Willing but wary: Australian women experts’ attitudes to engaging with the news media

Abstract

Numerous quantitative studies from around the world have found that women are under-represented as sources in news content. This study aims to add to the existing quantitative research by describing female experts’ attitudes about being interviewed as news sources, and their experiences of interacting with journalists. It reports the findings of semi-structured interviews with 30 Australian female academic experts from a broad range of disciplines. Almost all of the women experts in the group were willing to be interviewed by a journalist, and reported that their experiences with the news media had generally been positive. However, they referred to various factors that may act as deterrents. These included a lack of confidence, a reluctance to appear on camera, time constraints and a lack of understanding about how the news media operates. This research provides valuable insights for journalists and editors, and outlines recommendations about how to encourage female participation in the news.