#MeToo, Sexual Harassment and Coping Strategies in Norwegian Newsrooms.

Trond Idås, Kristin Skare Orgeret, Klas Backholm

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

This article, through conducting a study of the sexual harassment(SH) of media workers, investigates the extent and types of SH experienced bythe editorial staff of Norwegian newsrooms at the time the #MeToo campaignarrived in Norway, and what effects such experiences have on journalists’professional lives. We are also interested in what Norwegian media houses aredoing to address these challenges. The leading research question consists of threeinterrelated parts: To what extent are journalists exposed to SH? What copingstrategies do they use? How can newsrooms be better prepared to fight SH, fromthe perspective of the safety of journalists? A mixed methods approach, whichcombines findings from a quantitative questionnaire with qualitative in-depthinterviews, was used to answer these questions. The findings show that female,young, and temporary media workers are significantly more frequently targetedthan others and that those who had experienced SH handled the situation usingavoiding strategies to a significantly greater extent than those who had only been exposed to unwanted attention experiences. Thefindings feed into a discussion of what strategies media houses can use to bebetter prepared in the fight against SH.

Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)57–67
JournalMedia and Communication
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Journalism
  • Sexual Harassment
  • female journalists
  • coping strategies/methods
  • newsrooms
  • Safety

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