Female daily newspaper editors and their mentoring relationships: in-depth interviews from the executive chair

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study explored the mentoring experiences of current and former female executive editors and managing editors at U.S. daily newspapers in metropolitan areas. Fifteen in-depth interviews were used to examine how the participants described and used their mentoring experiences to advance their careers, and whether they maintained mentoring relationships with protégés who aspired to similar senior management positions in newsrooms. The qualitative research suggests mentoring relationships played an important role in the female editors'career development and advancement and influenced their participation in similar arrangements with protégés. Based on the interviews, this study offers questions for future research on women in management.