The headline about the new head of the Mossos, history and gender
The reader Mireia Castelló sends me a critique regarding gender bias in the headline of the profile of the new head of the Mossos d’Esquadra, published in the Society section on September 10th.
“I am a regular reader of the newspaper, and I am writing to you to express my dissatisfaction with the headline of the piece about the appointment of Sílvia Catà as the new head of the Mossos d'Esquadra: “The new head of the Mossos who feels comfortable leading”. The headline presupposes that a woman at the head of a police force needs the express clarification that she “feels comfortable” exercising the authority that the position grants her by definition.
No similar headline about a man appointed as head of the Mossos would remark that he “feels comfortable in command”: it would be taken for granted, because commanding is, precisely, the function of the position. By building the news story on this basis, the newspaper normalizes the idea that female leadership is an exception that must be justified, instead of treating it as the relevant news that it is: the first time a woman occupies this leadership role.
Furthermore, the body of the article already provides objective and solid arguments (nearly thirty years of experience, a track record in various leadership positions, the endorsement of colleagues) that make this approach in the headline unnecessary, and even contradictory.
I ask that you pass this observation on to the editorial team. I am aware that ARA aspires to journalism that is attentive to these issues, and I believe it is worth reviewing the titling criteria in similar cases”.
As requested by Mireia Castelló, and in accordance with the Reader's Ombudsman statute that mandates verification, I have forwarded the matter to the editorial team, specifically to Cesc Maideu, the editor of the headline in question. This is his version:
“As the person responsible for writing the news, first of all, I would like to acknowledge that the headline can be misinterpreted and may suggest the idea commented on by our reader, which we deeply regret. To write this profile, I spoke off the record with several people from the Mossos and many highlighted to me the strong and solid leadership of Catà, who was unknown to the general public. In fact, the literal statement in the headline comes from a conversation with a woman who is a member of the police force, who knows her and has dealt with her, and who insisted a lot on the fact that she would adapt well to the new position because she is good at leading and does not tremble when it comes to making delicate decisions.
While a first headline option was simply to wonder who Sílvia Catà was, the first female chief of the Mossos, we specifically decided that focusing on it this way could overshadow other elements that have weighed more in the decision, such as experience or her way of working and her ability to lead.
The headline, however, may lead to the idea that our reader comments on –concludes Maideu–. From the newspaper, we always try to be careful regarding the gender perspective, denouncing discrimination when women suffer it, not supporting it, and trying to write and focus the news from a respectful and egalitarian point of view. We regret if we have not fully achieved this in this news story. We will analyze it, engage in self-criticism, and improve”.
I have requested an opinion on auctoritas from Doctor Maria Corominas, who has an extensive academic and institutional career, is the coordinator of the University Master's Degree in Media, Communication and Culture at the UAB, and is a member of the Philosophy and Social Sciences Section of the IEC.
“The same reader –explains Corominas– applies one of the first mechanisms to identify possible gender bias. What happens if we change the gender of the protagonist? Does the sentence work the same way? The digital version highlights that “She has clear ideas and feels comfortable in charge”, a literal quote that comes from “several commanders who endorsed her choice”. In the printed edition, the title is already “Sílvia Catà, the new head of the Mossos who feels comfortable in charge”.
I agree with the reader that, if it were a man, the headline—the thing meant to draw attention to capture the public's attention—would not include “feels comfortable in charge”. Man or woman is someone designated as a head, a term that the IEC dictionary defines as a “Person who [...] has others under their orders.” To command, which the same dictionary defines as “To exercise superior authority (over someone)”, is a requirement to have others “under their orders”. In terms of comfort, I would value as more newsworthy the appointment of a person, man or woman, as head of the Mossos who did not feel comfortable in charge. The roles and stereotypes traditionally associated with each gender weigh in, consciously and, often, unconsciously, although we have advanced and continue to do so, and with a very significant contribution from journalism.”
The Ombudsman considers that the sum of the three quotes, all of high standing and great competence, will help to contextualize the issue and agree that the headline is unfortunate in the sense of the criticism. And the resolution must contemplate history, as is implicit in the reader's well-argued reasoning. With a trajectory of more than three hundred years, the Mossos d'Esquadra force did not incorporate women until 1985, and, since then, another forty years have had to pass for a woman, Commissioner Catà, with a curriculum of excellence, to reach the top command. This factor, powerful from the point of view of gender perspective, should have been substantiated more in the choice of the headline.
A newspaper that, indeed, as reader Castelló rightly points out, takes care of this essential issue, and highlights it in this case in the news pieces and in a featured highlight, could have been more refined in the specific headline of the profile to be up to the standard of a news story with evident historical weight and political decision-making on the part of Minister Parlon. I say "a newspaper" because the responsibility for headlines on important topics admits a shared or corporate component – Maideu himself makes explicit "we decided" –, which can go beyond that of the writer who signs the news. I conclude with a phrase of his, also in the plural: "We will analyze it, we will engage in self-criticism, and we will improve".
Even more about photo captions
Exactly three months ago, my column “The devil and the captions” once again presented some of the problems we have at ARA with the treatment of this informative content –yes, informative content!– as important as it is neglected. The reader Xavier Llobet alerts me again to a burden, therefore, not resolved.
“Photo captions: when there are people, 1) they must be identified and 2) it must be done correctly, whether from left to right, or by saying such person (in the center), such (second from the right), etc. The first example I have at hand: the web piece "Why is the AfD the most feared far-right party in Europe?". Almost all the photo captions with people are poorly done. I suppose they believe everyone knows everyone else's faces. But a newspaper must be able to be consulted ten, twenty, or a hundred years from now, and carry good, complete information. When consulting newspapers from the Republic, for example, or foreign newspapers, well-made photo captions are greatly appreciated”.
Since in the mentioned article from July my source of contrast was the deputy director David Miró, I return to him. He responds:
“The only thing we can tell the reader is that they are completely right and that, following their comment, we will send more direct instructions to the writers (as well as the photographers and proofreaders) so that they properly identify who appears in the image in every photo caption. We understand that, in the daily grind, the photo caption is often the last priority for a writer who has been assigned a topic and is also in a rush because it needs to be published immediately. In reality, it is not just the photo captions that should concern the editors (the bosses who review the topics before publishing), but the choice of the image itself, which sometimes is not the most appropriate either. Ultimately, it is about properly valuing the graphic part of the news”.
The Reader's Ombudsman takes note of doubts, suggestions, criticisms and complaints about the newspaper's content in its digital and print editions, and ensures that the treatment of information is in accordance with codes of ethics.
To contact the Reader's Ombudsman you can send an email to eldefensor@ara.cat or record a message of no more than one minute to the WhatsApp number 653784787. In all cases, identification with full name and ID number is required.