Journalistikens kön. Fältets struktur och logik under 1900-talet

Abstract

The basictheme of this artide is gender and power in the field of journalism in Sweden. It is not controversial to assert that journalism, historically speaking, evolved as a male-dominated field. Despite the high level of gender quality in Sweden, however, this pattern remains the case. Drawing on Bourdieu's theories on habitus, capital and field and Toril Moi's "appropriation" of Bourdieu, the artide looks at the structure of the field of journalism during three time periods: the party press phase (1900-1950), the professionalization phase (1950-1985), and the commercialization and feminization phase (1985 onwards). The field of journalism is defined at the nexus of three overarching social forces - political, economic, and professional forces and dynamics— and the gender order of the field reflects the relative weight of these forces at any given point in time. The empirical analysis of the field is centered around four main questions: (1) which positions men and women have been given access to during different time periods, (2) what forms of capital men and women have accumulated, (3) how images and perceptions on what constitutes "good" journalism have become gendered over time and which positions, media and genres of journalism have been associated with status/ prestige as well as to what extent this social status branding has become gendered, and (4) to what extent the struggle in the field has been gendered and what strategies and tactics have been employed in that struggle. In closing, the article discusses some tentative conclusions about the logic of the field of journalism. The main finding is that status, prestige and power have been associated with conceptions of masculinity and these conceptions, in turn, have been associated to the beliefs that underpin the field—the image of the journalistic "mission".