"Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth."

Simone de Beauvoir

The media’s voice of authority is most often that of a middle-aged, professional, white male. These men dominate the opinion-shaping forums of talk radio, newspaper journalism, and television news and commentary, and male voices are those most commonly heard in television and radio commercials.

In 1996, NewsWatch Canada, an independent organization that assesses the portrayal of diversity in Canadian news, conducted a study of the CBC’s flagship program The National. The study found that:

• 84 per cent of news sources were male (only 8 per cent of which were visible minorities)
  
  
• 89 per cent of commentators were men in "elite" occupations

The U.S. media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reported similar trends in the American media in the early 90s:

• 89 per cent of the guests on ABC's Nightline were male, 92 per cent were white and 80 per cent were professionals
  
  
• 87 per cent of the guests on PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour were male, 90 per cent were white, and 67 per cent were current or former government officials

These voices are presented as the voices of experts, and studies have indicated that experts often represent conservative points of view, favouring the interests of powerful individuals, social groups and institutions. Little attention is paid to the opinions and experiences of women, gays and lesbians, members of visible minorities, or the working classes.

Non-white or working class men are also marginalized. Men who are members of minority groups are typically called upon as experts only in response to minority community matters, drugs and crime. And, as Barbara Ehrenreich notes, news and current affairs programming portrays working class men as dumb, inarticulate and old-fashioned.

Although information media are often presented as informed and "objective," many commentators argue that white male dominance of these media helps perpetuate sexism, racism, and class privilege in society. It is also argued that such coverage presents white masculinity as the social and cultural norm.

Entertainment media reinforce the stereotypes of the rich white male and the working class buffoon. Richard Butsch argues that television programmes tend to exaggerate affluence, and portray working class men as immature, irresponsible, and requiring the supervision of their “betters.”