This document provides resources for teaching about sexual assault and harassment in mass communication courses. It outlines possible readings, assignments, and discussion topics for two course weeks. Week 1 focuses on case studies of harassment in journalism and advertising and understanding patterns in these industries. Assignments analyze recent news stories and discuss power dynamics. Week 2 explores statistics on harassment prevalence and resources for reporting sensitively on the issue. Assignments recommend training for organizations and evaluate news articles using reporting guidelines. The document also provides additional reference materials on researching and addressing workplace harassment.

1. Carrying OUR Weight: Teaching
about Sexual Assault and
Harassment in Reporting,
Advertising, and Mass
Communication Courses
Carolyn Bronstein, DePaul
Tracy Everbach, University of North Texas
Melita Garza, TCU
Jacqueline Lambiase, TCU
Madlin Mekelburg, Austin American-Statesman

2. Week 1 (or class 1)
Possible readings
• Recent cases: Two powerful corporate leaders harass employees
and others--
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/09/awards-
buoyed-former-new-york-times-editor-who-mistreated-
freelance-photographers/, and
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/business/teneo-chief-
executive-resign.html
• Lambiase, J., Everbach, T., & Bronstein, C. (2021). Between
subject and object: How mass media industries have enabled
sexual misconduct and harassment—and how they also exposed
them, in J. D. Spraitz & K. N. Bowen (Eds.) Institutional Sexual
Abuse in the #MeToo Era. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois
University Press.
• Bronstein, C., & Lambiase, J. (2018). “Mythologized for its
misogyny”: Fighting gender discrimination in the advertising
industry, Feminist Media Histories, 4(4), 184-197.
Possible assignments
• Reflection: Find another news story about harassment in
the newsroom or agency context. Make connections with
the instances recounted in New York Times or
Washington Post stories. How is your news story similar
to or different from one of these other incidents? What
about the outcomes for those who were sexual
harassers/assaulters or accused of harassment? What
about the outcomes for those who were sexually
harassed or assaulted?
• Essay: Read the two news stories and one of the journal
articles about sexual harassment and assault in
newsroom or agency settings. In paragraph one, briefly
summarize your reading. In the second paragraph,
respond to these questions: How does power ensure that
reporting such incidents is difficult or ignored? What role
does power play in the outcomes, once harassment and
assault are reported? What should happen? In the final
paragraph, describe the patterns in these cases and what
young professionals, both male and female, need to know
before entering the workplace.
•Awareness of case studies and history within the professions
•Understanding patterns within journalism/advertising/mass comm industries
•Awareness of larger patterns of treatment of women in the workplace

3. Week 2 (or class 2)
Possible readings
• Women’s Media Center (WMC) “How to Report on Sexualized Violence in the
#MeToo era: 10 Do’s and Don’t’s. January 3, 2020.
• Power Shift Summit 2020 Report (Freedom Forum Institute):
https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/2020/01/30/power-shift-summit-2020-
report/
• American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As): https://www.aaaa.org/50-
women-advertising-faced-sexual-harassmment-says-4as-study/
• The 3% Conference (Solutions): https://www.3percentmovement.com/solutions
• The Dart Center (Sexual Violence): https://dartcenter.org/topic/sexual-violence
• Steiner, L. (2020, July 8). Sexual harassment of and by media professionals. Wiley
Online Library. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc253
• Everbach, T. (2018). “I realized it was about them … not me”: Women sports
journalists and harassment. In J. R. Vickery and T. Everbach’s Mediating Misogyny,
pp. 131-149. Springer.
• J. Lambiase and C. Bronstein, C. (2020). Time's Up/Advertising: Where's the
Discussion Now? And Around What Table? Advertising and Society Quarterly, 21(1).
10.1353/asr.2020.0006.
Possible assignments
• Learn more about sexual harassment or sexual assault by reading one
of the assigned articles. Find the statistics used in these articles about
the prevalence of harassment. Next, explore these two links--
https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/2020/01/30/power-shift-
summit-2020-report/ and https://www.aaaa.org/50-women-
advertising-faced-sexual-harassmment-says-4as-study/ -- and write a
short recommendation for your internship employer or professional
group about how your organization should provide training and
change management to prevent harassment, as well as resources for
workers who experience sexual harassment and/or assault. What do
you want in place for yourself when you enter the workforce?
• Learn more about representing and writing about sexual harassment
and assault at https://dartcenter.org/topic/sexual-violence and the
Women’s Media Center’s “How to Report on Sexualized Violence in the
#MeToo Era.” Find two current news stories covering sexual assault
and analyze them. What grade would you give their writers and why?
Do they follow the best practices recommended by the Dart Center
and Women’s Media Center? Give examples of word choices and/or
descriptions within these stories that follow these guidelines or do not
follow the guidelines. What suggestions would you offer to the writers
of these two stories, to make them more sensitive and accurate?
• Awareness of resources/research about workplace sexual harassment
• Awareness and understanding of statistics about harassment/assault in
journalism/advertising/mass comm industries
• Understanding and application of content that sensitively covers harassment
and assault
• Understanding remedies and assistance for those affected by harassment

