Abstract:
This content analysis reveals that men and women network news correspondents differed
in how they covered 4 presidential elections (1992 - 2004). There were fewer women than
men reporters involved in election coverage but on average women reported more stories
than men and were tonally tougher watchdogs than men. In terms of framing candidates,
male reporters were strongly associated with a masculine approach that emphasizes the
competitiveness of campaigns. By contrast, women correspondents employed both more
feminine and gender-neutral frames than their male colleagues. These content analysis
findings were interpreted against the backdrop of information derived from in-depth
interviews with five women reporters who appeared in the sampled content.
