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The method is the message

Explaining inconsistent findings in gender and news production research

Bar-Ilan University, laviea{at}mail.biu.ac.il

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Bar-Ilan University, wilzis{at}mail.biu.ac.il

Whether, and how, gender affects the news product is one of the most challenging areas in the field of gender and the media. This article analyzes the impact of specific research methodologies on findings regarding gender news influence - based on survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews of female and male editors working in Israeli public radio, as well as on content analysis of their editorial product. Based on different results obtained from these qualitative and quantitative methodologies, we conclude that gender/news research cannot rely on either method exclusively, as heretofore has been overwhelmingly the case. Editorial interviewees’ responses can be as unreliable as autobiographies due to socio-organizational exigencies, while content analyses of news product must also be viewed critically as they do not necessarily reflect underlying gender ‘otherness’. This study discusses the research implications of the findings as well as the extent of ‘real’ gender influence on news product/ion.

Key Words: content analysis • editorial news process • gender • interview • news research methodologies • otherness • questionnaire • radio news and current events programming

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