<i>One Woman Show:</i> Challenges facing women video journalists around the globe

<p dir="ltr">This practice-based research comprises an exegesis and a documentary film, <i>One Woman Show</i>. It addresses the challenges faced by women video journalists around the globe and explores their strategies for overcoming them.</p><p dir="ltr">Current literature in journalism studies tends to focus on the intersectionality of gender and journalism or race and journalism. However, from print media to broadcast news, journalism has many faces, and studies have used broad categorisations when exploring how gender or race generates additional hurdles for professional journalists. This study highlights the need to narrow issues to types of journalism and specific roles within media. Few studies specifically address challenges facing video journalists, and fewer consider the intersectionality of the profession with gender and race.</p><p dir="ltr">Through the lens of intersectionality and Feminist Standpoint Theory, this research engages with the lived experiences and perspectives of women video journalists (VJs) to examine how different identity markers impact their working lives.</p><p dir="ltr">This study recognises that discrimination is shaped not only by gender but also by identity markers such as race and might be influenced by other geographical and cultural specific factors. Therefore, in the first stage, I conducted 27 in-depth interviews with women VJs worldwide to conceptualise and understand their working lives. In the second stage, I invited four women VJs based in the Global South to conduct in-depth interviews and filmed observations, which became the documentary film <i>One Woman Show</i>. By not focusing only on the Global North, I challenge current Western bias and the male-dominant view of journalism.</p><p dir="ltr">This research produces original data that sheds light on the experiences of women video journalists in the field and in their private sphere at home. My findings indicate women VJs endure sexism and racism. Moreover, the documentary film contributes non-verbal information to the discourse and functions as a bridge between academia and industry, bringing critical awareness to the burdens women VJs carry.</p>