The Influences of Misogynist Online Harassment on German Female Journalists and Their

Home , Rape threat, Swatting

The Influences of Misogynist Online Harassment on German Female Journalists and their

Personal and Professional Lives

A thesis presented to

the faculty of

the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University

and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies of Leipzig University

In partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degrees

Master of Science in Journalism (Ohio University),

Master of Arts in Global Mass Communication (Leipzig University)

Nhi Le Vu Phung

August 2020

This thesis titled

The Influences of Misogynist Online Harassment on German Female Journalists and their

Personal and Professional Lives

NHI LE VU PHUNG

has been approved for

the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism,

the Scripps College of Communication,

and the Institute for Communication and Media Studies by

Victoria Leigh LaPoe

Associate Professor of Journalism

Scott Titsworth

Dean, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University

Christian Pieter Hoffman

Director, Institute for Communication and Media Studies, Leipzig University ii

Abstract

LE VU PHUNG NHI, M.S., Journalism; M.A., Global Mass Communication,

August 2020

3454453

The Influences of Misogynist Online Harassment on German Female Journalists and their

Personal and Professional Lives

Director of Thesis: Victoria Leigh LaPoe

Committee Members: Mario Haim, Kefajatullah Hamidi

Although female journalists persistently experience misogynist online harassment while doing their jobs, this topic has yet to receive significant attention in the German journalism landscape. As revealed through seven in-depth interviews with female,

German journalists, these experiences include accusations of attention-seeking, attacks against their appearance, discrediting their skills, infantilization, unsolicited images, misogynist slurs and even fantasies about sexual violence and rape. For intersectionally marginalized female journalists, such as Black women, women of color or Jewish women, these experiences are compounded by the addition of racist and anti-Semitic online harassment. As explained by the interviewees, the effects of this harassment are felt in their personal lives: It leads to mental exhaustion, self-doubt, getting used to it as well as to the adoption of additional safety precautions in one’s personal life. The harassment also impacts the professional lives of female journalists in the form of withdrawing from social media and/or certain topics, interruptions to one’s work, taking additional safety precautions at work and considerations of quitting one’s job. In iii

particular, the effects of misogynist online harassment impacted freelancing female journalists whose professional lives are generally more precarious than those of their salaried peers. As a result, all interviewees were unanimous in their demands for fundamental changes both within the newsroom and in society.

Dedication

This thesis is for all the women who persist.

Table of Contents

Page

Abstract ...... iii Dedication ...... v List of Tables ...... viii Introduction ...... 1 Literature Review...... 3 Female Journalists in Germany ...... 3 Harassment against Female Journalists in Germany ...... 4 Online Harassment and Online Misogyny ...... 5 Online Harassment and Online Misogyny against Female Journalists ...... 8 Misogynist Online Harassment Influences Personal Lives ...... 9 Misogynist Online Harassment Influences Working Practices ...... 10 Research Questions (RQ) ...... 12 Methodology ...... 13 Results ...... 22 Where Misogynist Online Harassment Was Experienced ...... 22 Types of Online Harassment ...... 23 Misogyny ...... 23 Racism...... 28 Anti-Semitism ...... 29 Death Threats ...... 30 Influences on Personal Life and Psychology ...... 30 Mental Exhaustion ...... 30 Self-doubts ...... 31 “Getting Used to It” ...... 32 Safety Precautions for Personal Life...... 32 Coping Mechanisms...... 33 Influences on Professional Life ...... 34 Withdrawal from Social Media ...... 35 Withdrawal from Topics ...... 36 vi Interruption of Work ...... 37 Fear for Career ...... 37 Safety Precautions at Work ...... 38 Quitting Journalism ...... 38 Precarious Freelancers ...... 39 General Influences on German Journalism ...... 40 Newsroom Awareness and Demands...... 43 More Awareness and Responsibility ...... 44 Less Click-Baiting ...... 45 More Staff ...... 47 Psychological Help ...... 47 Guidelines ...... 48 Broad Societal Demands ...... 49 Strengthening Democratic Values ...... 49 Internet Safety ...... 51 Discussion ...... 53 Limitations ...... 57 References ...... 59 Appendix: Interview Guide ...... 66

vii

List of Tables

Page

Table 1 Types of Journalists 1 ...... 16

viii

Introduction

“I find it very uncomfortable. Every time there is news coverage about death threats, I can see myself briefly thinking: ‘Well, normal.’ I don’t want to find that normal.

In fact, there should be coverage on every single of those threats to show at which level we are right now,” said Margarete Stokowski in her speech when she accepted the Kurt-

Tucholsky-Preis for committed and succinct literary works (Stokowski, 2019a).

Stokowski is “German feminism’s loudest voice” (Haberl, 2019) and well-known for her columns on sociopolitical issues. Her work often makes her the target of online harassment, rape and death threats (Stokowski, 2019b). She decided to shine a light on this problem by making online harassment and death threats against journalists and political authors and the lack of law enforcement and societal understanding the focus of her award speech. In that speech, she spoke about graphic death and rape threats and asked herself who those people are that constantly threaten and harass online. She concluded that she seldomly knows their names. Nevertheless, she is certain that harassers cannot bear to hear women’s and especially young women’s opinions or opinions of other marginalized groups. Stokowski made a connection between journalists, women and marginalized groups being mostly affected by harassment and attacks.

In fact, female journalists frequently face “sexist comments that criticize, attack, marginalize, stereotype, or threaten them based on their gender or sexuality” (Chen, et al.,

2018, p. 2) as a 2018 study found out. This thesis aims to draw attention to the exposure of female journalists to misogynist online harassment that results from their work and the simple fact that they are women. Female journalist’s perspectives are made visible through in-depth interviews. This study explores what kind of experiences female

journalists have had with online harassment and connected online misogyny. In particular, this thesis focuses on the intersection of discrimination and how female journalists of color, Black journalists and Jewish journalists1 experience online harassment because they are marginalized both in gender and race (Gardiner, 2018). It is the goal to answer how misogynist online harassment affects female journalists personally and professionally and to vocalize their demands for change. In doing so, this thesis contributes to the German journalism landscape where no broader discussion of gendered online harassment has taken place thus far.

1 Races are drawn from the interviewee’s indication about their race. 2

Literature Review

Female Journalists in Germany

When it comes to the gender relation in the general field of journalism, the situation in Germany seems relatively balanced. A 2016 study on journalists in Germany revealed that 40.1% percent of the sample was female but also stated that the typical

German journalist is “male, in his mid-forties, and holds a university degree in a field different from journalism or communication” (Hanitzsch, Steindl, & Lauerer, 2016, p. 1).

Women dominate the field of up-and-coming journalists and approximately half the staff at public broadcasting and private TV channels is female (Pro Quote Medien, 2018). But a recent study revealed that female journalists are especially underrepresented in leadership positions in German media. Leadership positions in only one media branch

(magazines) are balanced with 48.8% women in charge. Jobs like newsroom or program directors are male dominated where women hold as little as 10% of leadership positions in regional newspapers to a maximum of 37.7% in public broadcasting (Pro Quote

Medien, 2019).

Female experts heavily criticize these power mechanisms in German journalism.

Bascha Mika, editor in chief of the daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, said that those numbers are fatal because it is about more than leadership positions. According to her, journalism is supposed to fully and truthfully describe, analyze, interpret and comment on the conditions in the world but if women cannot make decisions in top positions a crucial view of the world is missing (Mika, 2019). The director of the Institute for Media Research in Rostock, Dr. Elizabeth Prommer explained that the visibility of 3

women always depends on who is in charge of creating news and that even mixed teams of women and men tend to decide like men, whereas only all-female teams change the perspective (Pro Quote Medien, 2018).

Harassment against Female Journalists in Germany

The hashtag #aufschrei (outcry) encouraged women to talk about their experiences with daily sexism on Twitter (Drüeke & Zobl, 2016). It developed after political editor Laura Himmelreich published an article about a working situation in early

2013 (Beitzer, 2013). Himmelreich was supposed to interview the then top liberal candidate who behaved unprofessionally, asked questions about the journalists personal life, made sexist jokes and even went so far as kissing her hands (Himmelreich, 2013).

Although the hashtag encouraged broad discussions about daily sexism in general, it did not lead to a specific discussion about sexism or even (sexual) harassment against female journalist.

