Diversifying the Sports Department and Covering Women’s Sports: A Survey of Sports Editors

Abstract

This study surveyed sports editors about gender-related issues in hiring and coverage. Although many editors estimate reader interest to be low and do not believe coverage of women’s sports should be improved, results also suggest that sports editors’ values and beliefs have shifted over the past decade in ways that could lead to more opportunities for women journalists and to eventual improvements in coverage of female athletes and women’s sports. The research also suggests when sports editors commit to hiring women, they find women who can move up within organizations and become leaders.

Las mujeres como outsiders en el periodismo deportivo: percepción de las estudiantes y personas expertas

“…Esta asimetría es aún más notoria en los cargos de responsabilidad (Barnes, 2017;Laucella et al, 2017). Esta forma de segregación vertical (Vuyst y Raeymaeckers, 2019) puede tener consecuencias, pues manda un mensaje a las estudiantes y jóvenes periodistas que se encontrarán con un techo de cristal que dificultará su desarrollo profesional y les impedirá tomar decisiones al más alto nivel editorial.…”

“…Con todo ello, "des-masculinizar" las redacciones pasa por romper el techo de cristal y conseguir que más mujeres lleguen a cargos de decisión (Hardin, 2013;Laucella et al, 2017;Vuyst y Raeymaeckers, 2019), siempre y cuando no reproduzcan el discurso de dominación masculina, caracterizado por la cultura del "think manager, think male" (Humprecht y Esser, 2017: 443). El cambio no vendrá por un aumento de la presencia de más mujeres periodistas si éstas han interiorizado creencias y prejuicios sexistas.…”

He Said, She Said: An Exploration of Male and Female Print Sports Journalist Tweets, Sports Coverage, and Language Style

“…One line of thought that has emerged is that by elevating women into editorial and other power positions in the field of sports journalism, we might see more balanced coverage (Laucella et al, 2017). It is believed that women and men cover sports in different ways (Hardin, Simpson, Whiteside, & Garris, 2007).…”

“…Third, even as some news organizations monitor and place organizational guidelines on what is tweeted by journalists, tweets remain relatively unfiltered by editors, especially when compared with sports content that appears in print and broadcast media and even on online blogs (Hardin, Zhong, & Corrigan, 2012). Finally, as sports newsrooms across the country stress gender diversity as a cornerstone of the workplace environment, women should continue to make gains in a field traditionally dominated by men (Laucella, Hardin, Bien-Aime, & Antunovic, 2017). We should expect to see more female sports journalists tweeting with the passage of time.…”

Sport for Development and Peace: Framing the Global Conversation

“…In addition to the lack of critical coverage about social and political topics, criticism persists regarding the objectification of female athletes (e.g., Weber & Carini, 2013) and sports reporters (e.g., Cummins, Ortiz, & Rankine, 2018) as well as the lack of diversity within newsrooms and the underrepresentation of women’s sports in the media (e.g., Bishop, 2003; Laucella, Hardin, Bien-Aimé, & Antunovic, 2017; Schmidt, 2018).…”