Women Contributors of SL Newspapers

Print news in SL has consisted of two primary papers: Second Life Herald began October 23, 2003 as a project of philosophy professor Peter Ludlow to engage in discussion on the social, political and economic aspects of virtual worlds. It has stirred up controversy at times in its raw coverage of the seedy sides of gaming and reports on Linden Lab’s policies and practices. SL- Newspaper is a recent competitor, with its 2-year anniversary week beginning November 16,, 2008. Other newspapers and magazines have surfaced, some having only short runs, since the Herald’s debut.

The Herald’s reporters have a creative mix of avatar names, and it is particularly difficult to sort out the number of females writing for this weekly press:

Herald Staff
Urizenus Sklar, Founder, Contributing Editor, First Pontiff
Walker Spaight, Editorial Director, Dean of the College of Cardinals
Pixeleen Mistral, Managing Editrix
Cardinal of the Metaverse Magisterium
Archdiocese Prokofy Neva
Staff Writer Monsignor Grand Inquisitor
Marilyn Murphy, Mother Superior
Pat the Rat, Evangelist

A more comprehensive look at the overall staff reveals that several women appear to be on the editorial staff; it is difficult to assess how many actually write and report for the paper. The content focuses on SL news and entertainment, leaning strongly toward the sensational and lauding a muckraking attitude. The news beat is set in a virtual environment; so what are the guidelines for a virtual newspaper? As for other newspapers, The AV star, a strong advocate for Linden Labs, has recently closed down, following SL Reuters News Service’s departure from Second Life. Adam Reuters was the primary SL reporter for the online news service that connected its viewers to its RL Web site. The Reuters news agency reported minimal traffic to its in-world site, as the reason for its pulling out of SL.

SL-Newspaper
Coming into its second year is the SL-Newspaper; it can clearly boast of a mix of men and women on its staff, with a number of women reporters: Dana Vanmoer (fashion reporter), Connie McMahon (finance reporter), Firehouse Rearwind (fashion reporter and columnist), Alesia Shumann (business columnist; SL business owner; RL journalist), Gemma Cleanslate (reporter), Dashwood Dayafter (entertainment reporter, RL media personality), Delinda Dyrssen (freelance reporter), Breezes Babbii (columnist of Breezes Thoughts), Covadonga Writer (SLOOP columnist, RL writer/journalist), Penance Sautereau (reporter), and Song Bremer (reporter and columnist, The Audacious Explorer).

Seven males are on the editorial staff as well, in addition to the 11 females featured. SL-Newspaper covers SL business, art, fashion, music, and entertainment news, and keeps track of trends in SL. The newspaper is online, available both in SL and RL. Fashion magazines appear targeted to women, but I have not been able to ascertain the major publications and gender of the owners in this category. One magazine, Avenue, made its debut in SL on October 1, 2008, and promises to cover lifestyle and business issues in-world, while doing so with a keen appreciation of the importance of fashion, design, and architecture inside SL. One of its key photographers is a female avatar, but other than that position the gender of the staff is not evident. The magazine is an outgrowth of the Avenue model agency.