It wasn’t until the #MeToo movement and investigative reporting that two cases of sexual harassment within the German news industry actually received significant public attention. (Backes, Beier, & Müller, 2018; Orosz, Röttger, & Löer, 2018). The first case was about the coordinator of TV movies at the German public broadcasting institution Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The coordinator allegedly sexually harassed six female journalists (Backes, Beier, & Müller, 2018). The second case was about a correspondent from the same news channel who sexually harassed two female journalists

(Orosz, Röttger, & Löer, 2018). As a reaction the German branch of Buzzfeed News carried out a survey asking German female journalists to participate and anonymously 4

share their experiences in the field to give broader insight (Müller, 2018a). Eighty journalists responded. A majority stated that they experienced verbal harassment, 20% stated that they experienced sexual harassment by mostly colleagues or superiors and sometimes interview partners. Rebecca Beerheide, spokeswoman for the feminist media

NGO Journalistinnenbund, criticized that, with the exception of a single news outlet, all others had yet to establish complaints offices for harassment (Müller, 2018b).

In May 2019, Buzzfeed News broke a story about a reporter at the Berlin daily newspaper Tagesspiegel who allegedly stalked and sexually harassed young female journalists at the news outlet (Müller, 2019). One victim described that the reporter had a system, approaching especially young and new female journalists with little working experience or contacts within the news outlet itself. Nobody dared to openly speak about it since the man is friends with other males in high positions at the newspaper and because the women feared for their jobs (Müller, 2019). Since the cases went public, the chief editors sent the accused on leave and hired an ombudswoman. One witness told the author of the story that journalists are talented at identifying social injustice in other spheres of life but are rather blind for their own industry. The witness hoped that the story will lead to further discussions about sexual harassment at other news outlets

(Müller, 2019).

Online Harassment and Online Misogyny

Online misogyny is a broad concept within a political context and captures effects of online abuse such as chilling, silencing or self-censorship effects (Ging & Siapera, 2018).

Therefore, the concept of online misogyny is used as the guiding theory tool in this 5

thesis. Online misogyny involves harm, “either directly in the form of psychological, professional, reputational, or, in some cases, physical harm; or indirectly, in the sense that it makes the internet a less equal, less safe, or less inclusive space for women and girls”

(Ging & Siapera, 2018, p. 516). The goal is to dominate, silence and control women

(Mantilla, 2013) and to “correct” them through violence (Moloney & Love, 2018).

Online misogyny or as Jane calls it “e-bile” is a form of expressing disagreement with and/or disapproval of women and goes as far as graphic rape and death threats (Jane,

2014). Women can be attacked regardless of whether they identify as feminist or if they are famous. Working in the public eye or being out there simply as a social media user can be enough to be targeted (Megarry, 2014). But online misogyny affects especially any woman who is perceived “as publicly questioning or disrupting gendered power relations” (Ging & Siapera, 2018, p. 519) and focusses on issues like sexism or racism

(Hackworth, 2018).

Online misogyny is inseparable from manhood and its performance in online spaces

(Moloney & Love, 2018). Manhood is performed in so called manhood acts which include the creation of homosocial, heterosexist space, the sexualization of women, the indication of the possession of a heterosexual, man’s body and humor as a tool of oppression (Moloney & Love, 2018).

According to Jane, online misogyny is widely spread because of two simple reasons: men holding a disproportionate share of political, economic and social power that enables them to keep women “in place” and because the current norms of the internet including new technologies and mob dynamics enable them to do so (Jane, 2017). She concludes 6

that “misogynists have never had so many opportunities to collectivise and abuse women with so few consequences. Female tragets have never been so visible and instantly accesible in such large numbers” (Jane, 2017, p. 51). It means that the internet provides the perfect dynamics for misogynists to harass women.

Online harassment is an umbrella term that includes a number of harassing online behaviors such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, denial of service attacks, doxing, hacking, threats, message bombing, nonconsensual, intimate images and videos, online impersonation, sexual online harassment, trolling and swatting (PEN America, n.D.). The danger of online harassment also lies in its ability to spread fast and across continents and because of its ability to stay online (McKenzie, 2016). When it comes to sexual online harassment and cyberstalking, women are stronger exposed to it than men (Staude-

Müller, Hansen, & Voss, 2012).

Discussing online harassment against women cannot only take place from a gendered perspective but must include diverse perspectives, especially when women get marginalized because of more than their gender. Based on Hackworth’s (2018) plea for an intersectional view of online harassment against women, this thesis considers multilayered forms of discrimination that can occur in online harassment against women because of factors like race, sexuality or sexual identity.

Building on the reviewed literature this thesis will refer to online harassment against female journalists as misogynist online harassment. In addition to the phenomenon of online harassment gender must be emphasized as a crucial factor to understand women’s experiences. The term tries to distinguish from other hateful online 7

phenomena such as cyberstalking and cyberbullying that are not gender-specific (Ging &

Siapera, 2018) and do not have a certain “sexual” nature (Powell & Henry, 2017).

Online Harassment and Online Misogyny against Female Journalists

Being online is a part of the job for most journalists. Therefore, female journalists face misogynist online harassment on a regular or even daily basis (Ferrier, 2018). They are targeted as both women and as public personas. Taking place mostly digitally, online harassment is not a new form of misogyny, but an extension of what female journalists experienced in their profession before. In the past hate was directed at women journalists through “handwritten letters or [threats] over the landline” (Hagen, 2016, p. 17). Female journalists are especially exposed to online harassment since they “face specific gender- related dangers, including sexist, misogynist and degrading abuse; threats; intimidation; harassment and sexual aggression and violence” (European Union Agency for

Fundamental Rights, 2016).

A recent study by the Committee to Protect Journalists surveying female and gender non-conforming journalists in the U.S. and Canada found that 90% of American journalists regarded online harassment as the biggest threat in their work life (Westcott,

2019). Harassment included unsolicited sexual messages on social media platforms as well as threats of violence, rape, and death. The aim of attacks is “to intimidate, sow disinformation, discredit the journalist and the news media, and create significant professional harm” (Ferrier, 2018, p. 6).

The problem of online harassment against female journalists is not a newly discussed phenomenon but one that human rights organizations as well as other media 8

focused non-profit groups have been concerned with for years. A study by Amnesty

International focusing on hateful tweets received by female journalists and politicians found that women get attacked every 30 seconds on Twitter (Amnesty International,

2018). Due to the rise of nationalism and the use of digital networks to thwart political processes online attacks became more visible and coordinated since 2013 (Ferrier, 2018).

Female journalists are confronted with the so-called double bind of silence and shame.

Double binds simplify social complexity and describe women being in situations where they are “damned if they do and damned if they don’t” (Jamieson, 1995, p. 4). The silence and shame double bind describes that women stay powerless if they remain silent but get shamed or throughout history have even been punished if they decide to speak out

(Jamieson, 1995). This applies to female journalists that experience online harassment. If they stay silent, they cannot do their jobs and certain perspectives and topics in journalism get lost. If they are visible and vocal in their job they get punished and attacked through misogynist online harassment.

Misogynist Online Harassment Influences Personal Lives

Online harassment can have a severe impact on female journalists and their mental well-being. Female journalists from Norway described the harassment as “dire and humiliating” (Hagen, 2016, p. 19). Adams (2018) analysis of female technology journalists’ experiences with sexual abuse led to many respondents stating that they suffered from panic attacks and mental illness, wishing it would stop and mentioning that they are less vocal. One respondent wrote that she learned to keep quiet in order to reduce abuse. Westcott (2019) found that the spectrum of psychological consequences can 9

include anxiety, nervousness and even paranoia. The anticipation of an attack can be another form of psychological stress. Journalists delete their professional as well as their personal accounts on social media in order to distance themselves (Westcott, 2019).

Misogynist Online Harassment Influences Working Practices

Female journalists change their journalistic working practices as a result of online harassment. “Self-censoring” includes stopping to write about or actively avoiding certain topics (Adams, 2018). Refraining from job-related activities ranges from avoiding online contact, reducing the creation and sharing of media content and withdrawing from reporting or social media (Ferrier & Garud-Parker, 2018). Gardiner (2018) came to similar results stating that journalists changed their angles in their stories or even refused assignments in fear of abuse. Female journalists report harassment and threats “disrupted journalistic routines and stole their ‘easiness’ while working” (Chen, et al., 2018, p.

13).Journalists change their behavior in ways like no longer reading comments, staying away from the public debate and even considerations of leaving the job (Adams, 2018).

The thought of leaving journalism as a working field due to online harassment occurs especially among young female journalists (Everbach, 2018; Ferrier, 2018). Attacks against female journalists are not only against the women themselves but can be understood as attacks against freedom of the press (McKenzie, 2016).

