‘The Field of Feminine Journalism: An Unwritten History’

This article considers the way journalism has been defined both in the profession and the academy and how these definitions have worked to marginalise journalism aimed at and produced by women. The universal figure of the journalist in both the industry and the academy tends to be a man engaged in news journalism. This model is of limited efficacy when applied to large areas of the profession that have historically been produced by women. Professional norms and hierarchies around objectivity within the journalistic profession, and attendant biases within media scholarship, have marginalised commercial and lifestyle journalism where women have traditionally been concentrated. This article maps how the limitations of these constructions have left us with an incomplete picture of journalism both past and present.