Women are more likely to quote women

Reporters seek sources who are accessible (Armstrong, 2004). They use personal judgment to determine whether or not to select an individual as source and they want their sources to be “prominent, knowledgeable and credible” (Powers & Fico, 1994, p. 88). Though they may want to strive for diversity in their sources, they face tight deadlines and often use the first source they reach. Despite the ever-present time pressures, studies suggest that women are more likely to quote women.

Armstrong (2004) analyzed one week of content from the first four sections of 18 newspapers from across the United States. He found “female writers were more likely to write about women and showcase women in news coverage” (p. 149).

Zoch and Turk (1998 ) analyzed a random sample of 1,126 stories from the Charlotte Observer, South Carolina’s State and the Augusta Chronicle. They also found that female reporters used more female sources. In stories which carried a female byline 26.5 percent of the sources were women, while in male bylined stories only 18.9 percent of sources were women. Additionally, Rodgers and Thorson (2003) found “that female reporters used more female sources (24 percent) than male reporters did (16 percent)” (p. 664) when they analyzed 21 issues from three different newspapers.

An analysis of TV newsmagazines also found female journalists were more likely to quote women than their male colleagues. Grabe, Zhou and Barnett (1999) said that stories by female reporters for the programs 60 Minutes and Hard Copy used female sources 38.3 percent of the time, while their male colleagues used female sources only 27.6 percent of the time.

Leibler and Smith’s (1997) found a similar pattern to the above studies when they analyzed stories broadcast on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, but none of their findings reached statistical significance. In the 159 stories they reviewed, they found that women used 4.5 male sources for every female source while their male counterparts used 5.5 men for every woman. They also found “female reporters were slightly more likely to allocate the first source position in a story to a woman” (p. 61).

Taken together these studies show that female journalists, while still quoting more men than women, are more likely to quote women than their male colleagues. This gives some weight to the argument that more women in the profession of journalism will lead to more women appearing in news coverage.

Armstrong (2004) speculated that the difference in source use may be partly due to the type of stories that women are assigned to cover. Traditionally more women have been assigned to write features and cover social issues than men. He also suggested that journalist’s sources may reflect their networks of associates and that may be why women are more likely to have female contacts. The next step is for researchers to conduct observational studies to help illuminate the reasons why women seem more likely to quote women.

References

Armstrong, C. L. (2004). The influence of reporter gender on source selection in newspaper stories. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(1), 139-154.

Grabe, M. E., Zhou, S., & Barnett, B. (1999). Sourcing and reporting in news magazine programs: 60 Minutes versus Hard Copy. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 76(2), 293-311.

Leibler, C. M., & Smith, S. J. (1997). Tracking gender differences: A comparative analysis of network correspondents and their sources. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41(1), 58-68.

Powers, A., & Fico, F. (1994). Influences on the use of sources at large U.S. newspapers. Newspaper Research Journal, 15(4), 87-97.

Rodgers, S., & Thorson, E. (2003). A socialization perspective on male and female reporting. Journal of Communication, 53(4), 658-675.

Zoch, L. M., & Turk, J. V. (1998). Women making news: Gender as a variable in source selection and use. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 762-775.

Broadcast journalist credibility

Since women are more likely to quote women in their stories, many activists push news directors to hire more female broadcasters. Even when women land the jobs they must fight to be respected in those positions. However, many studies have found that with the exception of sports coverage, the public is ready for female broadcast journalists and does not view a broadcaster as less credible because she is a woman.

Stone’s (1973-74) large study in Wisconsin found half of the respondents said it did not matter to them whether the anchor of the news program was a man or a woman. Additionally, less than 21 percent of respondents said they found a male newscaster to be more believable than a woman. When respondents did say they preferred a male reporter, the two reasons most often given were “the male voice and tradition” (p. 58).

In a second large study comparing two male and two female newscasters, Balon, et al. (1978 ) actually found that male newscasters were perceived as “less qualified than females” (p. 162).

Whittaker and Whittaker (1976) had Floridians rate audio recordings of two female and two male newscasters based on their “effectiveness, believability, and acceptance” (p. 179). The found no statistically significant differences in the ratings of the newscasters in any category.

One study did find mixed results. Tan, Raudy, Huff and Miles (1980) had Texas school children watch a 15-minute newscast and rate the newscasters based on “effectiveness and believability” (p. 205). While they did not find differences in the ratings for believability, they argued that the male newscaster was more effective than the female, because the students recalled more information from his newscast.

Unfortunately for female sportscasters, studies continue to find a preference for male reporting of sports content. Ordman and Zillmann (1994) had subjects evaluate sports commentary by male and female reporters. They found, “Female sports reporters are perceived as less competent than their male colleagues” (p. 73), even when reporting on women’s gymnastics. The reports also tried to convince respondents that a longshot team would win the championship and they found that the male reporter had more success in convincing the audience than the female reporter.

Shaw, Cole, Moore and Cole (1981) also found that men were more positively associated with stories about sports. They found that when stories about a golf tournament were by men they “were judged as more interesting, dramatic and active” (p. 104) than when the same stories were presented by women.

