ADELEKE UNIVERSITY

EDE, OSUN STATE.

COURSE CODE: MCM 451 (COMMUNICATION SEMINAR)

LEVEL: 400

DEPT: MASS COMMUNICATION

FACULTY: FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

LECTURER: PROF. SAMUEL EKUNDAYO ALAO.

DATE: 22/11/17

GROUP 2

ASOR ELIZABETH 16/0420

BATURE DORCAS ZACHIYANG 14/0094

ISIGUZO VICTORIA I. 14/0099

ITAITA POWEI F. 14/0100

OGUNWALE ADESHINA 14/0106

OYEKANMI OYEKEMI FAWAZAT 14/0112

‘’WOMEN IN JOURNALISM’’

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES

1. Introduction 2

2. The beginning 3

3. History of women in journalism 5

4. Why women went into journalism? 8

5. Challenges faced by women in journalism 10

6. Are Women up to the task? 11

7. Prospects of women in Journalism 12

8. Conclusion 13

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ABSTRACT

From humble beginning, women have risen through the rank from being reporters, to top

management position in both print and broadcast industry. This paper adopts a historical

approach to trace the rise of women in journalism profession across several generations, and in

different parts of the world.

This study seeks to examine the history of the profession, challenges faced by women in the

field, and problems still faced by women in the profession of journalism. It also seeks to talk on

women and their role in newspapers, both as readers and journalists.

INTRODUCTION

Journalism is the activity of gathering, accessing, creating, and presenting news and

information. Journalism is considered to be the investigation, and reporting of news,

including political or social issues, current events, and popular trends.

As the world is changing, so has the role and influence of women changed in the society. In

times past, women were restricted to the home and had to play the role in the day to day running

of the affairs of the home, and catering for the needs of her kids and husband. A woman’s role

was simply to look after the homestead and tend the children and the elderly while men find jobs

outside the home.

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Overtime, with the feminist movement, gender mainstreaming, gender neutrality, the tackling of

stereotyping, women are almost at the brink of being seen as equal to their male counterparts.

Their voices can now be heard as they womenfolk are gradually dominating fields that were once

seen as men zones. ‘

Women are increasingly dominating the field of journalism and have become influential figures.

The journey towards equality between men and women in this field have not come without

challenges and sacrifices. There were women who set footprints on the sands of time and made

the profession what it is today. The early women of journalism paved the way for the young

female journalist of today by showing men that women can be just as effective as males in the

field of journalism. 

A 19th century Feminist writer, Arnold Bennett once said, ‘’is there any sexual reason why a

woman should be a less accomplished Journalist than a man? I find none’

THE BEGINNING

Historically, journalism globally used to be men’s domain, hence the common phrase;

‘gentlemen of the press’. Journalism was said to be a “man’s job” due to the fact that the people

in the late 1800s and early 1900s thought that it would be too dangerous a job for a female.

The beginning of Journalism, will not be complete without the history of Iwe irohin fun awon

ara egba ati Yoruba, the first newspaper published in Nigeria by Revd. Henry Townsend in the

year 1859. According to Henry Townsend, the reason for the publication of the newspaper was

to get people to read. His paper nonetheless set the stage for other newspapers. The rise of

nationalism gave rise to the establishment of other newspapers across the country like the

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African Pilot etc. But like many other places across the world, journalism practices at this early

stage remained a domain of men. There was no mention at this time on any contribution of the

female gender to any newspaper. For many decades, women were nowhere to be found in the

practice of journalism in Nigeria.

As journalism became a profession, women were restricted by custom from access to journalism

occupations, and faced significant discrimination within the profession.

In the western world, women faced such challenges of being excluded from the profession or

the serious part of the work. Nevertheless, women operated as editors, reporters, sports analysts

and journalists even before the 1890s. However, it was assumed that women will not be able to

handle the hard news hence, in the 19th century, a special column was dedicated to women. In

that section, women were adviced on beauty treatments, home keeping, cooking, entertainment

and other features they felt were feminine. They were afraid that women would be put into

situations where they wouldn’t know how to react.

