When Women Run the Newsroom: Management Change, Gender, and the News

Abstract

This study examined content at ten small daily newspapers at two points in time—before and after a woman replaced a man as managing editor. The results were then compared with content changes at ten “matched” papers at which a man was managing editor for both points in time. The mix of topics that the newspapers covered changed little across time for both groups of publications. But the types of articles changed for the papers at which women became managing editors. The emphasis on feature approaches to the news increased, and standard hard news declined.