| dc.description.abstract | This master’s thesis explores the newsroom culture at Telangana Today in Hyderabad, India and examines how female reporters negotiate the gendered politics within the newsroom and more generally in their daily lives. The newsroom in Telangana Today – as elsewhere in India – is still predominantly a male domain of work, and the dynamics that are at play are largely shaped by patriarchal norms, values and traditions. The ‘hardcore’ male reporters cover ‘hard’ news, whereas female reporters are directed towards news dealing with ‘women’s issues’, fashion, clothing and so on. Women’s perceived ‘softness’ does not only affect the stories they cover, but also how they are expected to act; to speak in lower voices or not go out on late-night reporting, keeping them away from the ‘harder’ news. Despite these conditions, the women studied have defied these social pressures by using their voices differently – echoing their words through written pieces, not spoken. Due to the support of their editor and the sense of safety that the other journalists construct collaboratively, they write articles that do not always adhere to the ‘soft’ categories, using different strategies to overcome the instructions they were meant to adhere to. Having an all-women’s team has thus allowed the women to come together and challenge the existing structures. In exploring the lives of the female reporters at Telangana Today, I have, within the scope of the study, developed an understanding of how the discriminatory beliefs within the newsroom have affected the female reporters. I have also seen how they challenge such beliefs, writing stories not always seen fitting the ‘soft’ news categories, allowing them to construct collective identities and create opportunities for themselves. I conclude that the safe space within the newspaper has helped create an aura of safety around the female reporters whilst providing powerful strategies for women to develop effective ‘voices’ in contexts where they are expected to subordinate their voices to men’s. | eng |