Whose news? Does gender determine the editorial product?

The study reported in this article is a survey of 16 female and 25 male editors in seven Israeli newspapers to examine how gender affects professional news selection. It rated the newsworthiness of 16 different general subject areas, 17 journalism selection criteria, and 24 'concrete' headlines as a simulation. Several editors were also interviewed in-depth. Ninety students of mass communications were surveyed as a control group. The findings indicate an absence of significant 'otherness' between female and male editors, both in newsworthiness criteria and actual practice similar to the control group. The article goes on to address possible reasons for the small number of Israeli women in editorial positions as well as the lack of gender distinctions regarding news values; personal, social economic and news consumption factors, rather than gender-related obstacles or organizational ethos, are implicated.