The intersectionality of discrimination is no exception when it comes to harassing comments against journalists. Compared to men, female, Black, Asian as well as other minority ethnic journalists are attacked more than their male counterparts (Gardiner,

2018). This means that female journalists can face online harassment because of their 10

gender and additionally because of other factors like their race or sexuality. Women of color are 34% more likely to receive abusive messages than white women. With 84% more likeliness of being attacked compared to white women, Black women are targeted in a disproportional way (Amnesty International, 2018).

This intersection of discrimination has been visible in cases like the one of former newspaper columnist, now university dean Michelle Ferrier who received hate mail that was focused on both her gender and her race since she is a Black woman, resulting in her leaving her job (Ferrier & Garud-Parker, 2018) or the case of weekly columnist Ada

(name changed by author of study) who left her job after receiving rape and death threats and racist hate mail (Ferrier, 2018).

Research Questions (RQ)

The literature review led to the following research questions:

1) What kind of misogynist online harassment do German female journalists experience?

2) How does misogynist online harassment affect journalists of color or otherwise intersectionally marginalized women?

3) How does misogynist online harassment affect female journalists in their personal life?

4) How does online misogyny affect female journalists in their professional work?

5) What implications does this have for female voices in German journalism in general?

Methodology

Instead of analyzing hateful comments or the intentions of harassers, this thesis focusses on female journalists as subjects as well as on the effects of online misogyny on their personal and professional lives. The goal is to understand the women’s perspectives and to make them visible. The aim of understanding the social reality and considering gender and race as important factors make this thesis a part of feminist research which is concerned with asking new questions, focusing on women’s concerns and standpoints, stressing the importance of empowerment and creating a more socially just world (Hesse-

Biber, 2010).

In order to let affected journalists tell their stories and get their perspectives heard, this thesis relied on interviews. The chosen method was the in-depth interview (also called intensive interview) which seeks to understand “lived experiences,” is used as a tool to “explore a particular topic and gain focused information on the issue from the respondents” (Hesse-Biber, Feminst Research Practice, 2007, p. 115) and is described as

“issue-oriented” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006, p. 120). The in-depth interview aims to obtain a grasp of usually hidden opinions less visible in our society as it is “useful for accessing subjugates voices and getting at subjugated knowledge” of “those who have been marginalized […]” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006, p. 123). The tool therefore serves the aim of this thesis: making the perspectives visible of those who are at the receiving end of misogynist online harassment, focussing on the topic and its effects.

Seven female journalists were interviewed. This number was random and marks a saturation point that was aimed at. The saturation point occurred after the journalist’s 13

statements became repetitive and patterns were detectable. The size of the sample is typical for the scope of a master’s thesis as well as for in-depth interviews since the goal is to look at the individuals attributed meanings instead of generalizing (Hesse-Biber,

2007). So far, there has only been one study dealing with the topic of female journalists and their experiences with online misogyny where the perspective of German journalists has been included (Chen, et al., 2018). It was therefore not the goal to state that female journalists face online misogyny but to explore how they experience it.

The recruited journalists were women that have publicly talked about their experiences with online misogyny within their work life. Therefore, the main factor for selection was if they have had experiences with online misogyny because of their occupation without regards to their beat, status or years in the industry. Most of them were known through personal contacts within a vast network of female journalists mostly created through Twitter and shared interests. Additional journalists were selected through recommendations resulting in the sample becoming a snowball sample. Each woman was directly approached to participate via email. There was no open call for participation.

Since this thesis is interested in the experiences with online misogyny the research circles around this certain topic. The conduction of the interviews was therefore supported through an interview guide. “An interview guide is a set of topical areas and questions that the interviewer brings to the interview” (Hesse-Biber, 2007, p. 117). The guide served as a structure to make sure that all explored topics would be covered but there was room for spontaneity. Since there was a focus on the interviewees and their responses, flexibility was a requirement. After putting the interview guide together, the 14

guide and other information was submitted to the institutional review board (IRB). After seven rounds of reviews the IRB approved this thesis to be carried out. Due to being an

IRB requirement, a consent form including a briefing about the interview’s procedure was prepared and sent to the interviewees ahead of the interview.

Some interviews were carried out in person, face-to-face. Interviewees were met in a place of their choice to make them feel as comfortable as possible while talking about the critical topic. Other interviews that were less accessible or had to be re- scheduled spontaneously were conducted via Skype. All interviews were recorded with the iPhone recording app, making it easy to store the records on a secure multi-factor locked device. All interviews were transcribed in Microsoft Word.

Overall, seven women with different backgrounds, status of employment and years of working experience were interviewed. The journalists and their information are broken down in the following table. Due to reasons of anonymity, their age was categorized in age groups from 20-25, 25-31, 32-37 and 38-43 to keep the exact age under wraps.

Table 1

Types of Journalists 1 Journalist Age Years of Status Field Ethnicity Type of

group work outlet

experience employed

1 20-25 Three Freelancer Print Jewish Freelancer

for mostly

nationwide

online and

magazines

2 26-31 Five Freelancer Print White Freelancer

for mostly

nationwide

outlets

Table 1 Continued 3 26-31 Fourteen Freelancer Print, White Freelancer

radio for

and TV nationwide

print, radio

and TV

outlets

4 26-31 Nine Permanently Print White Nationwide

employed print

newspaper

with

approx.

250

employees,

nationwide

audience

Table 1 Continued 5 26-31 Permanently Online Black Nationwide

employed and print online

magazine

with

approx. 20

employees,

nationwide

audience

6 26-31 Three Newly Print, Black Freelancer

freelancer, radio for

Previously and TV nationwide

permanently print, radio

employed and TV

outlets

Table 1 Continued

7 38-43 Fourteen Freelancer Online Of Color Freelancer

and print for mostly

nationwide

online

magazine

with

approx.

1000

employees,

nationwide

audience

The data analysis was conducted with the qualitative analysis software

MAXQDA. The software allowed for direct work within the transcripts and the attachment of respective codes. Codes were created in two different ways. Codes for general topics were retrieved from the research questions, for example one question asks for the influence of misogynist online harassment on the journalist’s personal life. This led to the coding category “influence on personal life.” Sub-categories helped to differentiate between different aspects of one topic and were drawn directly from the

interviewee’s statements. The procedure resulted in nine codes for nine topics drawn from the research questions and interview questions. The codes are “topics drawing misogynist online harassment,” “where misogynist online harassment was experienced,”

“types of online harassment,” “influences on personal life/psychology,” “influences on professional life,” “influences on journalism in general,” “newsroom awareness and support,” “demands for newsrooms” and finally “broad societal demands.”

Although this thesis seeks to analyze misogynist online harassment, the category

“types of online harassment” is named generally. The coding category has four sub- categories (“misogyny,” “racism,” “anti-Semitism” and “death threats”) with further sub- categories to do the multi-marginalized women’s experience justice.

Five coding categories have an elaborated set of sub-categories. These are the following: “types of online harassment” with the sub-categories “misogyny,” “racism,” and “anti-Semitism” and “death threats.” “Influences on personal life/psychology” with the sub-categories “mental exhaustion,” “self-doubts,” “getting used to it,” “precautions for personal life” and “coping mechanisms.” “Influences on professional life” with the sub-categories “withdrawal from social media,” “withdrawal from topics,” “interruption of work,” “fear for career,” “precautions at work,” “quitting journalism” and “precarious freelancers.” The category “demands for newsroom” with the sub-categories “more awareness and responsibility,” “less click baiting,” “more staff,” “psychological help” and “guidelines.” Finally, the category “broad/societal demands” included the sub- categories “strengthening democratic values” and “internet safety”.

In the analysis some coding categories were merged to fit the description of the results. The coding category “where misogynist online harassment was experienced” fell under the analysis of “types of online harassment” to describe the subject. The coding category “newsroom awareness” was incorporated into the analysis of newsroom awareness and resulting demands. The results are presented in the following chapter.

Results

Where Misogynist Online Harassment Was Experienced

The women reported that they received harassing messages and comments in any digital form mostly in three ways: 1) Indirectly in comment sections of their news outlets or the social media platform of the news outlet, 2) directly on social media platforms where the journalists were available, via mention, comment or direct message and via email and 3) in articles, comments or even videos on other platforms that were specifically created about the women and their work.

Harassing comments targeting the women but not being addressed directly were usually found in comment sections, either on the news outlet’s websites or on their social media channels.

