Meritocracy or Myth? How Journalistic Cultures Legitimize Inequalities in Newsrooms Submitted: September 26, 2025 Status: Under Review Manuscript ID: JMCQ-HYP-25-0031 This paper examines how journalistic cultures construct and perpetuate inequality within newsrooms through meritocratic narratives. Drawing on critical organizational communication and journalism studies, it analyzes how professional ideologies of objectivity, talent, and individual achievement mask structural inequalities based on gender, race, class, and other social positions. The study reveals how meritocratic discourse functions as a legitimizing mechanism that naturalizes hierarchies and deflects attention from systemic barriers. By framing success as the result of individual merit rather than structural advantage, newsroom cultures maintain existing power relations while appearing fair and neutral. Keywords: journalism, meritocracy, newsroom inequality, journalistic culture, organizational communication