Another momentous media contribution to the women’s movement was Ms. Magazine, founded in 1972. According to the journal article, “Liberty media, Ms. magazine acquired by Feminist Majority Foundation,” in Media Report to Women, the magazine, which was co-created by Gloria Steinem, quickly became a national forum for new and innovative ideas. The magazine includes investigative journalism, political pieces, as well as coverage about women’s health, humor, and international news. The magazine was (and still is) a major platform, completely run by women, for the exchange and sharing of ideas and information.
According the official website of Ms. Magazine (http://www.msmagazine.com), the magazine has greatly helped to give feminists an audible voice in the national media. Ms. has historically brought important issues to the media’s attention, and frequently featured highly political and activist-driven articles. For example, the magazine published pieces about repealing laws that criminalized abortion, sexual harassment and domestic violence, and date rape. The magazine publicized women’s issues and paved a place for them on the media’s agenda.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, has remarked on the impact of Ms. “The magazine has provided the feminist movement with a unique, unfiltered voice. We are committed to making sure that the Ms. voice thrives as the forum for challenging conventional ideas and a springboard for the development and spread of feminist ideas,” stated Smeal.
Additionally, the previously mentioned journal article quotes Suzanne Braun Levine, who served as editor of Ms. from 1972 to 1987. Levine said, "The early Ms. enabled women to discover they were not alone. The magazine went on to mobilize women, collective energy for change. Now, it will be able to focus that momentum on a new generation of activism."
Clearly, Ms. Magazine was an important venue for women’s voices to be heard. All too often women were silenced, or (perhaps even worse) their perspectives were crafted for them and women themselves did not have the opportunity to contribute to the way women were represented in the media. But with Ms. Magazine, women came to the forefront, challenged dominant ways of thinking, brought attention to women’s issues, and spread alternative views to a mass audience, fueling the rising feminist movement.
“Liberty media, Ms. magazine acquired by Feminist Majority Foundation” article can be found at:
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