The journalist, the housewife, the citizen and the press

Women and men as sources in local news narratives

Bibliographic Data

ID7477247
AuthorsKaren Ro (0000-0003-3952-5149, University of Liverpool, corresponding author), Karen Ross (0000-0002-1448-6051, University of Liverpool)
Year2007
Volume8
Issue4
Pages449-473
Publication date2007-07-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884907078659
OpenAlexW2099080891
LanguageEN
Citations received72
References cited35

The use of sources in news narratives is an extremely important part of not only the story's construction but also of its orientation and, ultimately, the point of view being supported in a given story. The sly deceit concealed within journalists' use of sources as apparently independent and authoritative commentators enables the journalist to masquerade as a mere conveyance of others' perspectives while actually peddling a particular viewpoint by the choice of speaker and the choice of quote. This study interrogates the content of three English regional newspapers over a 10-week period, up to, during and after the British general election in 2005, in order to identify gender differences in the sources used. It argues that, as with the national press, men are more than twice as likely as women to be quoted as sources and that women journalists are no more likely to source women than male colleagues. It concludes that a newsroom culture which privileges elite and other (white) male voices appears to exert a greater influence and conformity over who `counts' as an authoritative voice than any individual newsworker's proclivities to more accurately reflect their views of the diverse local community

Aesthetics · Art · Conformity · Elite · Housewife · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Newspaper · Period (music · Political science · Politics · Sociology · White (mutation · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Gender Studies · Law