#JournalismStudiesSoWhite: Evidence of epistemological bias and gatekeeping of scholars of color in journalism studies

White, Western, and men-centered positionalities are well established in academia, but the scope of this influence and the mechanisms that help maintain it are underexplored in subdisciplines like journalism studies. Our two-part study assesses the barriers scholars face in the field. We utilize a mixed-methods approach to assess 1) representation patterns within scholarship production considering how race/ethnicity and gender appear in both authorship and topical research consideration and 2) the perceptions, challenges, and experiences of women scholars of color who navigate the journalism studies subdiscipline. Our findings confirm that the field of journalism studies overall is predominantly White, but White women scholars are slightly more prominent in the field than the anticipated White male scholars. Our qualitative interviews provide additional critical insights about the mostly race-and-ethnicity-related structural barriers that women scholars of color face, including challenges with epistemological preference and bias, and gatekeeping.