Age gap and gender inequality in the journalism profession. A mismatch with new digital skills

Abstract

Social applications and new narratives in digital journalism have revolutionized not only the way in which the profession is exercised, but also the way in which consumers access information. Four different generations of journalists from different media in the Basque Country have answered a questionnaire about their use of the main social tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. They have also responded to the degree of importance they give to the new narratives, intersection of storytelling with multimedia resources, and to the data visualization that helps so much in telling these narratives. Results with responses from more than 500 professionals show a large generation gap a large generational and gender gap between younger professionals and older female journalists. The disuse of these tools by professionals over 60 years of age stands out, with routines that are more reluctant to digital development. The underuse of some applications such as Telegram or LinkedIn indicates a great lack of knowledge and a lack of training on the part of publishers. Journalists under 30 are familiar with tools such as Tik Tok, Twitch, or even AI applications, but are unaware of their professional use.