The basic theme of the essay is gender and power in the field of journalism in Sweden.
It is not controversial to assert that journalism, historically speaking, evolved as a maledominated
field. Despite the high level of gender quality in Sweden, however, this pattern
remains the case. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theories on habitus, capital and field and
Toril Moi’s “appropriation” of Bourdieu, the article looks at the structure of the field of
journalism during three periods: the Era of the token woman (1900-1950), the Era of the
critical mass (1950-1985), and the Era of feminization (1985 onwards). The field of journalism
is defined at the nexus of three overarching social forces – political, economic, and
professional forces and dynamics – and the gender order of the field reflects the relative
weight of these forces at any given point in time. The empirical analysis of the field is
centered around four main questions: (1) which positions men and women have been given
access to during different time periods, (2) what forms of capital have men and women
accumulated, (3) how images and perceptions on what constitutes “good” journalism have
become gendered over time and which positions, media, and genres of journalism have
been associated with status/prestige as well as to what extent this social status branding
is gendered, and (4) to what extent the struggle in the field has been gendered and what
strategies and tactics have been employed in that struggle. Inclosing, the article discusses
some conclusions about the gender logic of the field of journalism. The main finding is
that status, prestige and power have been associated with conceptions of masculinity and
these conceptions, in turn, have been associated to the beliefs that underpin the field – the
image of the journalistic “mission”.