The government has been confronted by a constant flurry of fierce and forensic reporting about parliamentary culture over the past few months.
The pressure has largely come from female journalists, who’ve led coverage on sexual assault, publishing scoop after scoop.
But experts say there’s also been a chorus of “sexism” from some male commentators who’ve questioned the professionalism of some of the nation’s most skilled reporters.
Last week, the was accused by online critics of orchestrating a against senior press gallery journalist Samantha Maiden.
Ms Maiden broke several exclusive stories about claims of sexual assault, including an allegation from former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins that she had been raped by an ex-colleague inside Parliament House.
AFR journalist Aaron Patrick claimed Ms Maiden had a reputation for being “spikey” and “difficult” but praised her reporting as based on “copious facts, rather than opinion.”
Mr Patrick also spoke of “angry coverage that often strayed into unapologetic activism” from female journalists, including; Laura Tingle, Louise Milligan, Katharine Murphy, Amy Remeikis, Lisa Wilkinson, Karen Middleton and Jessica Irvine.
Investigative journalist Louise Milligan hit out at the article and claimed double standards were applied to women leading news coverage.
She tweeted: “No-one commissions snarky profiles of male investigative journalists. No-one cites ‘activism’ when men relentlessly, admirably pursue stories on war/casinos/finance. No-one explores their irrelevant childhood/calls their old school Male investigative reporters aren’t the story.”
While journalist Katharine Murphy, who previously worked at AFR, tweeted: “Anyone who twirls their moustache & wonders where all these noisy women have come from has somehow managed to miss that we’ve been their colleagues.”
Professor Catharine Lumby is a media and gender studies expert from the University of Sydney. Having worked in the press gallery, Professor Lumby said the article’s characterisation of female journalists was “frankly, outrageously sexist.”
“To be a senior female reporter in the press gallery, you've got to be twice as good as most of the men because the odds are stacked against you,” Professor Lumby said.
“There is a male-dominated culture. It's a blokey culture,” she told The Feed.
“Unfortunately, it is often women who bite about these things because we live them. And it does not make us hysterical. It means that we know these issues really matter.”
Professor Lumby said when she was a press gallery journalist in her late 20s, she’d often be asked by political staffers to discuss stories “over a glass of wine”.
“I, as an ambitious young woman, was focused on getting the interview and like many young women, I had to make a choice between my own personal dignity and my ambition,” she said.
“Women should never be put in that position. Because most men aren't.”
AFR editor Michael Stutchbury told The Feed, it “is correct to say that some of the coverage by the journalists has at times been angry and strayed into activism. But that is not a criticism, nor an attempt to demean their journalism.”
“It is not surprising that female journalists who have experienced the sort of abuse they are writing about would be angry.”
Mr Stutchbury said the story was mostly about “Scott Morrison's veiled accusation at his mea culpa press conference that an employee of News Corp had a complaint made against them for harassment of a woman in a woman's toilet.”
The article is one of several columns published by male journalists about parliamentary culture that has seen backlash.
In The Australian, political journalist Peter van Olsen claimed “in the sex assault debate, the focus has been on outrages rather than solutions”.
Economist Henry Ergas wrote in The Australian, “working women are better off than ever, but the tantrums are exceeding the traumas.”
But it wasn’t only men penning controversial columns. Kylie Lang, associate editor of The Courier Mail, claimed sexual assault survivor and Australian of The Year Grace Tame’s “petty snipe at PM” did her “no favours.”
The article came after Ms Tame criticised Scott Morrison’s appointment of Amanda Stoker as assistant minister for women and accused her of supporting a “fake rape crisis tour” on campuses across the nation.
2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Source: AAP
Professor Lumby said due to “the patriarchy”, straight, white men are often viewed as rational and objective in their view of the world, whereas people of colour, women and those from minority groups are seen as biased or subjective.
While Dr Fiona Martin, a digital media researcher at the University of Sydney, said men’s anger is often justified but passionate women are treated as hysterical.
“Think of Ray Hadley, Alan Jones, Derryn Hinch. All of those men are highly emotive but they’re not attacked on the basis of their emotion, they’re seen as strong,” Dr Martin said.
“In some ways, I think it’s very problematic, the idea that emotion should be excised from critical judgment,” she added.
Dr Martin said men often don’t recognise “the constant, everyday banality of violence that women have to deal with” online.
The revealed 41 per cent of female journalists have experienced online harassment.
Dr Martin said research shows harassment levelled at women is often more sexualised and that more women are cyberstalked than men.
“We’re really lacking good workplace responses to sexual harassment online and part of the problem is I think it’s not yet recognised as a workplace health and safety issue,” Dr Martin said.
“No one should expect abuse as part and parcel of their work. We must tackle this.”
Professor Lumby believes the ballot box will reflect that we’re currently in the process of a cultural reckoning.
While Scott Morrison is polling as preferred PM, a news poll by in March showed Labor is preferred to the Coalition 52-48.
“All generations of women are joining up and speaking out, including female journalists,” Professor Lumby said.
“I am angry. And a lot of women are angry. And I think it's making some men very uncomfortable,” she said.
“But this is not new. All we want is equality, safe workplaces, safe places of education, safe homes.”
