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One Human, Unequal Gender: A Critical Appraisal of Women and News Creation in Nigeria

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This story examined through content analysis 208 stories of two Nigerian newspapers over a period of two years to ascertain the gender distribution of reporters and topics they cover, as well as the gender distribution of story sources and the topics they are used in. The results of the study indicated that men were generally over-represented as journalists and sources. Female journalists predominated only in lower-ranked areas and topics such as entertainment and arts, while their male counterparts dominated politics, business and other highly ranked areas. Also, men took the lead in terms of number of expert sources and areas and topics of usage. Despite the increase in number of female journalists, female journalism graduates and influx of female journalism students, findings indicate a profession and practice dominated and controlled by men in all ramifications.

Keywords: Content Analysis ; Feminism ; Gender equality ; Gender inequality ; Journalism ; Media and gender ; News Creation ; News creation ; News sources ; Nigeria ; Nigerian Media ; Nigerian media ecology

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One Human, Unequal Gender: A Critical Appraisal of Women and News Creation in Nigeria
Intellect , 141 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1386/9781789386684_8
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  3. Chambers, D. ,, Steiner, L. ,, & Fleming, C. . ( 2004). Women and journalism. Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Connell, R. . ( 2009;). Accountable conduct: ‘Doing Gender’ in transsexual and political retrospect. . Gender & Society, 23(1), 104–111.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Denham, B. E. ,, & Cook, A. L. . ( 2006;). Byline gender and news source selection: Coverage of the 2004 summer olympics. . Journal of Sports Media, 1(1), 1–17.
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  8. Egbon, M. . ( 2007;). Problems of ethics in the mass media. . In The line editor as gatekeeper (pp. 81–88). Lagos:: Nigeria Press Council;.
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  9. Ganiyu, R. A. ,, Oluwafemi, A. ,, Ademola, A. A. ,, & Olatunji, O. I. . ( 2018;). The glass ceiling conundrum: Illusory belief or barriers that impede women's career advancement in the workplace. . Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business, 3(1), 137–166.
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  11. Hardin, M. ,, & Shain, S. . ( 2006;). Feeling much smaller than you know you are: The fragmented professional identity of female sports journalists. . Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(4), 322–338.
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  12. Heiskala, R. . ( 2009;). Modernity and the articulation of the gender system – Order, conflict, and chaos. . SEMIOTICA , 173(1/4) 215–231.
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  14. Kane, M. J. ,, & Lenskyj, H. J. . ( 1998;). Media treatment of female athletes: Issues of gender and sexualities. . In L. A. Wenner. (Ed.), MediaSport (pp. 186–201). London, England:: Routledge;.
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     [Google Scholar]
  19. Melin, M. . ( 2008). Gendered journalism cultures: Strategies and tactics in the fields of journalism in Britain and Sweden. JMG, University of Göteborg.
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  23. Okon, P. E. ,, Ajiboye, E. ,, Ekanem, T. ,, & Omojola, O. . ( 2018;). Gendered news reportage: A study of The Guardian and The Sun newspapers. . Nigeria International Journal of Media, Journalism and Mass Communications, 4(3), 21–35.
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  26. Price, C. J. ,, & Wulff, S. S. . ( 2005;). Does sex make a difference? Job satisfaction of television network news correspondents. . Women's Studies in Communication, 28(2), 207–234
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  27. Ross, K. . ( 2007;). The journalist, the housewife, the citizen and the press. . Journalism, 8(4), 440–473.
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  28. Ross, K. . ( 2014). Women in decision-making structures in media. Media and gender: A scholarly agenda for the global alliance on media and gender, UNESDOC Digital Library, pp. 44–48.
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  30. Strong, C. . ( 2007;). Female journalists shun sports reporting: Lack of opportunity versus lack of attractiveness. . Communication Journal of New Zealand, 8(2), 7–18.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Sutcliffe, J. B. ,, Lee, M. F. ,, & Soderlund, W. C. . ( 2005;). Women and crisis reporting: Television news coverage of political crises in the Caribbean. . Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 10(3), 99–124.
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  35. Zoch L. M. ,, and Vanslyke Turk, J. . ( 1998;) Women making news: Gender as a variable in source selection and use. . Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 762–775.
     [Google Scholar]

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