These findings make it clear that the public does not see gender as a negative impact on broadcaster credibility, except in the still stereotyped world of sports reporting.

References

Balon, R. E., Philport, J. C., & Beadle, C. F. (1978). How sex and race affect perceptions of newscasters. Journalism Quarterly, 55(1), 160-164.

Ordman, V.L., & Zillmann, D. (1994). Women sports reporters: Have they caught up? Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 18(1), 66-75.

Shaw, D. L., Cole, L. P., Moore, R. L., & Cole, R. R. (1981). Men versus women in bylines. Journalism Quarterly, 58(1), 103-106.

Stone, V. A. (1973-74). Attitudes toward television newswomen. Journal of Broadcasting, 18(1), 49-62.

Tan, A., Raudy, J., Huff, C., & Miles, J. (1980). Children’s reactions to male and female newscasters: Effectiveness and believability. The Quarterly Journal of Speech, 66, 201-205.

Whittaker, S., & Whittaker, R. (1976). Relative effectiveness of male and female newscasters. Journal of Broadcasting, 20(2), 177-184.

Are women changing photojournalism?

Sherry Ricchiardi explored gender’s effect on the profession of photojournalism in a piece for the American Journalism Review in 1998.

Some of the photo editors and experts she spoke with seemed willing to concede gender differences in the imagery produced by male and female photojournalists. Joe Elbert, then assistant managing editor for photography at The Washington Post told her, “We’re starting to get more – and different – interpretations of subject matter as more women come into the profession. There is a different approach because of gender” (p. 28). Ricchiardi also found photo experts who argued, “Women’s coverage illustrates an instinct to delve beneath the surface of a story and add a deeper human dimension to photos” (p. 29).

Other journalists were not willing to make gender distinctions. Jim McNay, former president of the National Press Photographers Association said, “It is the quality of work, not gender, that makes the greatest difference” in photographs (p. 30). Photo historian C. Zoe Smith told Ricchiardi that the most successful photojournalists, regardless of sex, “tend to be tenacious, obsessed with the profession and willing to take risks. ‘They live and breathe photography. They sacrifice what we would consider a normal life for the job’” (p. 31).

You can judge if you see difference in the photographs that won Picture of the Year. The top two prizes in Newspaper photography went to men and the third and fourth prizes went to women. What do you notice?

References

Ricchiardi, S. (1998). Getting the picture. American Journalism Review, 27-32.

Is there byline bias?

Some good news for female reporters and columnists. Several scholars have examined the credibility of newspaper journalists and found that audiences do not assign credibility based on byline gender.

Burkhart and Sigelman (1990) looked at the effect of gendered bylines on evaluations of the credibility of hard news stories. In the first manipulation, which used a sample of 90 journalism students, they found readers did not judge the articles differently if they were written by a man or a woman. The results hinted that articles with the gender-neutral use of only the author’s initials were seen as less credible, but this pattern just missed statistical significance.

In a second test, in which they specifically examined byline recall, and used a sample of 87 non-journalism students, they found that the articles attributed to Mary A. Cummings were favored slightly over the articles by Mark A. Cummings.

Andsager (1990) presented 164 students at Kansas State University with two syndicated political columns, one with the byline Patricia Sullivan and the second with the byline Michael Henry. She found, “readers overall perceived no significant difference in credibility according to byline sex” (p. 488). However, when subjects were divided by sex, males, who were only 60 of the respondents, were more likely to rate a column with no byline as more credible than a female byline.

A second study of political columnists by Andsager and Mastin (2003) manipulated gender by changing the photograph next to the column. The large sample of students from two universities on opposite sides of the country ascribed the greatest credibility to the female columnists, but overall they found no statistically “significant differences in credibility” (p. 68).

In a similar study, White and Andsager (1991) had 305 Midwestern university student read four different columns, one with a clearly male byline, one with a clearly female byline, one with a gender neutral byline (Pat Sullivan) and one without a byline. They found “no perceived difference in the levels of credibility between the female and male writers, regardless of reader gender” (p. 718). They also found that credibility was not impacted even when a female columnist wrote about the draft, a topic considered stereotypically masculine, or when a male columnist wrote about abortion, a topic considered feminine.

Taken together, these studies offer convincing evidence that newspaper readers do not assign credibility based on the gender of an article’s author.

References

Andsager, J. L. (1990). Perceptions of credibility of male and female syndicated political columnists. Journalism Quarterly, 67(3), 485-491.

Andsager, J. L., & Mastin, T. (2003). Racial and regional differences in reader’s evaluations of political columnists by race and sex. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 80(1), 57-72.

Burkhart, F. N., & Sigelman, C. K. (1990). Byline bias? Effects of gender on news article evaluations. Journalism Quarterly, 67(3), 492-500.

White, H. A., & Andsager, J. L. (1991). Newspaper column readers’ gender bias: Perceived interest and credibility. Journalism Quarterly, 68(4), 709-718.

Honoring a deserving journalist

Journalist, poet, playwright and artist S. Renee Mitchell received an award in 2006 from Women’s eNews for her years of advocacy work around domestic violence.