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This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link Pushy or a Princess? Women Experts and British Broadcast News AbstractFour times as many males as females appeared as experts on flagship television and radio news programmes in the United Kingdom as of the early 2010s. This study draws on four complementary sets of data to explore the reasons behind this disparity. The findings point to a combination of journalists' news production processes and women's perceptions of appropriate social norms and roles. A high proportion of woman experts surveyed lack confidence, saying they fear they will be perceived as self-promoting and "pushy" for wanting to appear on air. Broadcast journalists report women need to be persuaded and wooed, acting like "princesses" and therefore making male experts less trouble to recruit.

The status of women in UK broadcasting, as well as in many other countries, raises many important questions about gender-based discrimination in the news. (Ross and Carter, 2011) This paper chapter looks at the disproportionate use of male over female experts in flagship news programmes. Surveys done by postgraduate students from the journalism department at City, University of London show that in 2013 male experts used as interviewees on flagship news programmes outnumbered women experts by 4.4 to 1. By 2016 that ratio had narrowed to 3 to 1. Figures show, however, that the ratio of women experts at that time in UK society overall ran at a ratio of 2.5 men to women, at senior levels in law, academia, politics and as expert court witnesses. (Howell and Singer, 2016) So why do broadcast journalists discriminate against women in this way when seeking expert contributors?Feminist news research shows that one of the ways in which such discrimination is manifest is related to the limited presence and visibility of women in senior positions, both on and off air. In the early years of broadcasting in the UK, women were barely visible in any prominent role. They were neither seen nor heard in senior roles on and off screen, and were largely limited to cosmetic and supporting roles to men. Notably, also, not until the 1970s 'women's voices' were deemed 'acceptable' to read and present mainstream television news bulletins (Franks, 2011, Beard, 2017. A global process of gradual change occurred in subsequent years, whereby more women were able to rise into editorial and management positions in news organisations (IWMF, 2015).A similar and contentious debate concerns onscreen ageism. Why are male presenters able to age gracefully, whereas women after a certain age disappear completely? (Moran, 2012) In 2007, Women in Journalism, a networking and campaigning organisation for women journalists in the UK, published a report 'The Lady Vanishes at 45' (Campbell, 2007) which addresses this question and calls for an end to such age discrimination. Additionally, a number of high profile women over the years have used their experience to challenge this stereotype and argued for the need for women on screen to represent the wider age profile of the population. (Craft,

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