Gendered Journalism

While its probably no surprise to anyone that journalism has its gendered aspects, but it's interesting to note that the general reporting of certain stories are carried out by distinct gendered journalists.

One example is the continued editorials on the myth that is Kerry Packer. I noticed that a lot of these editorials were written by men as well as commented by men, such as Brown's reflection on the Packer's impact on the media. Gerard Henderson's editorial on the Packer myth, I've noticed, refers to many media commentators, many of whom are men. Clearly, this seems to be the case for the business sector being male-dominated. It is a similar story with the reporting and opinions of Packer in regards to sport - the majority from the perspective of men, both here in Australia and in the UK, as seen in The Guardian. I guess this shows that both sport and business continue to be a male-dominated area in today's society despite the growing numbers of female representation.

Another example is the issue of abortion and the recent findings of the links between mental health problems and abortion (SMH, 03/01/06 - funnily enough, reported by a female medical journalist). The finding was brought to light by female journalist, Julie Bobotham and a further article and opinion piece published today were written by women reporters also. Interestingly, The Daily Telegraph has no report on this - or rather just the one on the News Limited site, with no follow up like the SMH. This lacks the comprehensive details of the SMH, rather it is just a basic report. A little generalisation, but is this a case of the DT being more male-driven?

It's no surprise, however, that much of the entertainment news on any news site are predominantly reported by women - a natural reflection on women's attitudes and interests in regards to the issues discussed in the media. What other explanation is there for the countless gossip magazines out there? But then again, is the content in these magazines classified as news? Despite it all, I guess it's suffice to say that the media has always been a gendered industry.