In Nigeria, Women were recognized and started practicing Journalism in the early 50s. Increase

in global agitation for gender equality and empowerment in all sector led to changes in gender

role in journalism practice as more women oriented stories started appearing in Nigeria

newspapers. Coker (1952) ‘’The first breakthrough for women in this male dominated profession

was in feature writing with the establishment of the Nigerian Daily Times, when lively feature

articles began to appear with boxed title-heads’’. Like their western counterparts, Pioneer Female

Nigerian Journalists were restricted to domestic issues. This in essence meant that, women were

not involved with headline news or serious issue reporting.

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Doyin Abiola, herself a pioneer in women journalism during her time said, ‘’an era when the

women’s page is exclusively reserved for women regardless of their educational background and

qualification. And the sad part is women accepted this notion almost as a God-given rule. They

… believed … that the entry point for a woman journalist is through the women page (Ikem

1996) . Even when they wrote hard news, they had to write under false names to hide their

identity mainly because of the prevailing social and cultural setting of that period .Overtime,

these female editors fought to be given hard news to report just like the men were given. It was

as if they felt women had no business in important events happening.

HISTORY OF WOMEN IN JOURNALISM

The journey so far, has been a hard one for women all over the world. Journalism used to be a

man’s work. A lot of sacrifices were made by the previous female journalists to get us to where

we are now. All thanks to them, female journalists in today’s society do not have to deal with

what they went through.

Who would have believed that just 50 years ago, the field of journalism was dominated by men?

Now there is a higher percentage of women than men in journalism. Some people even refer to

the communication course as a Profession for women.

Women journalism would have no history if some determined women did not put their life, pride

on the line to make it what it is today. Despite the limited opportunities for female journalists,

they made steady progress in their contribution to the growth of the profession. From just being

women or gossip columnists, many of them have ventured into mainstream genre of journalism

and some have gone to become editors and publishers. Some even made history as investigative

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journalists, photo journalists covering the war zones, and war journalists. They even treaded the

path were men could not.

Nancy Alene Hicks Maynard 1946 – 2008, was an American publisher, journalist, former

owner of The Oakland Tribune, and co-founder of the Maynard Institute for Journalism

Education. She was the first African-American female reporter for The New York Times,

and at the time of her death, The Oakland Tribune was the only metropolitan daily

newspaper to have been owned by African Americans. She first became interested in

journalism when, after a fire destroyed the elementary school she once attended, she was

unhappy with the portrayal of her community in the coverage by the news media. She

first started her profession at the age of 21, as the copy girl and reporter for the New York

Post. She not only paved the way for female journalists, but advocated and inspired Black

women to achieve their dreams.

Ethel L. Payne (1911 – 1991) was an African-American journalist. Known as the "First

Lady of the Black Press", she was a columnist, lecturer, and freelance writer. She became

the first female African-American commentator employed by a national network when

CBS hired her in 1972. In addition to her reporting of American domestic politics, she

also covered international stories. Payne was afforded the opportunity to cover stories

overseas, becoming the first African-American woman to focus on international news

coverage, and only one of three accredited African-Americans on the White House Press

Corps.

Payne earned a reputation as an aggressive journalist who asked tough questions.

She was known for asking questions others dared not ask. She once asked President

Dwight D. Eisenhower when he planned to ban segregation in interstate travel. The

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President's angry response that he refused to support special interests made headlines and

helped push civil rights issues to the forefront of national debate.

In 1966, she traveled to Vietnam to cover African-American troops, who were involved

in much of the fighting. She subsequently covered the Nigerian civil war and the

International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City, and accompanied Secretary of

State Henry Kissinger on a six-nation tour of Africa.

She contributed immensely through her bravery and determination to women journalism

and the rights of black people.

Christiane Amanpour: She was born on the 12th of January 1958 and is a British-Iranian

journalist and television host. She was hired by CNN on the foreign desk in Atlanta,

Georgia, as an entry-level desk assistant. During her early years as a correspondent,

Amanpour was given her first major assignment covering the Iran–Iraq War, which led to

her being transferred in 1986 to Eastern Europe to report on the fall of European

communism. Following Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990, Amanpour’s reports of the

Persian Gulf War brought her wide notice while also taking CNN to a new level of news

coverage. Thereafter, she reported from the Bosnian war and other conflict zones.

Amanpour has reported on major crises from many of the world's hotspots, including

Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, and

the Balkans and from the United States during Hurricane Katrina.

Amanpour gained a reputation for being fearless during the Gulf and Bosnian wars and

for reporting from conflict areas.

