Is sports journalism failing women?

The Women's Media Center says so. Ditto for minority journalists:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/240240/media-is-failing-women-sports-journalism-particularly-so/#.UwTkKs0VYvc.twitter


I found this passage intriguing:

An Associated Press Sports Editors-commissioned report by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport found that there was an increase in women of color sports journalists, but it still wasn’t enough to merit more than an F grade for gender representation in columnists and editors. And the majority of female columnists and editors worked for ESPN, which the report notes has made an effort to diversify its newsroom. Without ESPN, things would be far worse.

Does the report understand that ESPN hired those editors and columnists from newspapers? These are all women who'd have prominent jobs -- hell, many of them did -- in local/regional/national markets. It's not as if ESPN developed them right out of college.

The question becomes: Does women/minority absence at the local/regional level speak to a lack of effort on the part of the shops? Or does it speak to the fact that decent minorities and women are in such demand that, unless they choose to really invest in a given place, they can skip over several market levels right to the major daily/national spots?

I don't have the answer. I'm just posing the question. Insights, anyone?

 

Out of curiosity, does SI have a single female senior writer other than Kelli Anderson?

 

Oh, Lord. Every year or two we get a report from one of these special interest organizations that feels as though they are being discriminated against.

Now, I don't believe for a moment that anyone is being discriminated against based on race or gender. But even if they were, so what? Do companies owe someone something because they happen to be a different race or gender? Hiring quotas are one of the dumbest things ever.

There is actually an organization called American Women in Sports Media (AWSM). Wonder why there's not a parallel organization for men?

 

Because they aren't being slighted as a group and don't need advocates, dopey.

 

If women all dropped dead tomorrow, sports journalism would be a better profession.

 

My heart bleeds for them.

Does Jenny Vrentas count?

 

Do they include MMQB writers on the masthead? I've never looked.

 

Under the assumption that women are being denied spots in the world of sports journalism, this study would be disappointing.

But is that assumption correct? I am of course speaking anecdotally ... but I simply do not know women who love to discuss and immerse themselves in sports who are NOT in the business. Do they exist and I just haven't met them?

Furthermore, the only way to change numbers for the better would be to start hiring a lot more people. And other than a few replacement hires -- probably a ratio no better than one hire for every two people who leave -- there isn't any growth.

 

Lindsay Schnell recently started a new gig at SI. I don't know if she's a senior writer. Used to be at The Oregonian covering college football.

 

There are a lot of people who write primarily for the website, SI.com or MMQB who are better read that a lot of the magazine writers. They don't separate them the way ESPN does, and that's a huge positive.

 

If the newspaper business is really keeping women (or anyone else) out, it's doing them a tremendous favor.

 

An excellent truth.