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Throughout the Women’s Final Four earlier this month in Indianapolis, a number of special interest events took place. Of particular note were two panels that addressed women, sports and the media. Women Talk Sports was fortunate to be able to host a town-hall style discussion April 2nd at the Canterbury Hotel featuring Ann Killion (Sports Illustrated), Christine Brennan (USA Today), Jeff House (Chicago Sky), Jere Longman (New York Times), Mariah Burton Nelson (AAPAR) and Wendy Parker (Basketball News).
The topic of the WTS discussion was “The State of Women’s Basketball in the Media.” Veteran sportswriter Christine Brennan pointed out that women’s basketball is played better today than it was yesterday, and it will be better tomorrow than it is today. Yet mainstream coverage of the sport is simply not improving. Why? Because despite growth of the women’s game it is still not as popular as the NFL or the NBA and major publications cater to the masses.
The panel agreed that the impact of digital media on women's sports journalism is the single most important factor in creating change. The panelists also discussed perspectives about the media from coaches and players, as well as coverage of specific issues relating to women’s basketball such as homophobia and negative recruiting. Wendy Parker, who reports on gender issues as well as basketball, noted that while most news bureaus ignore women’s sports, it has strong niche appeal and is rife with opportunity. A video of the entire WTS panel discussion can be found here.
On the afternoon of April 4th, Christine Brennan and Ann Killion headed over to the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center where they were joined by Shelley Smith (ESPN), Michael Anastasi (AP Sports Editors) and Dave Goren (National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) in a panel co-sponsored by AWSM. The audience of mostly students listened intently as the panelists discussed topics ranging from the need to diversify management ranks to past and current treatment of female journalists.
Both panels tried to delve into why traditional media ignores women’s sports. Killion noted that while there’s more coverage of women’s sports than in the past, primarily because of the Internet, traditional media outlets are under pressure to deliver large audiences and women’s sports don’t move the needle as much as LeBron James orTom Brady. There are also very few writers assigned to the women’s sports beat and with constant budget cuts and shrinking news space, those beat writers are generally the first to be laid off or reassigned.
Female sports journalists who cover men’s sports seem to have a bit more job security but they run the risk of being attacked by men who believe sports are a male birthright and women aren’t qualified to write about the subject. Apparently diversity is still a foreign concept to a segment of backward thinking sports fans and the panelists lamented the fact that this has been an issue since the legendary Mary Garber launched her sports writing career more than 60 years ago.
After several hours of public discussion between the two panels, and many more hours discussing the issues with friends and colleagues over the course of the weekend, one thing became crystal clear. There is still confusion between covering women’s sports in the media and women in the media covering sports. A general assumption is often made that female sportswriters are naturally women’s sports fans; and the only ones covering women’s sports are female journalists. In both cases, the statements couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, a xx chromosome isn’t a prerequisite for following women’s sports. There are plenty of men who are fans and actively support female athletes, including a very large contingency of dads who make a point of attending every basketball, softball and soccer tournament their daughters play. Sports fans who enjoy the purity of the game, and aren’t interested in scandal and showboating, are also big supporters of women’s sports. A great post on this subject can be found here.
A number of male sportswriters are also passionate about women’s sports and cover female athletes with knowledge, skill and insight. Swishappeal.com is an example of male journalists expertly covering the women’s game.
At the same time, it is often assumed that female sportswriters are exclusively watching and reporting on women’s sports when that’s not the case. Panelist Shelley Smith may, or may not be, a