Doyinsola Abiola: Also known as Mrs. Doyin Abiola served as the Managing

Director/Editor-in-Chief of Concord Group of Newspapers from 1986 to 2001. In 1980,

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she was appointed the first woman editor of a national newspaper, National Concord. An

incredulous public was soon convinced that there is nothing about the office that should

make it an exclusive preserve of men. She competently ran the newspaper and it became

a reference point.

Nellie Bly (1867–1922), was an American journalist who led an exposure in which she

faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. Prior to this event, she was

laughed at because she was female. She embarked on some other remarkable expose that

received positive acclaim. She was named by the New York Journal as the ‘’best reporter

in America’’. She later became a reporter for the Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World

Newspaper. This made her one of the first Female investigative reporters.

Ida B. Wells: prominent civil rights activist whose 1892 editorial on the lynching of three

black men earned her popularity; she wrote her autobiography Crusade for Justice in

1928.

JANET MBA-AFOLABI: Janet’s career in journalism started in 1988, when she got

employed by News watch magazine as a reporter assigned to the general beat. After

spending 12 years at News watch, she joined TELL magazine in year 2000

ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS: (1965 – 2014): she was a German photojournalist who

worked for the Associated Press, and was the only woman on a team of 11 Associated

Press photographers that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for

coverage of the Iraq War. She was awarded the International Women's Media

Foundation's Courage in Journalism prize.

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She had covered Afghanistan for several years before she was killed on the 4th April

2014, while covering the presidential election, after an Afghan policeman opened fire at

the car she was waiting in at a checkpoint.

WHY WOMEN WENT INTO JOURNALISM

In recent times there is the trend of more females going into Journalism compared to men. In

1993, it was recorded that women account for 70% of journalism students. This shows that more

women are going into journalism but what could be the reason?

One of the reasons will be the quest for gender equality between males and females. The pioneer

female journalists suffered segregation, humiliation, harassment from the menfolk because they

were trying to strive in the men’s world. It must have been tiresome living in such an

environment. They fought to see that women are socially, culturally, and economically accepted

as their male counterparts.

Present female journalists are still advocating for women and men to be equally accepted.

Most female journalists when asked why they got into the profession have said that they do so

to effect a change in their environment and encourage other women to be who they want to be

notwithstanding the ridicule, harassment, and other challenges they may face. They want to be an

inspiration to other women.

Another reason is this; are men usually asked why they go into journalism? Rarely are they

asked because it is assumed they are thirsty for the adventure or they have a passion in that field.

Likewise, most women thirst for that adventure like their male counterparts and have a greater

zeal to prove themselves to the men.

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Women are empathetic beings in that they put themselves in the shoes of others. They try to

feel their pain, emotions etc. most women are driven by this nature, to make the life of mankind

better, expose unhealthy situations people face. Some women have said why they got into

Journalism, was to achieve these aim of putting a stop to the suffering of others by bringing their

situation to public notice through journalism. Niedringhaus once wrote, ‘’for me it is about

showing the struggle and survival of the individual.’’

CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN IN JOURNALISM

Women have faced many problems in today’s world of journalism, women in some

countries have faced so much hurdles. More and more women are entering into the profession of

journalism, a profession reserved mainly for men.

Some have chosen to focus on investigative reporting, covering human rights violations,

corruption or other subjects that are off-limits in their society.

Women many at times have been the target of ridicule and humiliation by male colleagues

as they see them as weak and threaten and intimidate them. They are also greatly restricted when

it comes to reporting. Women in a patriarchal society (a society dominated by men) often give up

working because the law does not give provision for protection and impunity is the norm.

Women often face harassment of gender based forms including violence of sexual nature, sexual

smears and threats against their families. The act of women practicing journalism is regarded in

some societies as a violation of social norms.

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A freelancer for the magazine procesco, in Mexico, and founder of ‘’journalist on foot network’’,

said she went into Journalism because she sees it as a way to change things. She specializes in

covering violence, especially cartel – related violence, focusing on its victims and its impact on

Mexican society with the aim of increasing awareness of this issue.

