ATTITUDE OF FEMALE MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENT TOWARD JOURNALISM AS A CAREER

ABSTRACT

There is an increasing number of female journalism students in training institutions in Europe and Asia and Africa (Frohlich 2004; Creedon 1993; Kosicki & Becker 1992; Peterson 1988). However, it has been observed that there is a disproportionate number of practicing female journalists who graduate from these programmes (Jurkowitz 2003). The number of female students graduating from journalism schools is high, but the number of those practicing in newsrooms is disproportionately lower. For example, University of Zambia (UNZA) records of graduates in the Department of Mass Communication indicate that more women than men graduate as journalists. The author’s observations based on over twenty years of teaching journalism in the UNZA programme is that in their entry year, the female students declare that they want to be trained as journalists and to work in the newsroom. But by third and fourth year, their career direction seems to change. They lose interest in traditional journalism reporting and begin to prefer public relations and other specializations in the communications industry. Even those who at graduation accept reporting positions in the newsrooms, pursue alternative careers within the first three years. This phenomenon brings up a critical question: What drives females out of the newsroom? Besides, the obvious matter of better salaries. It posits that additional influences on career choices are grounded in socialization, biased attitudes, cultural beliefs and are gender based.