Report Essay attached to this assignment.

Choosing a news article:

An acceptable news article for this assignment meets all four of the following criteria:

1. is found on one of the publications/sites listed in this Forbes report of 10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts: [there are many more than ten reliable news sources to choose from if you scroll to the bottom of the article]
2. was published in the last 12 months.
3. has a byline (a named author), and is not marked “op-ed,” “opinion,” or “editorial”
4. has as its main focus a topic of interest to Women’s Studies

If you are uncertain if the article you have found is acceptable for this assignment, ask your instructor before proceeding, or choose one of the approved articles in the list below:

• How a Divided Left Is Losing the Battle on Abortion (New York Times) [December 2019]
• Housing. Money. Benefits. Military Wives Can Lose It All When They Report Domestic Abuse. (HuffPost) [December 2019]
• The Wild Woman Awakens {feminist art} (New York Times) [December 2019]
• Positive promotion: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields is battling for pro titles and more EXPOSURE for women’s boxing. (Washington Post) [December 2019]
• When the Surgeon Is a Mom (New York Times) [December 2019]
• Mona Eltahawy Would Like You to Fuck Right Off With Your Civility Politics (Vice) [December 2019]
• Opioid overdoses among women have increased dramatically. But treatment centers are still designed for men. (The Lily) [January 2020]
• Brad Pitt and the Beauty Trap (New York Times) [January 2020]
• Pressured by Simmons Over Exposé, Oprah Winfrey Faced a Big Decision {#MeToo} (New York Times) [January 2020]
• ‘Nobody needs another pink hat’: Why the Women’s March is struggling for relevance (Washington Post) [January 2020]
• India’s first-time protesters: Mothers and grandmothers stage weeks-long sit-in against citizenship law (Washington Post) [January 2020]
• Rural Montana Had Already Lost Too Many Women. Then Selena Disappeared. (New York Times) [January 2020]
• The Amish Keep to Themselves. And They’re Hiding a Horrifying Secret (Cosmo) [January 2020]
• Women outnumber men in the American workforce for only the second time (Washington Post) [January 2020]
• For female leaders, humor is a blessing. Unless it’s a curse. (Washington Post) [January 2020]
• Can You Cure a Domestic Abuser? (The Atlantic) [January 2020]
• Why Won’t Society Let Black Girls Be Children? (New York Times) [February 2020]
• Harvey Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann’s dramatic testimony is a new kind of test in sex-crime trials (Washington Post) [February 2020]
• Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Sex Crimes in #MeToo Watershed (New York Times) [February 2020]
• Where Being a Single Woman Is Not OK {video} (New York Times) [February 2020]
• They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free. (New York Times) [February 2020]
• Deer Overpopulation Meets Its Match: Women Who Hunt (New York Times) [February 2020]
• Abortion Clinics Are Getting Nickel-and-Dimed Out of Business (Bloomberg Business) [February 2020]
• ‘Angels’ in Hell. The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret (New York Times) [February 2020]
• ‘In Italy I Kept Meeting Guys’: The Black Women Who Travel for Love (New York Times) [February 2020]
• This Is Not a Love Story At 16, Kate Elizabeth Russell saw her book about a student’s affair with a teacher as a romance. She sees it differently now. (Vulture) [February 2020]
• The Hollywood Con Queen (MarieClaire) [February 2020]
• Jewish Women Move Into a Male Domain: Ritual Circumcision Female mohels are in high demand. (New York Times) [February 2020]
• The #MeToo Case That Divided the Abortion-Rights Movement (The Atlantic) [March 2020]
• They Ordered Her to Be a Suicide Bomber. She Had Another Idea. (New York Times) [March 2020]
• For Mexico, a day without women: Female workers plan national strike against rising gender violence (Washington Post) [March 2020]
• Saudi Law Granted Women New Freedoms. Their Families Don’t Always Agree. (New York Times) [March 2020]
• The Wing Is a Women’s Utopia. Unless You Work There. (New York Times) [March 2020]
• These South Korean women went abroad to get married. Then one spoke out at home, and the backlash began. (Washington Post) [March 2020]
• ‘I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs’: Moms Navigate the Pandemic (New York Times) [March 2020]
• The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism (The Atlantic) [March 2020]
• Sinéad O’Connor is still in one piece (Washington Post) [March 2020]
• You Are Your Safest Sex Partner. Betty Dodson Wants to Help. (New York Times) [March 2020]
• Preexisting staffing shortages and dismal pay are colliding with a crisis that’s testing the limits of the nurses and health aides caring for the sick and elderly. (The Atlantic) [April 2020]
• In a Victory for Women in Sudan, Female Genital Mutilation Is Outlawed (New York Times) [April 2020]
• ‘I had to choose being a mother’: With no child care or summer camps, women are being edged out of the workforce (The Lily) [May 2020]
• With ‘Four More Shots Please!,’ India Gets Its Own ‘Sex and the City’ (New York Times) [May 2020]
• Why Aren’t We All Talking About Breonna Taylor? (New York Times) [May 2020]
