Byline Bias? Effects of Gender on News Article Evaluations

Abstract

This study, reporting on the results of two experiments using college students, finds that audiences judged stories similarly regardless of whether the byline was by a male or female. Bylines with unclear gender — i.e., “J. J. Goodman” — tended to be evaluated somewhat lower. One of the experiments, carried out with relatively unsophisticated news readers, finds that women tended to be evaluated somewhat higher on such variables as “trustworthiness,” “writing style,” and “accuracy.” This study suggests that it may be that times have changed in attitudes toward female bylines, contrary to a number of earlier studies.