Professional activism in journalism and education in gender equality through Twitter

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses professional activism by women journalists' organisations which, through their Twitter accounts, contribute to extend the value of equality between men and women, which is activism that embodies the ethical or deontological codes of this profession. The tweets of these groups not only propose improvements in the expression and writing of news, after reporting biased, stereotypical or denigrating uses of language by large Spanish media, but also recognise and applaud contents that dignify women or place them in the public sphere that they deserve. A content analysis methodology was followed by applying both quantitative and qualitative analyses to a sample of 7,424 tweets. To interpret the language, not only linguistic and visual, but also ethical criteria, were applied in accordance with the fundamental democratic citizenship values. The results indicate that communication professionals insufficiently apply the value of equality to their social task of informing and educating from a gender perspective. This lack of professional self-demand and citizen commitment is especially observed in the media with greater circulation and outreach. Thus we conclude about the need for self-regulation and professional dialogue practices like those herein presented.