It's a Man's Man's Man's World

 

Today, turn on any sports broadcast and you will likely see a woman right up there with a man reporting the news of sports. But how far have they really gotten?

 

One of the most well-known female sports reporters today is Erin Andrews. Andrews has had a very successful professional career in Sports Journalism. She graduated in 2000 form the University of Flordia where she majored in telecommunications. After a short stint covering Atlanta sports, she was hired by ESPN in 2004 as an NHL reporter. In 2005, a year after ESPN hired her to cover the National Hockey League, she was brought on to cover Thursday Night Football Games and eventually started covering Sunday Night Baseball.

 

In 2010, she signed a new contract with ESPN to cover ABC and ESPN coverage as well as a few gigs on Good Morning America. 

 

In the Fall of 2012, Deadspin reported that the Andrews was turned down for the role of sideline-reporter on Monday Night Football. With the loss of this prestigious job opportunity, there was speculation from some that her headline grabbing personal life was the reason she lost out. Around the time of the opening at Monday Night Football, several personal stories were published regarding Andrews. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was originally reported by Deadspin that the reason for not heavily pursuing Andrews was because of talent. Talent that they felt wasn't measured up to what they were looking for. In fact, a TV Sports Executive was quoted as saying it had nothing to do with the scandals she was involved because it just added to her higher profile. Although the TV executive claims it had nothing to do with her public life, why would Andrews not be pursued with such a successful career and well-known profile? Did over-exposure on Twitter and social media play a part in her loss of a substantial job opportunity even though she an established and credible sports broadcaster? 

 

In the dawn of over exposure of high-profile athletes, actors, musicians, rappers and many more, female sports broadcasters are added to the list.

 

Deanna Johnson, 20, junior and member of the Loyola Marymount University's Women's Basketball Team, grew up with sports in her environment.

 

Johnson first began playing sports when she was about six years old. Basketball became the sport she was most serious about and she participated on various club teams until high school.

 

"I was a four-year varsity player and when I was a junior in high school I was recruited to come play basketball at LMU", Johnson says. 

 

Unfortunately, Johnson suffered a torn ACL which regulated her to the bench for the rest of the season. She took it as an excuse to slow down and learn from the sidelines. This for her included many hours of watching sports programs.

 

Johnson already actively watched sports newscasts to keep updated on any news in the world of sports but made a point to watch them even more after her accident. 

 

"I enjoy watching ESPN and Sportscenter for the most part. Those are the main broadcasts I trust", Johnson says.

 

Johnson grew up in an era where women were already embedded in sports journalism.

 

"I notice at least one female every time I’m watching a sporting event on television", Johnson says. "I feel like in the world of journalism and broadcasting have both made it a point for females to have more presence on sports networks", she adds. 

 

As a sports enthusiast, Johnson revels seeing women beside men in the broadcasts.

 

"It's strange because I don't consciously see a man and a woman on camera. I just see a reporter, which is the sweetest feeling. I love women power in sports", Johnson says.

 

Although Johnson regularly watches sports networks, she is most familiar with hearing from Doris Burke, who is a sports reporter and analyst for several major television stations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With her envolvement in sports, Johnson also grew up in a booming social media environment. She is on all the social media outlets. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook. 

 

As female and male gender representation in sports reporting has become normal and refreshing to Johnson, she views social media as the one area where a line is still drawn in the sand.

 

After viewing the social media accounts of Erin Andrews with Twitter and Instagram, Johnson laughs and shrugs her head.

 

"It's difficult because as a woman I naturally defend them because you know they put in the work and know just as much as the men they work with", Johnson says. "But I can see if you don't follow sports, they might just look like a pretty face because of the way they represent themselves in their social media accounts", Johnson adds.

 

Johnson potentially sees their social media as a way to provide critics with more ammo for not taking women seriously.

 

"It's a challenging profession because you already involved in a traditionally male arena", Johnson says. "People are looking for anything to critique", Johnson adds. 

 

Is social media and their appearances the new challenge women face in the sports world or a unique platform to express their opinions and ethics to their fans? Johnson is torn with the question.

 

"I feel like female broadcasters who are not very feminine are often times judged by others because of how male dominant this industry is", Johnson says. "But at the same time, women will always be judged while working in this field, people may not think they are as credible as males are even if they have the same level of experience", Johnson adds.

 

Perception can be a double-edged sword. Social media allows people to interact with the masses but the user is in complete control of what is distributed. So in the platform of collective sharing, the originator is responsible for what they put out. 

 

"In the sports world all together, I think women will always be criticized because certain sports are linked with masculinity", Johnsons says. "So they might as well be relatable and themselves instead of trying to be what the majority of male reporters are because they are on two different playing fields. Pun intended" Johnson concludes.