Harassment took place on any kind of social media platform the journalists were available including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the latter being the platform with the most severe harassment. Messages on social media were not limited to text form. One interviewee said that she received audio messages on her private Instagram page, sent by teenagers who insulted her and her work. Harassing emails triggered a specific kind of shock and fear for the respondents because it signaled more effort that the senders were willing to undergo in order to harass the women because taking the time to find the right email address was seen as more complicated and threatening than just writing a comment on social media. One print journalist said: “My email address is available on my public

Facebook page. But it worries me that a person would take the effort to create a fake

address in order to write threatening or paternalistic mails. It worries me because it's just different than somebody writing a misogynist tweet or an ugly comment on Facebook.”

The third way women were harassed was on other platforms in comments, articles or videos that aimed at discrediting the journalists and their work by usually using misogynist and racial slurs as well as violent fantasies. The creators of the discrediting or violent content were usually parts of a right-wing bubble or at least showed affection for right-wing ideologies. A Black journalist and her work were discredited in a video by a right-wing YouTuber. A journalist that covers right-wing politics and movements reported that an article about her appeared on a right-wing blog. The commenters of the article fantasized about her getting raped.

Types of Online Harassment

“They like to harass you for who you are” said one print journalist when asked about her experiences. The statement was confirmed throughout the interviews with the participants. The women experienced gender-specific online harassment. Intersectional discrimination affecting women of color, Black women or Jewish women was also expressed online. Therefore, this chapter will discuss the forms of misogynist harassment and additionally racist and anti-Semitic harassment that multi-marginalized women experienced.

Misogyny

RQ1: What kind of misogynist online harassment do German female journalists experience?

The interviewees recalled various forms of misogyny, emphasizing that they were often attacked because of their gender or that their gender was the base of insults and slurs. Misogynist online harassment ranged from accusations of attention seeking, attacks against their appearance, infantilization, discrediting skills, sending unsolicited images, misogynist slurs and fantasies about sexual violence or rape threats. Sometimes different forms correlated. Regardless of the form of misogynist harassment the women always emphasized that they thought that similar things would never happen to their male colleagues.

Accusation of Attention Seeking. The accusation of attention seeking is a subtle form of misogyny since it does not use any slurs or sexist comments. Instead, it aims to delegitimize the work of female journalists by questioning its substance and motives. One journalist who works in print and on TV said: “There are a lot of people who think that I just want to be important. They often accuse me of demanding a special status and attention for myself.” Another multimedia journalist was accused of only seeking attention when she developed a podcast with her female colleague. Male colleagues accused them of attention-seeking and questioned their knowledge and expertise. The discrediting of skills will be analyzed in a separate chapter.

Attacks Against Appearance. The focus on the journalist’s appearance mainly occurred when they worked in front of the camera. One Black journalist said that this kind of exposure would quickly lead to harassing comments about her looks: “I think whenever a woman stands in front of a camera, she will experience harassment quickly.

There were comments about my body, my voice, my hair, my make-up. There is a whole 24

spectrum of not necessarily inhuman but sexist comments.” Another Black journalist experienced comments about her appearance but did not find it necessarily harassing but rather discrediting. Men questioned her experiences by saying that she was pretty, claiming that pretty people could not have negative experiences in their life whenever she wrote about discrimination in society.

Infantilization. The journalists experienced infantilization when they were disrespected, not taken seriously and often referred to as “Mädel,” a girl or girlie. The harassers tried to diminish them: “They degrade me, called me girl or girlie. I am an adult woman in my thirties. I've never experienced it before that a male journalist was called a boy.” One print journalist reported that she was accused of being too young, therefore not having enough experience to write about certain topics. An online journalist recalled severe racist and misogynist attacks against a colleague and was wondering if people came for her because she looked young, friendly and harmless. Infantilization usually went together with discrediting the journalist’s skills. A Black journalist, working for print and TV reported about a special form of infantilization where men became patronizing, thinking that she would need a protector: “Men seem to have the feeling that me criticizing society stems from the need of a boyfriend. It's paternalizing but also molesting.” Those comments quickly turned into flirts when men wanted to “help” her by asking her out, thinking “they had so much to tell me and that there is so much they know about my topics.”

Discrediting Skills. Discrediting skills was the form of misogynist online harassment that the women experienced mostly, often mixed with infantilization, insults 25

or misogynist slurs. The interviewees recalled cases of discrediting their journalistic skills, knowledge or expertise. It mostly occurred when readers did not like the articles or disagreed with the content and resulted in the accusation of wrong research and a lack of skills:

They accused me of being unprofessional because I am a woman. They said I

can't work or do research correctly and that I was too emotional. It was the classic

narrative of the "silly bimbo" without any skills and that nobody should take me

seriously.

One journalist with fourteen years of work experience in print, TV and radio detected a typical double standard between the perception of men and women because she had the feeling that a man would not be accused of lacking expertise regardless of his knowledge while she, a journalist with almost fifteen years of work experience was often called a rookie. Discrediting skills and expertise occurred whenever women wrote about topics regarding their identity or wrote from their perspectives as women, or specifically as

Jewish women or Black women. In those cases, they often had to deal with comments like: “This girl doesn’t know what she is talking about,” a mixture of discrediting skills and infantilization.

Unsolicited Images. One multimedia journalist reported that a man molested her, sending an unsolicited image of his genitals. She recalled the incident:

It was the first and luckily only time I received a dick pic. It's absurd but I as a

woman on social media always knew that this could happen. I was more surprised

than I would have thought, it was so disgusting. I was at work and my colleague’s 26

reaction was additionally shocking. My male colleagues found it funny and said

that I should see it as a compliment.

She said that she was especially shocked because it became obvious that her male colleagues did not understand the power structures between the sender and her. She found the act disgusting but also intimidating.

Misogynist Slurs. Whenever the women were directly insulted, those insults were gender-specific and misogynist. The women reported being called “sluts,” “dumb cunts,”

“pussies” and “whores.” In one case, a print journalist was called “Lügenschlampe,” meaning lying slut. The accusation of being a lying journalist stems from the historical far-right term “Lügenpresse” (lying press) that found its way back into the discourse through the German nationalist and far-right movement “Patriotic Europeans Against the

Islamisation of the Occident – Pegida.” The interviewee was insulted as being a part of the “lying press” in combination with a misogynist slur. She also recalled other cases where she was accused of being too emotional, too dumb and therefore unskilled. The harasser connected emotionality with the sexist stereotype of women having mood swings while being on their period. The comment read: “Those broads seem to have premenstrual syndrome again!”

Fantasies about Sexual Violence and Rape Threats. The most misogynist form of online harassment was expressed in fantasies about sexual violence and rape threats.

Four women reported about men threatening them with sexual violence or explicitly fantasized about them experiencing sexual violence or rape. It was usually the same context that mostly right-wing users or sympathizers fantasized about the women getting 27

raped by either refugees or “Islamists.” These fantasies about sexual violence connected misogyny against the women and racism against refugees and Muslims.

Racism

RQ2: How does misogynist online harassment affect journalists of color or otherwise intersectionally marginalized women?

Black and journalists of color experienced racist online harassment on top of misogynist harassment. They experienced othering, were told to “go back where they came from” and racist slurs. A special form of racism that occurred was anti-Muslim racism. It is important to note that for these journalists most harassment has been intersectional, meaning that misogyny and racism correlated.

Othering. Journalists experienced othering when they were denied being seen as

German or a part of German society because of their ethnicity. One woman of color said:

“I am perceived as a woman and a migrant. Often there is no willingness to acknowledge my articles as contributions from a woman in this society, as a view from inside.” She was rather seen as a foreigner or a guest and was even told that she could never be a part of the German society. Her articles were not perceived as a German criticizing society but as a foreigner blaming and even hating Germans. A Black journalist recalled similar events. Whenever she wrote about being Black in Germany, including racism, she was accused of being a racist towards white Germans herself.

“Go Back Where You Came From”. This category draws from othering but includes more aggression towards the women. Every woman of color, Black women and women with a migration backgrounds was told to “Go back where she came from” in 28

different varieties. They were denied being a German but should instead leave the country although every woman considered herself as a German. This racist pattern became even clearer when directed at Black journalists that were told to “go back to

Africa.”

Racial Slurs. Harassers did not hold back with using racial slurs and insults.

Some insults were combinations of the mentioned forms above. One journalist of color said that a lot of messages contained things like: “Go home. Go back where you came from, you will never be a part of this society. Stop molesting us, you anti-German

Turkey-pig.” Black journalists reported that they were mostly insulted with the N-word.

One woman said that as an Afro-German and therefore Black woman, she experienced biologistic racism while she imagined other racialized groups usually experiencing insults targeting culture.