4. Other readings/resources
Cases
• Britain, Amy and Irin Carmon. “Charlie Rose’s misconduct was widespread at CBS
and three managers were warned, investigation finds.” Washington Post, May 3, 2018.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/charlie-roses-misconduct-was-widespread-at-cbs-
and-three-managers-were-warned-investigation-finds/2018/05/02/80613d24-3228-
11e8-94fa-32d48460b955_story.html
• Carlson, Gretchen. Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back. New
York: Center Street, 2017.
• Chick, Kristen. “Photojournalists under David Furst felt ‘set up to fail,’ ” Columbia
Journalism Review, July 6, 2021. https://www.cjr.org/special_report/david-furst-
departure-photo-editor-new-york-times.php
• Miller, Claire Cain. “It’s Not Just Fox: Why Women Don’t Report Sexual
Harassment,” New York Times, April 10, 2017.
• O’Brien, Kat. “I Am Breaking My Silence About the Baseball Player Who Raped Me,”
New York Times, June 20, 2021.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/20/opinion/baseball-sexual-abuse-
harassment.html
• Sherman, Gabe. “6 More Women Allege that Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Them.”
The Cut, New York Magazine, July 9, 2016. https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/six-more-
women-allege-ailes-sexual-harassment.html
SPJ Resources for Combatting Sexual Harassment in the Newsroom
https://www.spj.org/harassment.asp
Peer Reviewed Research Articles
• Waddell, T. Franklin. “Who Thinks that Female Journalists Have Sex with their
Sources? Testing the Association Between Sexist Beliefs, Journalist Mistrust, and the
Perceived Realism of Fictional Female Journalists.” Journalism Studies. Published online
June 10, 2021.
• Finneman, Teri, Ryan J. Thomas, and Joy Jenkins. “ ‘I Always Watched Eyewitness
News Just to See Your Beautiful Smile’: Ethnical Implications of U.S. Women TV Anchors’
Personal Branding on Social Media.” Journal of Media Ethics 34, no. 3 (2019): 146-159.
Video
• Ritchin, Ariel. “Let’s Talk: Personal Boundaries, Safety & Women in Journalism,” The
Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma. December 6, 2017.
https://dartcenter.org/resources/lets-talk-personal-boundaries-safety-women-
journalism
The Personal Injury of Workplace Bullying
• https://www.dandalaw.com/blog/personal-injury-of-workplace-bullying/
Press Forward: Changing Culture in Newsrooms
• This organization offers a variety of resources on its website
• The “Tools and Guidelines” tab offers clear definitions and some helpful advice.
https://www.thepressforward.org/tools-guidelines/
• The “If You Are Being Harassed” offers useful tips. But to be very useful, it is
something that needs to be read before beginning an internship or a first job because
you want to be equipped to respond when something happens.
https://www.thepressforward.org/if-youre-being-harassed/
Reporting on Sexual Violence
• Ennis, Eliza and Lauren Wolfe. “#MeToo Women’s Media Center Report: How a
Movement Affected Coverage of Sexual Assault.” Women’s Media Center, 2018.
https://www.womensmediacenter.com/reports/media-and-metoo-how-a-movement-
affected-press-coverage-of-sexual-assault
• Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “Sexism’s Toll on Journalism.” 2021.
https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-publishes-report-sexisms-toll-journalism
• Chocarro, Silvia. The Safety of Women Journalists: Breaking the Cycle of Silence and
Violence. Denmark: International Media Support (IMS), September 2019.
https://www.mediasupport.org/publication/the-safety-of-women-journalists/

6. Contact us
• Slideshow info is now available on Jacqueline Lambiase’s Slideshare
account.
• Contact the panelists--
oCarolyn Bronstein: cbronste@depaul.edu
oTracy Everbach: everbach@unt.edu
oMelita Garza: melita.garza@tcu.edu
oMadlin Mekelburg: mmekelburg@statesman.com
oJacque Lambiase: j.lambiase@tcu.edu