New Leader of AP Sports Editors Seeks Candidates

Maybe I'm just being obtuse here, but can you explain "need" in this context? It seems more like a "want." If it's an internal industry goal to make this happen, that's one thing. But is it the opinion, either yours or generally, that having more women running sports sections is going to make those sports sections a better product for the 21st century? The APSE president's speech called this issue a "key to survival," which I think is just wacky.

 

I kind of did both: Mostly writer, to SE who wrote, to mostly writer, to boss who wrote, to editor, to mostly writer, to, finally, exclusively editor.

I have known some brilliant desk people who became excellent sports editors, but I think it helps, and obviously doesn't hurt, if you've written too on the way to that seat.

 

Good point, Moddy. But the sad fact of the matter is that women and minorities usually are not hired in significant numbers unless the effort is forced.

It's a fact that white males are most likely to hire other white males. That speaks more to habit and comfort level than anything else. Diversity does not just happen in newspapers in significant numbers -- unless it is forced. Just the way it is.

 

the evidence.

http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2011/2011_APSE_RGRC_FINAL.pdf

Go to page 16 to see the breakdown by category on race and gender. In short 77 percent of the industry are white males and 90 percent of the sports editors are white males.

I don't think this reflects America.

From the latest Richard Lapchick 2011 APSE Census
Sports Editor
White men continue to run almost all of our sports departments as editors in 2010. This year’s report
shows a decrease in percentages of women and people of color serving as sports editors. The percent of
women sports editors dropped from 6.5 percent to 6.3 percent There were five people of color and seven
women who were sports editors in circulation size “A” newspapers, compared to 2008’s total of nine and
two, respectively.
Perhaps the single biggest piece of positive news in this category was that Garry Howard was named
Editor-in-Chief of the Sporting News, the historic national publication. In this capacity, he will oversee the
Sporting News magazine, Sporting News Today, SportingNews.com and Sporting News Yearbooks.
According to the data that was collected within the survey period of October 1, 2010, to January 25, 2011,
there were three African-American male sports editors (down from six in 2008) at all participating APSE
newspapers and Web sites. All three African-American sports editors were employed at circulation size
“A” newspapers and Web sites. Of the 3,475 APSE Newspapers and Web sites surveyed, not one female
of color held a position as Sports Editor.AP Sports Editors Report Card, page 9 of 25
There were a total of three Latino male sports editors (down from eight in 2008) with one at circulation
size “A” papers, two at circulation size “B” papers. There was one Asian sports editor, down from two in
2008. The “other” people of color category had zero sports editors, down from two male and one female
in 2008.
In 2008, there was one African American female and one “other” female who were sports editors among
the APSE newspapers.
Women lost ground in this position in 2010. There were 202 white males and 14 white females (down
from 301 and 20 in 2008, respectively) who were sports editors accounting for 97 percent of the most
important positions (up from 94.1 percent in 2006) on the surveyed newspapers. African-Americans held
1.4 percent, Latinos held 1.4 percent, while Asians held less than 1 percent and “others” held zero
percent. In 2008, African-Americans held 2.1 percent, Latinos equaled 2.4 percent, and “others” and
Asians held less than 1 percent.
The seven people of color in the sports editor position included:
 Bill Bradley, Sacramento Bee (he has since left the paper)
 Leon Carter, ESPN 3
 Joe Lago, Yahoo Sports
 Rob King, ESPN
 Jorge Rojas, Miami Herald
 Michael Anastasi, Salt Lake Tribune
 Garry D. Howard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (He has since left the paper for The Sporting News)
* Larry Graham (Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer)
The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer did not participate in the study but has an African-American sports
editor.
The 14 women in the sports editor position in the papers that responded included:
 Shannon Connor, Arizona Daily Star
 Julie Jag, Santa Cruz Sentinel
 Joy Russo, Jena Janovy, ESPN
 Mary Ullmer, Grand Rapids Press
 Sandy Smith, Concord Monitor
 Lauren Gustas, Reno Gazette Journal
 Terry Taylor and Mary Bryne, Associated Press
 Terri Thompson, New York Daily News
 Betty Szudlo, Medina Gazette
 Donna Eyring, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
 Courtney Linehan, Lubbock Avalanche Journal
 Holly Lawton, Kansas City Star (She has since left the paper)
* Pam Clark (Springfield News-Leader)
* Colleen McDaniel (The Virginian-Pilot)
* Margaret Gallardo (El Paso Times)
*The Springfield News-Leader, The Virginian-Pilot and the El Paso Times did not participate in the study
but have women as sports editors

 

I'm not sure what the "key to survival is," but how about we at least try something different? Because more of the same shit obviously ain't working.

