Women as outsiders in sports journalism: Students' and experts' perceptions

Abstract

Sports journalism is an area characterized by the marginalization of sportswomen and the biased nature of their coverage, as well as by the horizontal and vertical segregation of journalists in the newsrooms. Through 20 semi-structured interviews, we examine how female university students in Catalonia perceive these inequalities and how they express their future expectations in the field. Interviews with 10 experts in journalism and gender have also been conducted to delve into the challenges that the new generation of female sports journalists face. Participants are self-perceived as outsiders (Hardin and Shain, 2006) and believe that their participation in sports journalism will be interpreted from the stereotypes. The article highlights the need to 'de-masculinize' and broaden the diversity in academic training, as well as the importance to break the glass ceiling that prevents women to reach decision-making positions.