• The First Year Out: Makeda Davis emerged from more than seven years in prison to a life that is complicated, unfamiliar, and, sometimes, soul crushing (Marie Claire) [June 2020]
• ‘We Fascinated Them’: Shailah Edmonds on a Golden Era of Black Models (New York Times) [June 2020]
• Trump Administration Erases Transgender Civil Rights Protections in Health Care (New York Times) [June 2020]
• The Rape Kit’s Secret History (New York Times) [June 2020]
• Female public health officials say they are ‘shocked’ by the harassment they face over coronavirus response (The Lily) [June 2020]
• One Year on Testosterone (New York Times) [June 2020]
• Climate Change Tied to Pregnancy Risks, Affecting Black Mothers Most (New York Times) [June 2020]
• The Pandemic Has Reshaped American Fatherhood. Can It Last? (New York Times) [June 2020]
• A dad posted joyful photos of black fathers to shatter stereotypes. Then it became a movement. (Washington Post) [June 2020]
• Can Domestic Abusers Keep Themselves Accountable When No One Is Watching? (The New Yorker) [June 2020]
• The Girlboss Has Left the Building (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
• The Reckoning Will Be Incomplete Without Black Women and Girls: The nationwide outcry against systemic racism almost always centers men and boys. (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
• The Trans Future I Never Dreamed Of (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
• Black Trans Women Seek More Space in the Movement They Helped Start (The New York Times) [June 2020]
• ‘I Can’t Focus on Abortion Access if My People Are Dying’  (New York Times) [June 2020]
• In 1920, Native Women Sought the Vote. Here’s What’s Next (New York Times) [July 2020]
• W.N.B.A. Star’s Role in Freeing Man From Prison Shows Female Athletes at Forefront (New York Times) [July 2020]
• For Nannies, Both a Job and a Family Can Abruptly Disappear (New York Times) [July 2020]
• Black women say Pinterest created a den of discrimination — despite its image as the nicest company in tech (Washington Post) [July 2020]
• ‘You have to take action’: one hospital cleaner’s journey through the pandemic (The Guardian) [July 2020]
• ‘I Am Going to Physically Explode’: Mom Rage in a Pandemic (New York Times) [July 2020]
• Military women are saying #IAmVanessaGuillen. Here are 4 of their stories. (The Lily) [July 2020]
• 15 female Redskins employees allege sexual harassment while with team (Washington Post) [July 2020]
• She Went to Prison for Killing Her Husband. The Pandemic Set Her Free. (New York Times) [July 2020]
• ‘How many women of color have to cry?’: Top feminist organizations are plagued by racism, 20 former staffers say (The Lily) [July 2020]
• A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention. (ProPublica Illinois) [July 2020]
• Parenting in the Bubble: ‘This Is Mom’s Job. You Have to Work With Me.’ {about pro sports mothers] (New York Times) [July 2020]
• White Supremacy Was Her World. And Then She Left. (New York Times) [July 2020]
• Until Black Women Are Free, None of Us Will Be Free (The New Yorker) [July 2020]
• For Women in Afghan Security Forces, a Daily Battle (New York Times) [July 2020]
• The Japanese-American Sculptor Who, Despite Persecution, Made Her Mark (New York Times) [July 2020]
• ‘Total Bellas’ Refuse to Be Knocked Out by Quarantine (New York Times) [July 2020]
• What Do Sweden and Mexico Have in Common? A Feminist Foreign Policy (New York Times) [July 2020]
• At the Olympics in Bombed-Out London, She Forever Changed Women’s Sports (New York Times) [July 2020]
• Stryx, makeup for men, is capitalizing on changing gender ideas and a new Zoom-ready work culture (Washington Post) [July 2020]
• How black women are leading the Black Lives Matter movement in Italy (The Lily) [July 2020]
• How the Child Care Crisis Will Distort the Economy for a Generation (Politico) [July 2020]
• Searching with the Mothers of Mexico’s Disappeared (The New Yorker) [August 2020]
• The Black sorority that faced racism in the suffrage movement but refused to walk away (Washington Post) [August 2020]
• Ambition Has Always Been ‘Ladylike’ Nostalgic for the sexism unleashed in response to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run? Welcome to the prolonged Democratic veepstakes. (New York Times) [August 2020]
• Age 35 Isn’t a Fertility Cliff. Why Do We Think It Is? (Slate) [August 2020]
• The ‘Rage Moms’ Democrats Are Counting On (New York Times) [August 2020]
• ‘The volume has been turned up on everything’: Pandemic places alarming pressure on transgender mental health (Washington Post) [August 2020]
• Hillary Clinton’s Bittersweet Return to the Democratic Convention (New York Times) [August 2020]
• ‘We can only help ourselves’: women in Belarus take protests into their own hands (The Guardian) [August 2020]
• The Suffragists Fought to Redefine Femininity. The Debate Isn’t Over (New York Times) [August 2020]
• Citigroup’s Fraser to Be First Woman to Lead a Big Wall Street Bank (New York Times) [September 2020]
• Why I Changed My Mind About the Caster Semenya Case I used to think that rules regulating testosterone in sports made sense. Now I’m not so sure. (Slate) [September 2020]
• Behind Every Republican Man Joni Ernst’s reelection campaign may be an object lesson in what it takes for a woman to win in today’s GOP. (The New Republic) [September 2020]
