“Just a Junior Journalist”: Field Theory and Editorial Photographers’ Gendered Experiences

Diffusion of innovations in digital journalism: Technology, roles, and gender in modern newsrooms

“…In Hadland and Barnett (2018) sample of 3,500 photojournalists from around the world, only about 15% were women (see also, Hadland and Barnett, 2015). And although the professionals in this study’s sample identify as digital journalists, these women are still being left out of collecting visual content in the field (see also, Somerstein, 2021), even as they are processing the content in postproduction at a significantly higher rate. This could be a reflection that women are being delegated to more of the newsroom “housework” (Williams, 2014) of postproduction versus the “glamour work” (Williams and Multhaup, 2018) of gathering footage and are missing out of literally framing the news through their own lens, or “female gaze” (Hadland and Barnett, 2018).…”

“…This could be a reflection that women are being delegated to more of the newsroom “housework” (Williams, 2014) of postproduction versus the “glamour work” (Williams and Multhaup, 2018) of gathering footage and are missing out of literally framing the news through their own lens, or “female gaze” (Hadland and Barnett, 2018). Visual reporting is still being led and framed by men journalists (Somerstein, 2021). Likewise, Kassova (2020) reported a global underrepresentation of women journalists (39%) and women journalism leadership (26%).…”

“…Beats and story assignments are influenced by these gendered perceptions (Craft and Wanta, 2004; Harp, 2007). Newspapers also privilege the placement of hard news stories, which “are associated with masculinity and often assigned to men” (Somerstein, 2021, p. 671; Chambers et al, 2004; Ross and Carter, 2011; Boydstun, 2013). These assignments occur even though Paul et al (2021) found little evidence that gender affects readers’ perceptions of reporter credibility—to this end, and in order to address RQ 3, we asked the question of our sample, “How do you choose your stories?” and prompted journalists to speak at length about taking a story from conception to fruition.…”

Relational Labour or Digital Resistance

“…The need to understand connection-building on social media by photographers as a gendered practice is underscored by recent studies focusing on journalistic practices that exceed traditional journalistic labour. Thomson (2021) found that, unlike their male colleagues, women photographers tend to feel "compelled to stay connected to their subjects post-publication" (p. At a structural level, Somerstein (2021) found that continuing patterns of gender-based marginalisation effectively render women invisible within the photographic profession. She concludes that such, "… professional invisibility complicates women's access and relationships with other photographers, subjects, authorities, and clients" (p.683).…”

The Good and the Bad Sides of the Protest: Framing Abortion Rights Protests in Photojournalism

“…Scholars suggest that gender also shapes the experience and routines of photojournalists, influencing the outcome of news stories (Darian-Smith, 2016;Westcott Campbell & Critcher, 2018;Hadland & Barnett, 2018a;Somerstein, 2021). Research shows that female photojournalists tend to have access to different spaces than their male counterparts and have different narratives, with more intimate and emotional images (Darian-Smith 2016).…”