Sports Journalism, Interns and #MeToo – did anything change?

Abstract

Norwegian news media were central actors in the dissemination of information about the #MeToo movement. Simultaneously, the media are made up of institutions and workplaces that are at times characterized by asymmetrical power relations. The aim of this article is to understand how those considered at the bottom of such power relations: young (female) interns in the sports journalism departments, experienced the effects of the #MeToo movement. Addressing the question if #MeToo changed anything, this article emphasizes the importance of combining the position that sexual harassment is not necessarily associated with a specific gender, at the same time recognizing that such harassment has first and foremost been part of a structural suppression of women. The article illustrates how facets of the journalistic culture and the myth of the “male genius” have marginalized those with unequal access to power in sports journalism, but also that the #MeToo movement has the potential to change this.