Most editors have the idea that women have a limited intellectual capacity. In most African

newsrooms female journalists usually do not receive equal opportunity to training and career

advancement with their male counterparts. They are hardly ever assigned to strong political,

investigative stories. They are most often assigned to the less important “beats like gender

violence, health and beauty and cookery tips

Female journalists are still accorded the weather sex position and considered not intelligent

enough to take major decisions and do news analysis. According to a report by reporters without

boarders, “though many journalists who belong to the fairer sex have been involved in bringing

up to date and praise news to the forefront and in spite of the fact that numerous women take up

journalism and press reporting as professions there are very few women who have been able to

make it big here’ Decision making and editorial positions in Africa are still highly male

dominated despite a strong feminine presence in newsrooms. Too many men were afraid that if

their wives had real jobs they will end up leaving them. They were also afraid that they would

be put into situations where they won’t know how to react.

ARE WOMEN UP TO THE TASK?

Throughout the history of Journalism, women have done daring things, from Anja Niendringaus

a talented Photo journalist who made us understand life from another perspective with her

pictures and lost her life during the cause of her job, to Christain Amanpour a seasoned war

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journalist, to Nellie Bly who faked insanity to investigate how mental patients were treated, to

Doyinsola Abiola first female editor of Concord Newspaper. The list is in fact endless and this

alone shows

One question we need to ask ourselves is’’ Do we need women in the front lines of

journalism?’’ yes we do.

Despite the gender bias, there are hundreds of female journalists around the world, many

covering some dying in conflict zones. Women give us the hard news, the politics, the strategy,

the conflict.

Without arguing on whether women are more sensitive in their coverage. But I will tell you this:

Women listen to other women much more closely, and they pay much greater attention to how

political and military developments affect individuals, particularly other women and children. To

be sure, a number of women journalists have strong and respected voices.

Another is this, women are more open minded and when determined will achieve their aim

even to the point of dying. For example in church, you find more women than men doing the

work of God zealously, even in class there are more women willing to study. Therefore, it is not

a surprise to find women doing well than guys in class.

On the other side of the lens, you might be surprised to find countless talented and courageous

women. Women might be sensitive, assumed to be weaker than men, but their weakness,

emotions, passion, makes them stronger and persistent in what they believe in. and what do they

believe in, Justice for those who have none. This is the aim of journalism.

PROSPECTS OF WOMEN IN JOURNALISM

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There are greater number of women going into the field of journalism. As earlier stated, women

make up 70% of the population. The greater visibility of women in journalism, provides role

model for other women and also creates a world where there is an increasing acceptability of

women in journalism. It has also helped combat traditional biases that have curbed women’s

independence.

In Pakistan for example, female journalists have contributed to an increase in reporting on issues

relating to violence, education, and other fields that were once overlooked.

Hopefully with women going into journalism, in the next 10 years, the society will be able to

think liberally concerning the role of women in journalism, and also make the society a friendly

place for women to strive without fear of harassment and inferior.

CONCLUSION

Some of the women listed above and many others did not only break gender stereotype in

journalism, they went on to become teachers, managers, editors and proprietors of print and

electronic media organisations where men and women are employed.

Women in various fields should strive to make purposeful impact without fear and with this in

mind, we will all get to the peak of our career.

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REFERENCE

Christiane Amanpour. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_Amanpour on

November 23, 2017

Coker, I. 1952: Seventy years of the Nigerian press. Lagos: Daily times Nigeria Ltd.

Ethel. L. Payne. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_L._Payne on November 23,

2017

Frida Ghitis: Why we need women journalists on the front lines. Accessed at

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/09/opinion/ghitis-women-journalists-front-lines/index.html on

November 23, 2017

Ida. B. Wells. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_B._Wells on November 23, 2017

Ikem, E. (1996). “Women in Journalism”, in Dare, O. and Uyo, A. (eds.), Journalism in Nigeria:

Issues and Perspectives, Lagos: Nigerian Union of Journalists, Lagos State Council.

Nancy Hicks Maynard. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hicks_Maynard on

November 23, 2017

Nigeria’s women journalists join together for change. Accessed at

http://www.ng.undp.org/content

nigeria/en/home/ourwork/democraticgovernance/successstories/nigeria-s-women-journalists-

join-together-for-change/ on November 23, 2017

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Par Leina. (2011). Challenges faced by female journalist in African societies. Retrieved from

http://www.worldpulse.com/fr/node/16000 on November 22, 2017

Vercelli, Jane .A, Eleanor R., Chelsea House, Chicago. (1995). Women in Journalism: A

Triumph over Time. Retrieved from https://www.inforefuge.com/women-in-journalism-a-

triumph-over-time on November 22, 2017

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