Anti-Muslim Racism. While Muslims do not form a race, they still experience racism, mostly consisting of cultural stereotypes. This is called anti-Muslim racism. One journalist is often perceived as Muslim and was therefore confronted with anti-Muslim harassment. She said that for some harassers Islam played a big role, especially when she experiences othering. “They say that I should be glad that I grew up in Germany and not among Islamists” equaling any Arab country as Islamist country. She was also accused of being an Islamist herself.

Anti-Semitism

One Jewish journalist reported that she experiences less gender-specific harassment but was attacked as a Jewish immigrant. It led to anti-Semitic harassment 29

against her. Her identity and knowledge about Judaism were questioned. She was accused of both right-wing and left-wing users of not representing “real Judaism.” Additionally, two non-Jewish journalists experienced anti-Semitic slurs as well. Harassers assumed them being Jewish because of their names.

Death Threats

This sub-chapter is specifically about death threats because they are the most dangerous forms of online harassment. Two journalists reported about receiving death threats, one Black journalist saying that they were always mixed with racist and misogynist fantasies. Comments directed at her fantasized about brutally killing Black people, called the N-word. Someone wrote: “I want to drown you in your mother’s period blood!” While anybody can receive death threats, she emphasized that this was highly gender-specific and would probably never be said to a man.

Influences on Personal Life and Psychology

RQ3: How does misogynist online harassment affect female journalists in their personal life?

After experiencing any kind of online harassment, every journalist reported on psychological and personal influences. Mental exhaustion was the most mentioned factor.

Other influences were self-doubts, “getting used to it” and taking extra safety precautions in one’s personal life. The interviewees also described their coping mechanisms.

Mental Exhaustion

The journalists listed many symptoms of mental exhaustion like stress, helplessness, despondency, fear, sadness, feeling overwhelmed, shame and anger. One 30

print journalist said that after feeling exhausted for two to three weeks after one attack, temporarily blaming herself, she eventually felt angry being harassed online for doing her job. Another woman with fourteen years of work experience said that the mental exhaustion also translated into physical symptoms like sleeplessness or stomach aches.

Stress and fear of future attacks usually occurred together and affected the respondents long after the incidents and after the end of the workday. One Black journalist described her ongoing fear like this:

You just can't control it. Hate speech doesn’t have any official operating hours so

you can't assume when the next attack will occur. It's not like you can open a

window and say: Alright, I'm ready to receive hate but then it's over, then I will

call it a day.

As a result, every woman claimed that her experiences made them anticipate attacks which influenced their personal but also professional life (next chapter). One print journalist added that she found the situation of mental exhaustion slightly gender-specific because she assumed that due to societal double binds, women tend to suffer more from mental health problems. While she emphasized that she did not thoroughly think about the topic she said that experiencing misogynist online harassment as a woman could be additionally burdening to other forms of discrimination that women face.

Self-doubts

One multimedia journalist said that the combination of having her skills discredited, being fetishized and at the same time infantilized led to massive self-doubts.

She said she has to remind herself that her opinion and expertise have a worth and that 31

“over and over again I've been told that regardless of what I say it doesn't matter. That really affects me. It influences my self-image as an expert.”

“Getting Used to It”

None of the respondents experienced online harassment only once. Constant harassment led the journalists getting used to the harsh tone and the possibility of receiving mostly misogynist and racist messages. One multimedia journalist said:

“Women and marginalized groups anticipate being harassed. It is neither normal nor special whenever somebody threatens me with sexual violence or any kind of violence, when they discredit my skills.” The journalist that read explicit rape fantasies about herself, said that she does not get shocked easily anymore because “there aren't many things as shocking as explicit rape fantasies.” It became clear that the journalists developed a high resilience that almost resulted in the downplaying of their own experiences. Often when reporting about misogynist and racist slurs aimed at them, they always said: “At least it was no death or rape threat. It can always be worse.” The white journalists emphasized that at least they are not women of color, which means that they do not experience racism. The woman of color said that at least she was not Black, referring to the harsh racism Black women experience.

Safety Precautions for Personal Life

Extreme cases of online harassment, often including violent fantasies led three journalists to take extra precautions in their personal lives. Two of them did so after receiving death threats and violent rape threats. In Germany it is possible to approach the local registration office and ask for any person’s address. A so-called “Adresssperre” 32

(address blockage) is the only way to prohibit this procedure. In order to prevent the registration office from handing out information about one’s address and to apply for the blockage, proposers have to prove that they are in danger. All three journalists did so successfully and while two of them had no complications, one print journalist reported that initially she had problems convincing the registration office about the urgency:

They didn’t think that email was threatening. (…) I left and felt completely

speechless. I cried a lot and found it so terrible that the authorities acted so

insensitive, basically saying that there is no real threat if nothing has happened

yet.

The fear of their home and addresses being found by their harassers led to additional precautions taken by the journalists. Two reported that they applied additional safety features like locks or deleted the impress of their website where their address could be found. The women were not only worried for themselves but for their families. One woman in her forties said that she imagined this being a primarily female fear: “Most women in their thirties and forties have children and of course they don't want to endanger them. I don't know if men, male journalists, have this same fear.”

Coping Mechanisms

The journalists were asked about their strategies and mechanisms to cope with experienced mental exhaustion, fear and self-doubts and how they dealt with the harassment itself.

Communication with other affected female journalists was named the most important coping mechanism. One print journalist said that she felt “strangely relieved” 33

when she found out that she was not the only victim of misogynist online harassment.

Some found it helpful to get positive feedback from their friends and family. Another print journalist, who mainly covers the far-right said that she also had to find strategies in her profession, not only writing about burdening topics but empowering topics as well or working in cultural fields like organizing festivals in addition to her main job as a journalist.

Regarding the harassment itself one journalist said that she tries to ignore everything, while another woman blocked a lot of harassers on social media. Others tackle it more directly by pressing charges when they thought the harassment was justiciable or posting screenshots of the harassment, trying to ridicule it to feel empowered. One print journalist felt like it was “almost therapeutic” to write polemics where she argued against her harasser’s comments.

Influences on Professional Life

RQ4: How does online misogyny affect female journalists in their professional work?

Experiencing any kind online harassment impacted every journalist in her work routines and therefore professional life. The journalists changed their social media usage, withdrew or at least considered withdrawing from writing about certain topics, had to stop working, feared for their career, took safety precautions when being on the job outside of the newsroom and considered quitting journalism. Freelancers felt the impact particularly and found themselves in a severely precarious situation.

Withdrawal from Social Media

Most harassment took place on the journalist’s social media platforms through direct messages or comments under their postings. The change of behavior on social media was often expressed through the loss of being interested in being online or a total withdrawal. Twitter was considered as being the harshest platform leading women to take pauses from it or avoiding it completely. The women felt a certain bitterness being

“chased away” from Twitter because they thought it was an important tool for journalists to be part of current discourses and expressing the own opinion. One woman, mostly working in print and TV said:

I have to admit that I’ve often deleted social media apps or that I’ve felt very

restricted when it comes sharing certain things. There’s a certain levity that’s

missing or that isn’t granted to me. I can’t assume that I won’t be harassed or that

I won’t invoke negative reactions. My method is staying away but it feels like I

can't socialize or connect. It's a sacrifice although I would like to participate in

discourses. I would like to be louder, but I’d rather avoid it than being attacked.

She said that she is not happy with the solution of withdrawal and acting harmless and not aggressively. She felt additional frustration that her restricted social media strategy is instrumentalized by people who like to silence others by referring to her as person handling things nice and quietly. Besides from withdrawing from social media, some women also changed their usage. After receiving an unsolicited image through a direct message on Twitter, one multimedia journalist closed her inbox. She expressed sadness about that action because as a journalist she wanted to be approachable. 35

Withdrawal from Topics

When it comes to the topics that draw the most harassing comments, every journalist said that it is any topic that questions societal norms and the status quo or in the words of one respondent: “Anything that questions societal hegemony and that is white, male, heterosexual, cis-gender and also wealthy.” Half of the women also mentioned that key topics are anything where the majority has to reflect their own behavior or feels attacked in their privileges. Topics that were specifically mentioned were identity, feminism, racism, anti-Semitism, socialism and antiziganism, a topic where “people don't seem to have any concerns expressing the cruelest hate and racism.” Three women emphasized that although it is important to consider what is covered, it seems even more crucial who is covering it. One journalist who mainly writes about local politics but also about feminism said: “My theory is that it is not even about the topics but about who is speaking. I'd say that it is more dangerous when you are not male, white and heterosexual” coinciding with another woman who said that she felt the more marginalized somebody is the more likely it is to be harassed.

