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Chelsea Downey
Ms. Tillery
British Literature
14 October 2011
Sports Photography and Journalism
Sports journalism is a cut throat industry, one mistake can ruin your career forever. Most
women have had a difficult time just getting into the profession and everyone is waiting for them
to mess up. Women do not have the odds on their side; it is more common to find a man who
knows more about sports than a woman, which is the reason of why this is a male dominant
profession. Most people have a difficult time getting into the profession because there are a lot of
hoops you have to jump through first. For women, working their way through the work force has
been a challenge since the beginning of time; while most have had their luck in other
professions, such is not the case in sports journalism.
Ever since the beginning of time women have had a hard time knocking the stereotype of
baby maker or house wife. Anne Doyle states that in the 1970s women, “began challenging…
legal and cultural barriers to opportunity—from education and employment to credit and legal
rights” (Doyle). Women did not get a real feel of working until “1941 [due to a] shortage of
workers caused by WWII [and that brought] high paying jobs to women” (Advancing
Excellence). The idea of being a baby maker is very natural however most women in today‟s
time find the title to be sexist and belittling, really a man is also a baby maker because a woman
could never carry or a make a baby without the help of a man. Also the help of WWII has made
it easier for women to knock the idea of a baby maker, WWII introduced a good time for women
to take over the work force and hold a high paying job that a man would usually hold.

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As the 1900s progressed into later year‟s women became more accepted in the work force
with the help of laws being passed. Congress was a big help to these women on “June 10, 1963
[they] passed the Equal Pay act… [stating] employers could not pay men more than women”
(Advancing Excellence). In 1970 a court case added to the Equal Pay act “… Jobs held by men
and women [should] be „substantially equal‟ but not „identical‟… [for example] employers
cannot change the job titles of women… to pay them less than a man” (Advancing Excellence).
Men and women were not made to be the same; it is just not that way, so of course there is going
to be a couple jobs that a man or a woman is more sufficient at. Men and women should have
different jobs however a job that would work for both a man and a woman they should have
equal pay.
In the late 90s numerous women helped other women gain confidence due to their great
achievements in “1981 Sandra Day O‟Connor was the first woman appointed to the supreme
court” later she went on to declare “sexual harassment is a form of illegal employment
discrimination” (Advancing Excellence). In 1983 this woman boosts a lot of women‟s
confidence, “Sally Ride was the first American woman in space” (Advancing Excellence). Most
women in the twentieth century started to believe that they belong at home with their children
and while that is a great thing for the children, a woman should have the opportunity and the
experience to go out and gain your own money. Sally Ride and Sandra Day O‟Connor are just
two of the many women who have gone very far in the work force, they help other women
realize that there is more to a woman than cooking, cleaning, making babies, and looking good.
Sports journalism, for many people, is a dream job; however most of those people do not
realize exactly how difficult it is to get into sports journalism. Mark Grabowski, a retired sports
journalist, states that to be a journalist you have to have “both a passion for sports and a talent in

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communicating” it is common for people to have those traits but it is very rare for someone to
have both (Grabowski). Before you can become the next big thing on ESPN or at Sports
Illustrated you have to start small usually at little league or high school games (Grabowski).
Grabowski goes on to discuss the hard schedule of a journalist because when your family is
sitting down to thanksgiving dinner you are preparing for the big game they will be watching
later, the life of a sports journalist is nonstop (Grabowski). A lot of people want to be a sports
journalist or reporter because they love sports but were not good enough to play in college or
professional and they do not want to lose their youth; however they do not realize that just
because you are not living in Hollywood and in the big time movies being in the spot light can be
very difficult. The schedule of a reporter is difficult because they usually work on the weekends
during football season and they are all over the place during the baseball and basketball season.
Generally a sports journalist is very lonely because they move from hotel to hotel and they
always eat out, never getting a home cooked meal, and always going to bed alone, it is no life for
a family man or woman.
There is plenty more achievements you need to become a journalist, it is not just about
personality and a love for the game. Like any job you need a high school diploma, and then you
need to further your education by gaining a bachelors degree in journalism, and then of course
find a job, usually starting at a low position and work your way up (Educational portal). Like
Grabowski stated “… be careful what you wish for, you might not always want to be in the spot
light” (Grabowski). A lot of people do not understand the behind the season things that go on
with a reporter, one does have to go to school, not necessarily to learn about the sports because
usually that is natural but one needs to know how to speak clearly on television, they would also
learn how to write in an interesting fashion, even the best of the best had to go through school,

