The Current

VICE's Broadly sparks debate on niche-ification of women's stories

Broadly is the new women's issues website just launched by Vice. It joins the ranks of Jezebel and other female-focused sites, but is it right to isolate women's issues?
"Sex, politics, culture, witchcraft. Women’s news you thought would exist by now. Welcome to Broadly." (Broadly)

The sounds of VICE's new venture Broadly are young, edgy, and most definitely female.

Broadly is being pitched as a digital channel for women, focusing on issues often ignored by the mainstream media. But some question whether VICE, the same media outlet known for its racy bro-culture, is actually raising up women's voices... or just isolating female-focused content away from general audiences.

Today, as part of our occasional Eye on the Media series, we're asking how news outlets can best cover stories for and about women.

To help us do that, we were joined by three guests for a panel discussion:

  • Tracie Egan Morrissey, editor-in-chief of Broadly and founding editor of Jezebel
  • Lauren Strapagiel, social news editor at BuzzFeed Canada
  • Denise Balkissoon, freelance journalist and founder of The Ethnic Aisle

Do you think dedicating an outlet to women's issues elevates or relegates female voices? Let us know on Twitter @TheCurrentCBC, Facebook, or by email.

This segment was produced by The Current's Amil Niazi, Sonya Buyting, Shannon Higgins, and Nicole Abi-Najem.