Sports Television Reporters and the Negotiation of Fragmented Professional Identities

Abstract

This research examines the professional identities of sports television reporters at a regional sports network (RSN) in a major East Coast market. The ethnographic techniques of participant observation and interviews with these sports television news gatherers provide an in-depth look at the increasingly complex work facing sports journalists in this specific area of the sports-media complex. The study's findings reveal that women and African American sports television reporters working at this RSN said they are treated differently-even to an advantage-because of their gender and race. Such issues and developments reveal the sports television workplace as increasingly complicated and problematic for those working in it.

An Examination of Women’s Sports Coverage on the Twitter Accounts of Local Television Sports Broadcasters

“…Instead, women are placed in a situation in which it appears to be a smarter career move not to promote other women (or events involving women), instead maintaining the status quo of the traditional male dominance in their profession in order to succeed themselves. This concept of fragmented identity can create a scenario in which female sports broadcasters must negotiate between their social identity as a female and their professional identity as a journalist (Genovese, 2015; Hardin, Genovese, & Yu, 2009; Hardin & Shain, 2006).…”

From Taped Up to Mic’d Up: Experiences of Former Athletes and the Meaning of Athletic Identity in Sports Media Spaces

“…Former female athletes may be able to highlight their athletic status as a way to bypass questions about their credibility and find access to a field that has historically been exclusionary. Moreover, once they are in the field, the high value assigned to athletic experience may inoculate them to some degree from the overwhelming perceptions of inadequacy directed toward women in general highlighted in research by Cummins, Ortiz, and Rankine (2019), Genovese (2014), Hardin and Shain (2006), and many others.…”

“…Indeed, a survey by Sheffer and Schultz (2007) showed that sports directors rated male sports broadcasters as more knowledgeable about sports compared with female sports broadcasters, while surveys and experiments with fans have consistently shown that women are evaluated through a gendered lens and rated lower on measures of credibility (e.g., Cummins, Ortiz, & Rankine, 2019; Mudrick, Burton, & Lin, 2017). Moreover, these assessments manifest themselves in a space where women are often understood as interlopers in male terrain, a process that reinforces and justifies women’s exclusion (e.g., Autonovic & Whiteside, 2018; Genovese, 2014; Hardin & Shain, 2006; Harrison, 2018). Taken together, women who enter sports media step into a hegemonic process that not only privileges men, but normalizes and justifies women’s lack of representation, advancement opportunities, and the persistent critiques of women’s skills and practices.…”

“…Yet, adopting a value system grounded in hegemonic masculinity—such as highlighting their sexuality through wardrobe choices (Harrison, 2019) or taking on a “motherly” role at work (Hardin & Whiteside, 2012)—simultaneously invites criticism aimed at their professionalism and ability to do their jobs. Indeed, as Genovese (2014, p. 66) writes, the concern over credibility is “especially burdensome” for women in sports broadcasting and thus questions about professionalism and legitimacy must be understood as gendered issues.…”

“…In sport media research, Genovese (2014) used social identity theory to explain that both gender and race provided sports reporters with “in” group alignment or advantages of access and relatability with interviewing and disadvantages as minorities or “out” members within the greater field of sports reporting. Thus, the purpose of this study was to uncover the experiences of former athletes now working in sport media using both athletic identity and social identity theory as a guide.…”