Constructing the “Gender Beat:” U.S. Journalists Refocus the News in the Aftermath of #Metoo

ABSTRACT

This exploratory, qualitative study documents how journalists working for U.S. news organizations defined and refined the concept of a “gender beat” in the aftermath of the 2017 resurgence of the #MeToo movement and several other major news events that illustrated the repercussions of structural sexism. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 self-described gender-beat journalists analyzed using constructivist grounded theory, I identified three major themes: 1.) gender-beat journalists are conflicted about the need for their beats; 2.) they view the #MeToo movement, the Trump presidency and the 2017 Women’s Marches as catalysts that helped them convince superiors, especially male editors, of the importance of this work; and 3) they want their beats—and journalism as a whole—to embrace comprehensive coverage that reflects an expansive understanding of the human condition as it relates to gender, race, sexuality, class, and geography. Based on these findings, I argue that gender beats are necessary but ideally temporary stepping stones to help news organizations move beyond hegemonic white masculinity.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• #MeToo
• newsroom beats
• journalism
• women’s news
• United States
• news production

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank research assistants Deanna Schwartz, Annie Probert and Lex Weaver as well as the journalists who participated in interviews for this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by a 2020 summer research grant from Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media and Design.