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look at Mitch Albom he has gone very far and he did attend school and he does hold a bachelors
degree in journalism.
Most women are not quite equipped for a job in journalism especially sports journalism.
Sam Rogian covered a panel discussion about how women make up a small percent of the sports
fields. Tim Franklin stated that he wanted to “expose students [and] … community members to
the obstacles and challenges that still exist for women in sports media” (Rogian). Women who
are interested in getting into the field do not understand the hardships and the challenges that
they will be faced with, most do not make it past the little league stage because when one is in
the spot light people are always criticizing and getting their opinion across, most women are not
thick enough to be able to handle something like that.
The women who are lucky enough to make it into the profession usually have a hard time
moving up in the field. Paul Farhi states, in his article in the Washington Post, that most women
can interview people on the sidelines but never really have any luck with doing a play by play
analysis on major league games. He also goes on to discuss how awkward it is for women to do
the interviews in the locker room (Farhi). Women who have a difficult time getting into the
profession are having a huge news flash when they try to get promoted or they ask to cover the
big game, most girls do not know enough about sports to do play by play analysis on
professional sports, because one has to be on top of their information to be interesting enough to
keep a job and they need to be able to remember who plays on what team and what position
everyone plays.
Today a lot of people are still confused as to why a woman would ever want to be a
sports writer. Marie Hardin and Stacie Shain bring up the “idea that a woman writing about

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sports is unnatural…” the two of them know that they will never get a solid number but it is
estimated that there is only five hundred women in the profession, that is less than ten percent
(Hardin, Shain). Again most people believe that sports journalism is no place for a woman and
they find it strange when they see someone like Erin Andrews interviewing Peyton Manning
after a big loss. Some think that it is not efficient for a woman to report sports because it has
always been something loved by men, it is natural for a man to be interested in sport but for
women most people find it extremely unnatural.
Some women have made it easier for other women to get into sports media. Sarah Kuta
brings this to your attention with Christine Brennan who had always been into sports and she was
not going to let anything stop her and she paved her own way, and for many other girls who
share the same dream as her (Kuta). Most women do not think that they can make their way into
a male dominant profession because of the statistics of how little the amount of woman there are
in sports media, women like Christine Brennan have helped so much with boosting other
women‟s confidence. People usually do not want to go into uncharted territory and women like
Brennan have helped build the confidence of other women who have had a dream of being a
sports writer.
Being the only woman in sports broad casting room can be both very intimidating and
very empowering at the same time. For most women the hardest part of being a reporter is
following a star player into the locker room, then waiting for them to finish showering and then
try not to pay too much attention to them as they get dressed and yet trying to ask them
questions, this can be awkward from both parties. Another problem women have is keeping their
teams separate too many women have lost their job due to false information, which does not
really help a woman when everyone is waiting for her to fail (Hegner). Women do not usually

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have a natural love for sports and that is why it is difficult for women to know and understand
different sports and remember every player‟s name, the team they play for and their position;
they say you remember what you want to remember this is probably why men have an easier
time remembering all of the players.
Most men who love sports think that sports is a “boys only” club and no woman should
tear down the “no girls allowed” signs. David Hinckley stated that “… sports fans, whom they
consider generically male, do not want to see [a] girl telling them about 3-4 defense…” Most
men do not want a “babe factor” during a football game (Hinckley). Guys always need a place to
just be men and the only place they have is sports this is why they get so tore up about a women
explaining to them why Florida fumbled the ball and Georgia recovered, it is a simple as Georgia
is just a better team.
Sports media and sports in general has been dominated by men since the Greek Olympics
and that is why it is so strange for women to be in this profession. Women have come a long way
since the early 1900s and they are not done, women will continue to go far in the world; who
knows maybe one day there will be a female president of the United States.