• Amy Coney Barrett, potential Supreme Court nominee, wrote influential ruling on campus sexual assault (Washington Post) [September 2020]
• Amid the Outpouring for Ginsburg, a Hint of Backlash (New York Times) [September 2020]
• Her Study Center Was Bombed. She Still Topped Afghanistan’s National University Exam (New York Times) [September 2020]
• A Fuller Picture of Artemisia Gentileschi [about 16thc. painter] (TheNew Yorker) [September 2020]
• The 22-Year-Old Force Behind Egypt’s Growing #MeToo Movement (New York Times) [October 2020]
• The Pandemic Is Amplifying Bias Against Working Mothers (The Atlantic) [October 2020]
• Data Shows Fewer Afghan Women Than Men Get Covid. That’s Bad News (New York Times) [October 2020]
• A Portrait of a Market in India Run Solely by Women (New York Times) [October 2020]
• The One Name the W.N.B.A. Won’t Say (New York Times) [October 2020]
• Grief. Rage. Action. Out of covid-19 loss, these women lead a new movement (Washington Post) [October 2020]
• The growing outrage over the rape and murder of Dalit women in India (Slate) [October 2020]
• Mothers Are the ‘Shock Absorbers’ of Our Society (New York Times) [October 2020]
• AOC’S NEXT FOUR YEARS: The history-making congresswoman addresses her biggest critics, the challenges that loom no matter who wins, and what she’s taking on next. (Vanity Fair) [October 2020]
• ‘A Long Time Coming’: Black Women Celebrate Harris’s Ascension (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Women Who Wallop: Why I Love Watching Actresses Become Action Stars (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Betty Dodson, Women’s Guru of Self-Pleasure, Dies at 91 (New York Times) [November 2020]
• What Happens to Some L.G.B.T.Q. Teens When Their Parents Reject Them (New York Times) [November 2020]
• How ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Started a New Debate About Sexism in Chess (New York Times) [November 2020]
• How to End ‘Women’s Work’ [about gender wage gap] (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Doug Emhoff, as ‘second gentleman,’ can make history – and change – too (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• Miami Marlins Hire Kim Ng as Baseball’s First Female G.M. (New York Times) [November 2020]
• When Discrimination Targets the Privileged: Meet the feminist aristocrats fighting for the right of daughters to inherit peerages. (The Atlantic) [November 2020]
• Her Abuse Was a ‘Family Matter,’ Until It Went Live (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Recession With a Difference: Women Face Special Burden (New York Times) [November 2020]
• 52 Years Later, IBM Apologizes for Firing Transgender Woman (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Undocumented and Pregnant: Why Women Are Afraid to Get Prenatal Care (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Janet Yellen, Biden’s Expected Treasury Pick, Has Broken More Than Gender Barriers (New York Times) [November 2020]
• The Supreme Court could let Indiana strip rights from same-sex parents. (Slate) [November 2020]
• Kamala Harris struck the almost impossible balance between masculinity and femininity. (Slate) [November 2020]
• GOP women have to run further to the right than men do (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• Sarah Fuller, With a Kickoff, Is the First Woman to Play Football in a Power 5 Game (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Fireside Magazine’s art director Pablo Defendini apologizes for ‘auditory blackface’ (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• ‘Because She’s a Girl’: Lockdown Exposes Gender Gap in U.K. Sports (New York Times) [November 2020]
• Angelika Amon, award-winning MIT cell biologist, dies at 53 [about women in STEM] (Boston Globe) [November 2020]
• Vera Menchik: Female chess star beat men before Beth Harmon from ‘Queen’s Gambit’ (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• No game days. No bars. The pandemic is forcing some men to realize they need deeper friendships. (Washington Post) [November 2020]
• The College Athletes Who Are Allowed to Make Big Bucks: Cheerleaders (New York Times) [November 2020]

Writing Guidelines:

This report should demonstrate that you

• read the article closely.
• are considering the article from the perspective of Women’s Studies.
• can write an organized, clear, detailed, and properly cited report .

Use APA Style to format the report and all citations (in-text and in the references list).

Here are some links to resources which cover the APA format:

• Citation Guides for APA styles at the UMGC Library
• Video help for APA format through UMGC

While I am happy to answer questions about the assignment, I encourage you to make use of UMGC’s Effective Writing Center if you’d like detailed writing help or another set of eyes to look at your paper before you turn it in. The EWC will require a few days to review a draft, so you will need to finish the paper early if you want to submit it to them.

There is a sample News Report attached to this assignment. It is not a perfect paper, and yours does not need to look exactly like it, but it demonstrates a good understanding of the assignment and formatting requirements. The sample assignment is for informational purposes only. Your News Report should contain entirely original work, even if you choose a similar topic.