Hollywood's sexist stereotypes have real consequences for female journos

The movie Bombshell is among the latest Hollywood films featuring female journos. - AFP Relaxnews

While journalist characters have recently become a favorite for Hollywood productions, the film industry isn't necessarily doing them a favor with frequent representations that are less than flattering.

And it's a situation that is actually having real-life negative effects on women working in the media, according to a new American study.

Journalist characters are certainly not rare on the big screen thanks to films like Broadcast News, I Love Trouble and more recently Bombshell. For years now, the cinema has had a passion for women journalists, who often seem ready to do anything to get a scoop. Even if it means having sexual relations with one of their sources.

This is the case of Heather Holloway (played by Katie Holmes) in Thank You For Smoking, who has no qualms about using her charms to seduce a tobacco industry representative.

While the works may be fictional, this unethical behavior on screen is detrimental to women working everyday journalism jobs, according to American researcher Frank Waddell.

The assistant professor at the University of Florida examined gender bias against journalists in movies in a study recently published in the journal Journalism Studies.