As a change of working routines this means that journalists considered withdrawing from certain topics to avoid further harassment. A Jewish journalist said that she considered withdrawing from personal topics, feeling vulnerable as a Jewish immigrant woman. A journalist of color said that she considers which topics could draw harassment and that she weighs in whether she has capacities to deal with it. It resulted in being an influence on her choice of topics: “Approaching the weekend, I usually have other concerns. Then I write about things where I think that they are less triggering.” One 36

journalist usually covering the far-right said that she temporarily withdrew from the topic after far-right extremists harassed her online, posting pictures of her and threatening her.

Interruption of Work

Depending on the intensity of the attacks, journalists said that they had to interrupt their work because they had to deal with the harassment. One Black journalist reported that she once received hateful emails including racist and misogynist harassment for days. One day she received between 30 and 40 emails which resulted in her dealing with them for more than three hours, being unable to do her actual work like writing her articles.

Fear for Career

Misogynist but also racist online harassment led journalists to fear for their career in different ways. One journalist of color said that when she was attacked with misogynist and racist slurs for the first time, she thought her career was over. This state has changed since she got used to the harassment. Another journalist mostly working in print and TV expressed fear for her career in her future. She noticed that she as a Black journalist receives a lot of racist and misogynist harassment and usually doesn’t fight back in order not to look aggressive. She was afraid that her fighting back with comments could make her seem aggressive for future employers. She claimed it would be a double standard since men would not be perceived that way. Additionally, she was concerned about future chances of being employed in positions in front of the camera. In the past, her sole appearance led to misogynist and racist online harassment. She worried that

some newsrooms would find it too annoying or time-consuming to deal with harassment on their platforms, directed at her.

Safety Precautions at Work

The journalists took work-related precautions when they were outside of the newsroom. One woman, usually covering the far-right said that since she was harassed online, she always told others where she would go for research assignments and that she avoided meeting contact persons alone. She admitted that reporters should probably always act like this, but she only changed her behavior after receiving threats online.

Another interviewee working in print spoke about similar precautions like letting others know about her whereabouts or being picked up from the rail station when she was working in an area where she assumed online harassers could be present physically.

Quitting Journalism

By the time of the interview, no woman said that she actively considered quitting journalism but most of them had these moments in the past. One Jewish journalist said that she would not quit being in journalism completely but that she could imagine focusing on other fields and jobs where she felt less exposed:

To be honest, right now journalists and especially women, queer people, BIPoC

(Black and People of Color) and Jews are increasingly attacked in Germany. I

have to ask myself how much sense it would make to do this and if I really want

this. Is it worth it?

Precarious Freelancers

Initially not being a topic in the interview guide, it quickly became clear that online harassment in its various forms hits female freelance journalists harder. Unlike their permanently employed colleagues, freelance journalists lack supportive resources and financial stability which pose the biggest problems. The freelancers reported that when they came under attack, nobody in the newsroom seemed to feel responsible for them or offered help. One journalist that was permanently employed in the past but worked as a freelancer with a big publication for the past several years said that she feels like freelancers are “completely left behind” with their problems. Another freelancer said that if permanently employed she would hope for a supporting network in the newsroom.

As a freelancer, her support network consists of friends and other journalists that she has connected with privately – blurring the boundaries between private and professional life.

Another journalist worked as a freelancer in the past and was recently permanently employed at the time of the interview. She compared her situations saying that as a freelancer she always questioned her resources because she had to deal with problems as an individual. Although she had contacts at her media outlet, she did not have the support of an entire newsrooms which is the current state.

As analyzed in the previous chapter, all forms of online harassment influence the journalist’s psychology. This burden can result in economic problems for freelancers since being unable to work means being unable to earn money. After one attack, one freelancer working in print felt numb for two to three weeks. She experienced slight pecuniary injuries. Another one said: 39

It can lead to financial problems. I am sure that if I would have been permanently

employed, I would have called in sick earlier. I have to decide between calling in

sick and losing 200€ a day or pulling myself together. Usually I do the latter

because I don't want to lose money. It is astonishing that one tends to damage

one’s own mental health because of these financial constraints.

A permanently employed Black journalist expressed gratitude for her situation but said that she is an exception. In her opinion, most permanently employed journalists are white and belong to the middle class while marginalized people are usually in more precarious situations. For her, the inability to work means that those voices get lost. The journalist that switched from being a freelancer to permanent employment said that she felt it was difficult to work anonymously as a freelancer since one must get exposure for future assignments. For her, this led to greater vulnerability.

General Influences on German Journalism

RQ5: What implications does this have for female voices in German journalism in general?

The journalists said that the possibility of receiving misogynist or racist online harassment or so-called “shitstorms” leads to a lot of overthinking, being careful and the inability to work “freely” without concerns. The biggest problem was the silencing of mostly women, marginalized voices and anybody who felt too threatened to continue working. One Jewish journalist said that journalists and especially marginalized journalists need to have a thick skin and that not everybody can deal with the pressure.

One print journalist stated: 40

I think that there are a lot of people that feel intimated and that are afraid. It can

be dangerous to write certain articles or not. I'm sure that there are some people

thinking: "Now more than ever" but I guess these people are privileged. Then

there are people who just can't do that because they fear for their life. It influences

our debates, the discourse and therefore journalism, too.

A Black journalist expressed concerns that the awareness of women and minorities receiving more discriminatory online harassment led to newsrooms mostly offering jobs to white men where the risk of attacks is perceived lower. She was worried that the online harassment could be perceived as an unwanted distraction:

I am concerned that especially in political journalism people don't want to risk a

shitstorm that a female or non-white person could receive. They just usually get

attacked. I feel like this it's perceived as a distraction, so they just hand the jobs to

men. It's interesting that the ARD (public broadcaster) Islam expert is a white

man. I'm just wondering why that is. Why don't they have more journalists with a

Turkish background covering Turkish politics? They are out there but maybe

some newsrooms think that they are too subjective or would draw online

harassment and they are afraid of that. To me it feels really imbalanced.

One journalist that also worked as social media editor indeed said that the possibility of being harassed led to changes in her work routine:

Social media editors always wonder if the content is appropriate for their

platforms. We do ask ourselves if this could be interesting for our target group.

We always think about incoming reactions and if it's a good idea to post 41

something toward the weekend where there are only one or two people in the

newsroom. A shitstorm would be too much for them. We ask ourselves "Should

we post this tomorrow or maybe not at all because we simply couldn't handle it?"

Finally, one freelance print journalist voiced concerns about the influence of right-wing values in the media discourse. She referred to an incident at the public broadcaster

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) at the beginning of 2020. In November 2019 a WDR satire radio show referenced Greta Thunberg’s speech at a climate conference and had children singing a reworked version of the children’s song: “Meine Oma fährt im

Hühnerstall Motorrad” (my grandma drives her motorbike in the henhouse). The new version was: “Meine Oma ist ‘ne alte Umweltsau” (my grandma is an old environmental pig) referring to environmentally pollutive behavior. Another WDR channel used this song again, had it sung by a children’s choir, broadcasted this version on Christmas and posted a video of it on Facebook. The video was found by right-wing trolls on Twitter who caused a shitstorm. Investigative journalists and data analysist found out that only

500 accounts were responsible for most interactions regarding the Hashtag #umweltsau

(Kreißel, 2020). It is said that a small circle of active right-wing users caused a huge outrage. WDR deleted the video, the intendant fully apologized. Many journalists criticized the channel for buckling under the pressure of a shitstorm created and coordinated by a group of well-connected right-wing trolls. Some journalists say that

WDR fell for so-called astroturfing, a coordinated campaign that appears to originate from a grassroot movement or in this case broad society (Altland & Kirfel, 2020). The

case led to protests by neo-Nazis in front of the channel’s building and even death threats.

She said:

This WDR case is a bitter example. They deleted a video because Nazis

complained and even apologized. This is fatal for journalism. Of course, there are

right-wing media outlets, but I am concerned that the mainstream media will

pander to the right-wing discourse.

Newsroom Awareness and Demands

According to the interviewees, newsroom awareness about the possibility of online harassment and specifically about misogynist online harassment towards female journalists varied strongly. Only one journalist who works as a reporter in print reported that she felt like there was awareness in her newsroom and that she was strategically supported when she got attacked. Every other woman had mixed feelings. Some said that newsrooms had awareness but that it did not translate into actions, some said that they felt like there was zero awareness resulting in being overwhelmed when female journalists came under attack. One journalist that occasionally works as social media editor found it important to distinguish between the awareness of community managers who have to keep an eye on comment sections and staffers like editors and other journalists, naming the latter of being more ignorant. When specifically asked about male colleague’s perceived awareness about women experiencing misogynist online harassment, most said that it depended on the colleagues but the majority being oblivious to the problem. Two journalists with different years of work experience said that they felt like male colleagues had more empathy when they were experiencing discrimination 43

themselves like racism or homophobia but that it still was not the same like misogyny. In general, every woman said that the situation regarding awareness could improve.

