Pro-remain national newspaper The New European will be releasing a unique feminist takeover edition to showcase female writers and discuss the news women are affected by.
The New Feminist, edited by leading feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, will hit newsstands on May 31. It is being dubbed as a first for UK media.
Criado-Perez, who was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to Equality and Diversity, particularly in media, has been involved in multiple human and women’s rights campaigns – most recently the successful campaign for the first statue of a woman, Millicent Fawcett, to be installed in Parliament Square.
“Women are woefully underrepresented in the media, and not just as writers,” she said.
“Women make up 50% of the population, but according to the Global Media Monitoring Project’s latest figures, we make up only 24% of the persons heard, read about or seen in newspaper, television and radio news.
“I’m so excited to have this opportunity to showcase not only the breadth and talent of female writers working in Britain today, but also to demonstrate that women are as impacted by, and involved in, mainstream stories as men are. You just have to remember that they exist.”
A number of Britain’s leading female journalists, authors and thinkers have been commissioned by Criado-Perez for the special edition to write across a range of topics from a feminist perspective. They include journalists Helen Lewis, Samira Ahmed and Suzanne Moore, as well as playwright Bonnie Greer and television presenter Konnie Huq.
Matt Kelly, editor of The New European, has said he is excited to see the results of the takeover and expects some challenging articles.
“The New European embodies innovation in print and this is a great new experiment we are already very proud of,” Kelly said.
Originally commissioned for a four week run in 2016, The New European is now approaching its 100th edition and has an audited circulation of 22,000 – in spite of a tough market that has otherwise seen both old and new publications crash and burn.
