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.
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