These feelings led to four major demands: 1) a rising awareness within newsrooms that includes taking responsibility, 2) less click-baiting, 3) more staff, 4) psychological help and 5) emergency guidelines in case of occurring online harassment.

More Awareness and Responsibility

The low perceived awareness led to the simple demand that newsrooms should have a higher awareness regarding the risks of online harassment and especially misogynist and also racist online harassment. Editorial boards and other people in leadings positions were mentioned as a special group who would need training to raise awareness. Especially freelancers felt that there was a discrepancy between the ones in charge, not being involved in the daily events and the journalists “in the field.”

Awareness should then be spread top-down, meaning that new, especially female employees should be warned about the possibilities of online harassment and its gender- specific, misogynist forms by the ones in charge. One journalist that has a lot of exposure due to her working for a big online news outlet said:

My newsroom tries to encourage women to write more opinion pieces and to

actively engage in political debates. This means that they should also tell me

about the possible consequences. I need empowerment and moral support. They

can't act like the online harassment is not part of the job.

Workshops were mentioned as one possibility to raise awareness. These workshops would have to be ongoing and not a single instance since the women felt like harassment 44

mechanisms evolve constantly meaning that knowledge about it needs to be kept up-to- date. It would not be enough to hold a single workshop and then call it quits. One interviewee that experienced racist and misogynist online harassment for days pointed out that in Germany, employers have a so called Fürsorgepflicht (duty of care), that includes protecting the employee’s life and health. According to the interviewee, this duty of care should include awareness of online harassment and taking the responsibility to protect the victims by showing support.

The freelance journalist referring to the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) case stated that she wished for more awareness about “right-wing shitstorms” that a lot of

German media outlets had to face, recently:

News outlets need to know how right-wing shitstorms work and what to do when

they get attacked. There should be an awareness about what to do and how right-

wing attacks works. They meet on discords (chatroom-like platforms) and

coordinate their attacks. Sometimes there are fake accounts involved so it looks

like masses of people. Newsrooms need to know that shitstorms do no mirror

society as a whole but that they are often organized by right-wing trolls that want

to be perceived as society as a whole. This was the case at WDR.

Less Click-Baiting

Two journalists emphasized that some media outlets use clickbait articles to gain more page views and reckon with shitstorms, purposely taking the risk that journalists get harassed. One freelance journalist with three years of working experience said:

I do have the feeling that some articles are clickbait and they reckon with

shitstorms and harassment. I think that's a weird tendency. As a rookie in

journalism you often start writing for youth outlets and they have a lot of

emotional or scandalous topics. These can be triggering. I don't want to engage in

false victim blaming but I have the feeling that they do that on purpose so they

will get a lot of clicks. In my opinion, that's irresponsible.

Another journalist who worked in different areas like print, TV and radio stated that some newsrooms deliberately use marginalized voices to gain attention which poses a threat to the ones affected. She added that even some journalists think it is a good way to get attention or to promote the own work but warned that it’s a dangerous practice:

Female journalists experience more online harassment and sometimes this gets

weaponized. Our voices get instrumentalized for extra reach, it's a tactic. I think

that marginalized people need to be careful not to be instrumentalized so they will

trigger a certain dynamic. Some newsrooms like to take a topic and frame it

scandalously. Then they are like: Let the games begin! It's a short-sighted tactic

that a lot of newsrooms have but it also applies to some single journalists. They

think that they can bear some attacks and get a boost from it but at some point,

they notice that it's too much and then they feel exhausted.

The topic of clickbait was critically discussed by another journalist who, unlike the other two interviewees, said that she was against blaming the wording for possible harassment:

Some colleagues accused us of polarizing wording: "No wonder you got attacked,

this was a very harsh headline." I experienced this myself and I hate it because no 46

matter what you say, you don't deserve to be harassed and attacked like this. It's

victim blaming.

More Staff

Thirdly, the interviewees demanded more staff in different departments.

Community managers needed to be added so that harassing comments on the news outlet’s platforms could be deleted quickly. One intersectionally discriminated journalist reported that a “shitstorm” including misogynist and racist comments, some of them justiciable, was so intense that it lasted for days. She had her friends going through the comment sections but wanted people who are getting paid for doing that work to take the responsibility. It resulted in her asking her colleagues for help which resulted in tensions since managing the comment was a distraction from “actual” work tasks. She also demanded more staff within the legal department that should take responsibility pressing charges for the justiciable harassing comments. Only one journalist mentioned she felt well supported by her newsroom, especially because her outlet has a special department dedicated to detecting online harassment and other hateful content to unburden the recipient.

Psychological Help

The fourth general demand was professional psychological help or in-house counseling for those who have to deal with every kind of online harassment both community managers and journalists.

Guidelines

The fourth demand was named most often and is about guidelines for journalists that could be harassed online but should have a special focus on women and other marginalized groups. According to the interviewees such guidelines or codes should be mandatory for every news outlet. It would be important to know what to do in case of harassment since it is regarded as an extra burden when victims have to find this out by themselves. Every woman talking about that topic said that she would have needed such a guideline when she came under attack for the first time, feeling overwhelmed. Instead they had to look for help themselves, being surprised that their employers did not seem to be prepared enough for such cases. A “How to act and what to do when you get harassed online”-101 was suggested. One online journalist recalled a case of her colleague being doxed which she considers as the most severe form of online harassment. She said that especially in such cases there should be an emergency sheet with the most crucial phone numbers for first aid, attorneys and other relevant parties. She even went further and wished that there was a person in charge for help against online harassment:

Wouldn't it be great if there would be a person in charge regarding online

harassment, similar to sexual harassment? One could meet them for coffee and the

person would say: "Look, this is an organized shitstorm. Here is a fact sheet with

FAQs where you can learn more about it.” I would have found a guideline very

helpful.

Another respondent who experienced severe misogynist and racist online harassment stated that such a guideline was necessary and that she was fed up with colleagues feeling such precautions were exaggerated:

Whenever I complain about hate speech or want some measures to be taken, it

doesn't mean that I'm paranoid or super anxious. It's like driving a car and

fastening the seat belt. It doesn't mean that every time you enter a car, you will

crash but it’s a procedure. Nobody would ever say: "You don't need to be afraid;

we will only go 30km/h (18 mph)!"

Broad Societal Demands

When the journalists asked what changes, they would like to see to improve the situation for female journalists and make them less exposed to misogynist online harassment, not every demand concerned journalism or the newsroom. Most women had broad demands and emphasized that the problem of misogyny and online harassment against women was not solely a journalistic problem but a societal one. Therefore, most broad societal demands were about strengthening democratic values and the other ones regarded social media platform responsibility and safety online.

Strengthening Democratic Values

All women reported that they either assumed or were sure that most harassers belonged to a politically conservative, right-wing or even far-right spectrum. The Black and women of color emphasized that mostly right-wing users engaged in racist online harassment. The harassment was seen as a method to silence women and minorities within the media discourse. A procedure that also newsrooms should be aware of: 49

Some newsrooms claim to want more people of color, more diversity but there's a

price they have to pay. They need to protect us. If they want us to be part of the

discourse, they need to create a nice environment and take responsibility. A lot of

people don't think that far. We in journalism want to be the fourth estate and take

an important role in democracy but we don't live up to it if certain voices get lost.

Four women came to the conclusion that it is not a democratic climate if certain groups, mostly marginalized people feel too intimidated to speak out. One Black journalist found it especially ironic because in Germany, the politically right-wing spectrum claims that they are restricted in their freedom of speech for example when they are asked to stop using the N-word: “Apparently everybody feels restricted when it comes to freedom of speech. I'm wondering who really is affected by that. I have the feeling that I am restricted, I always get framed as radical although that has never been my intention.”

One journalist who identified as Jewish had similar concerns:

I have the feeling that there is a right-wing shift within the democratic discourse.

We are at a point where you can openly question democratic values. It leads to

difficulties for an open-minded society. What is that if I can't even express my

basic opinion without being harassed?

