What exactly is journalism?
Journalism is defined as ‘unbiased production and distribution of reports on current or past events based on facts and supported with proof or evidence.” However, if we look more closely at what the true purpose of journalism is, it is to inform the public. The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel states that “the principles and purpose of journalism are defined by something more basic: the function news plays in the lives of people.” In other words, journalism is essential to inform and educate people. Who tells the stories is just as important as the message the stories contain.
A survey conducted by the International Women’s Media Foundation of 500 media companies in nearly 60 countries found that men hold 73 per cent of management positions. Some other findings are:
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Women represent only a third (33.3%) of the full-time journalism workforce in the 522 companies surveyed
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In Middle East and North Africa, men outnumber women in the companies surveyed 2:1
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In the United States women are less than a fourth of those in top management and only a third of those in governance level roles
Dr. Julie Poscetti, the Global Director at the International Center for Journalists, says “If you don’t have gender equality in your newsroom, it’s like running on one leg. And in the current climate, the male leg is limping.”
Stories written in newsrooms are made for the public. When the public isn’t represented in the newsroom, it can mean that many stories are left untold. Women make up half of the population. When they are the minority in newsrooms, it lowers the quality of journalism by leaving out so many voices.
Being a woman in journalism is not without its challenges. The cost of reporting while female from the Columbia Journalism Review takes a deeper look into the harassment and misogynistic criticism that women journalists face on the job. Most of the abuse is done online, through messages on social media. It can also occur in ways that are unseen, such as the stories that remain unexplored by women because of the risks of telling them.
Ryerson School of Journalism’s Chair Janice Neil said that she is very conscious of the gender disparity. “This is something I’m very conscious of. It’s like I’m doing a gender count all the time,” Neil said.
It’s not a secret that women are underrepresented in newsrooms. But what are newsrooms actually doing about that? It doesn’t stop at hiring. Along with hiring, it’s also important to create a more diverse and equal environment where women can share their ideas freely.
Diversity in journalism is very important because newsrooms should not be limited to the ideas of one group of people. If this happens, no new perspectives will be shared in the media and there will be no room for growth. People want to hear stories about things they can relate to; they want to see themselves represented and they want their stories told.
Everyone comes into a newsroom with their own life experiences and perspectives, and these will only be enhanced if newsrooms consist of a variety of people.