If that means trying to bring in more minority candidates, so be it.
If that means eliminating box scores, so be it.
Maybe only run 7-inch stories.
Who cares how crazy the idea.
But don't bitch and moan at every new idea (and I realize this minority thing isn't completely new) without bringing something different to the table.

 

The problems with the newspaper business have nothing to do with whether the stories are seven paragraphs or 17 .... The business model is broken.
On the other hand, taking away stuff readers like to see in print -- such as box scores --- probably isn't wise.

 

So Michael Anastasi is counted among the men of color in the survey?

1) Having met him, I was unaware he considers himself a person of color. Does anyone know the background on this?

2) I think we just found the angle on this pronouncement. The APSE president sees this as a top issue because the issue affects him. It's not just some white guy calling for diversity.

I'm not necessarily against this initiative, and I don't dislike Anastasi or APSE, I just found this interesting.

 

Women who succeed in this business are generally talented writers, IMHO. Maybe they don't want to become editors. A woman has been writing for my sports page for 20+ years and has never had any desire to work on a desk or edit. A woman at a non-APSE competitor around here functions as assistant sports editor. A competing weekly in my area just hired a woman as sports editor, but they're small time, no register on this APSE survey.

Every area is different, but I guess my point is APSE doesn't reflect everybody. Trying to shoehorn people into management positions when we're essentially talent....its just not the same as an NFL WR coach becoming head coach or the salesman becoming sales manager. Being a reporter and being an editor are entirely different jobs more akin to going from actor to director and this initiative seems to dismiss that idea.

 

Jimmy

I get the point you are making about shoe horning people in those positions. It's not good for the individual, the section, the paper and the industry.
But here is something you should also consider, the number of minorities and women who were discouraged from taking roles in management or those workers who wanted to move up but were denied those chances. Some of those people move on. I have seen it happen. I experienced it. I just didn't give up.
So it's easy for everyone to develop their own theories. I just hope when you develop them try for a moment to sit in the shoes of minority and women professionals who try to move up in our sports sections. The survey numbers don't lie.

 

the numbers are scary. but you can't solve any problem without knowing exactly what causes it. maybe the cause is too complex or impossible to clearly identify.

if men and women of color are being discriminated against, that's a big issue. find those cases, find the people doing the discriminating, fix that problem. but actively and openly discriminating against white men is not the answer. two wrongs don't make a right.

personally, i lost out on a good ASE job to a woman a while back. she had seniority on me (not experience; seniority), so i was fine with it, though i felt i was a better candidate for the gig. a year later, the SE quit and recommended me as his replacement, not the woman he had chosen over me a year earlier. i asked why. his answer: the people above him wanted a woman. this SE, a man who had been in the business 40 years, knew what everyone else in the department knew -- i was a better candidate. but, as i have seen quite a few times, diversity trumped ability. that's wrong. no matter how it's sliced, it's discrimination, it's wrong.

at that same newspaper, i was told to narrow the finalists for a reporter job to 10 or 12. if there was one minority in that group, i was told, that person would be hired. there was. and the hire turned out badly. we didn't hire the best person, and that is sad. more talented people were, in fact, victims of discrimination.

i worked hard to learn what i've learned; i worked hard to climb the ranks. veterans who have paid their dues shouldn't be asked to move to the back of the bus, giving our seats in the front to people who deserve them less or sometimes don't deserve them at all.

i do my best to be color blind. always have. i thank God for building me this way. sometimes i think i'm the only one.

 

All of you who have lost out on jobs where you were "the best candidate" because the brass "wanted a woman/minority," y'all should start up your own newspaper. Because it seems there are enough of you with these faux sob stories that you could create a staff of the "most talented people" in the business.