Den mest jämställda redaktionen jag varit på. En kvalitativ studie av kvinnliga journalisters upplevelser av genus på kulturredaktioner inom public service

Sammanfattning

Aim of thesis:The purpose of this essay is to investigate if and how women journalists working for culturedesks of Swedish public service media feel they are affected by gendered routines and ritualsin their editorial work. Furthermore, we wish to investigate whether the professional ideals ofculture journalism, like the ideals of journalism in general, are affected by genderedexpectations. The study examines the following research questions: 1. How are genderedroutines expressed in editorial work? 2. How is editorial culture shaped by interactions,expectations and professional identities in relation to gender? 3. How do cultural journalistsperceive their professional role in relation to gender?Theoretical framework:To gain an understanding of the journalists' experiences, we have chosen to analyse thembased on Löfgren Nilsson's (2010) concept of how gender is created within organisations,applied to journalism. The theory is based on Acker's (1990) model of how gender structuresare formed, maintained and reproduced within organisations. We also use theories ofhorizontal and vertical segregation.Methods:The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with six women journalists withvarious positions at the culture desks of Swedish public service radio and television.Results:The results of the study show that gendered structures do not appear to exist to the sameextent at public service cultural desks as in regular newsrooms. Instead, the respondents’answers to our questions show tendencies towards subtle and informal gendered expectationsand interactions. It is clear that the ideals of cultural journalism are not governed by the samegender coding as the ideals of journalism in general. Based on our results, it rather seems thatcultural journalism is characterised by feminine characteristics. That being said, male idealsare also present, such as being active rather than passive, quick and ‘taking up space’.