Some interviewees expressed ideas about how democratic values could be upheld and how anti-democratic views should be fought:

I think that some views should be openly problematized. I think that that works

well with anti-Semitism. We need to problematize it, so those values won't be

spread any further. I don't think that this way we will get rid of the problem but 50

maybe we can control it better. I am worried that we just get used to it. It speaks

volumes that I say that I am not that affected because I only received one rape

threat and a letter filled with white powder. This shouldn’t be the case.

Another interviewee who was confronted with rape fantasies against her stated that misogyny and therefore also misogynist online harassment stems from a toxic image of masculinity. In order to feel strong, this would lead to harassment of women and otherwise marginalized and “weaker” groups. She suggested teaching alternative images of masculinity. When it comes to society as a whole, she said:

I'd say that we need to work towards a society where people treat each other with

respect, empathy and solidarity. We need more solidarity towards marginalized

people. Right now, there is a lot of harassment and bullying and people do so, so

they can feel better, stronger or boost themselves.

Internet Safety

The other broad societal demand touched on the topic of internet safety, regulations and platform responsibility. The journalist that was insulted as a “lying slut” said it was irresponsible that obviously harassing or discriminatory content would get reported but not deleted since platforms claim it does not infringe on community standards:

Twitter and Facebook definitely need to work on their community standards.

There are a lot of people who get banned or blocked for no reasons and then there

are actors that just keep harassing others, and nothing ever happens to them. This

needs to change. 51

Another respondent, working as an online journalist, would like to see stricter law enforcement for online felonies:

The internet is not a place where the law doesn't apply, but it still feels like El

Dorado because there is not an active "internet police.” I am affected by online

harassment, sometimes I press charges but then I need to go to the police office

and sometimes they don't know how to handle things because it happened online.

The police need better strategies regarding the internet.

Discussion

This thesis confirmed what previous studies have already shown: Female journalist are subjected to misogynist online harassment due to their online presences as part of their job. The variety of misogynist online harassment spans from the accusation of attention seeking, attacks against one’s appearance, infantilization, discrediting skills, unsolicited images, misogynist slurs and fantasies about sexual violence and rape threats.

During an interview, one print journalist said: “They like to harass you for who you are.” While all women experienced mostly gender-specific online harassment, this thesis showed that multi-marginalized women like Black women, Jewish women or women of color were harassed in a misogynist and additionally racist or anti-Semitic way. They experienced intersectional online harassment whenever misogyny, racism and/or anti-Semitism was combined.

This thesis found that misogynist online harassment has severe influences on the journalists’ personal lives and psychology. They felt mentally exhausted, had self-doubts, got used to it and developed a high resilience and had to take precautions in order to protect their homes and families. The journalists reported that they developed different coping mechanisms like looking for other hobbies, side jobs where they could deal with empowering topics, wrote about their experiences, ignored them and mostly talked to other victims of online harassment.

The online harassment that female journalists experience impacts their professional lives and thereby journalism in general. The purpose of online misogyny, chasing women away from the discourse and eventually silencing them, worked 53

especially on social media where a lot of women reconsidered their usage of such platforms or reluctantly withdrew from them altogether. They also considered refraining from writing about certain topics in order to avoid being harassed, meaning that certain topics written from female perspectives become less present in German journalism. Two print journalists took extra precautions while working outside of the newsroom and a lot of journalists admitted that they considered quitting journalism in the past. Misogynist online harassment mostly impacted freelance journalists that, unlike their permanently employed colleagues, had less support and lived relatively precariously. Psychological impacts like mental exhaustion led to financial damage since they were not able to call in sick while still being paid but instead would lose money every day they did not work.

One freelancer said that she felt like freelancers were left behind since nobody felt the responsibility to care for them.

Taking responsibility is one of the demands that the journalists had for newsrooms in order to combat misogynist online harassment and online harassment in general. The biggest demand was raising awareness within the newsrooms and especially among those in charge like editor in chiefs and managers. Less click-baiting, more staff, psychological help and finally guidelines on how to act when harassed were other demands for change in journalism.

Finally, the journalists acknowledged that misogyny expressed through online harassment was not a single issue within journalism but a problem within society as a whole. They called for strengthening democratic values, teaching boys alternatives to

toxic masculinity and problematizing anti-democratic und harassing ideologies as well as more safety on the internet through police awareness and platform responsibility.

Online misogyny aims at intimidating and eventually silencing women to push them out of the discourse. Misogynist online harassment against female journalism targets women in the field of journalism. The results of this thesis show that female journalists changed their working routines and at some point, even considered quitting journalism. German journalism is not gender-balanced and gender-specific online harassment furthers this imbalance by chasing female journalists away from their profession. Diversity in voices and opinion would be lost. One Black journalist that experienced misogynist and racist online harassment for days said: “We in journalism want to be the fourth estate and take an important role in democracy but we don't live up to it if certain voices are lost.” She referred to the fact that marginalized people like people of color are usually attacked whenever they are exposed in public which leads to a withdrawal and a loss of diverse voices.

In Germany, more than half of the population is female (Statistisches Bundesamt,

2020) and 25% of the population has an immigration background, meaning that they themselves or their parents have been born with a nationality other than German

(Statistisches Bundesamt, 2019). This diversity is not represented in German newsrooms yet. As this thesis showed, misogynist online harassment can be a threat to female journalists and especially female journalists of color. It is a threat to the diversity of newsrooms and therefore the topics that will be picked up, the stories that will be written and the people that are represented. 55

The concluding chapter of Vickery and Eberbach’s book “Mediating Misogyny” includes one chapter with recommendations on how universities should act to protect researchers and students from online abuse (Vickery, et al., 2018). Their recommendations for researchers include raising awareness about the possibilities of online harassment due to one’s research within the current social environment and taking breaks from the topic. Being in the out-group as a researcher and in-group as an affected journalist of color led to advantages and disadvantages. While transcribing the interviews it became clear that the topic can impact one’s mental well-being. Especially listening to the participants’ experiences and how it affected them was touching and triggered my own experiences with misogynist online harassment in the field, but it also helped during the interview process when guiding the participants through the questions.

Limitations

The approach of this work was a qualitative one, aiming at making female journalists’ experiences with misogynist online harassment visible and possibly starting a conversation in the German journalism landscape in which the topic has yet to receive significant attention. The in-depth interviews with seven women provided explorative data from a small sample. Further research could expand the sample and include women with even more diverse and intersectional backgrounds like different types of women of color or queer and disabled women. In this thesis, all interviewed journalists belonged to a politically moderate, liberal or even left-wing spectrum. Another approach could include women from all political spectrums.

Since qualitative research usually produces non-representative data, further studies could build on the results but take a quantitative approach to find out how many female journalists experienced online harassment and especially misogynist online harassment. This thesis focusses on journalists as direct receivers of harassing messages within the news industry.

Further research should consider other members of the newsroom, for example community managers. One interviewed multimedia journalist that worked as a community manager as well, mentioned that she felt that this profession was understaffed and underappreciated. Community managers might not receive harassment against themselves personally but still have to deal with it through nonstop moderating. Research could focus on the mental influences.

Other relating studies can also concentrate on the attitudes of members of the newsroom who are in charge such as editors or managers and ask for their awareness of online harassment and who has to face it most. Research in this field can raise awareness and contribute to actions that ensure an encouraging system within newsroom structures, making affected journalists feel seen and supported.

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Appendix: Interview Guide

Interview guide:

Misogynist online harassment against female journalists in Germany

General questions about work as journalist

• What is your position (freelancer, staff writer)? • How long have you worked as a journalist? • What topics do you usually cover?

Experiences with online harassment and online misogyny

• Which incident do you remember the most? • Which ways do you get harassed online (Twitter, user comments on news outlets etc.)? • Which are the topics that usually lead to harassment? • What are the harassing comments about (attacks against work/personal attacks like appearance etc.)? • How do you experience online harassment as a woman? • (How do you experience online harassment as a woman of color?) • What people do you think usually engage in online harassment against you? Do you think that they are organized? Do you think they have specific political affiliations?

Impact on personal life

• How do you deal with online harassment? Do you have any strategies to cope with the attacks? • Is your personal environment aware of the online harassment you are exposed to?

Impact on professional life 66

• Did the exposure to online harassment and online misogyny lead to a change in your working routines? If so, can you please explain what changes you made? • Do you get support from your newsroom/editors? • Do you think that your newsroom/editors are aware of online harassment you face? • Do you think that your male colleagues are aware of the online harassment you face? • Did you ever consider leaving journalism as a profession?

Wishes and demands

• What needs to change in order to tackle online harassment, especially against female journalists? • What do you wish would change in journalism? • How do you think does online harassment impact journalism in Germany? • Is there anything you want to add or talk about?

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