Jessica Zambito Composition II Mr.

Perakovich December 15, 2011 The Absence of Equality in Broadcasting

Zambito 1

When American soldiers left to fight World War I, many previously masculine jobs were left for women to fill. The most logical thing to do was for women to temporarily stand in their positions and begin to work. Because of this, some researchers have argued the 1920s was the original Golden Era for female sports journalists, who finally had a shot of opportunity in the industry ( Kaszuba, 2006, p.13). Paving the way for future talented female sports journalists was Margaret Goss, formally a writer for the New York Herald Tribune. In Bringing Women to the Sports Pages: Margaret Goss and the 1920s Dave Kaszuba explains how Margaret Goss became a sports journalist in the decade which females were first starting to make a significant advancement in sports journalism (2006, p.15). Margaret Goss is the first female American journalist to cover womens sports for a daily newspaper, and has become the first woman to have a regularly appearing column strictly dedicated to sports (Kaszuba, 2006,p.15). Kaszuba refers to a 1926 career guidebook for aspiring female journalists which secures the idea that the sports pages were on the path for change, and that female journalists had become extremely common in the mid 1920s (2006, p.268). Overall Goss had a positive work experience while being a journalist for the Herald Tribune, although she did experience gender biases from her male counterparts and male audiences (Kaszuba, 2006, p.24). Goss knew in order to gain respect in this industry she had to prove to her male counterparts that she was capable of being a successful sports journalist even if she was a woman. Faced with gender barriers was only motivation for Goss to surpass these expectations. Although she maintained a positive attitude,

Zambito 2 gender barriers were still a struggle for Goss as Kaszuba points out, she could not entirely overcome the dominant ideology of a period that saw sports, and the sports pages, as the primary domain of men (2006, p.33). Now women maintain a larger role in sports broadcasting, but there has been little progression in terms of equality for female broadcasters. Women sports journalists continue to struggle against the gender challenges of physical, verbal, and sexual discrimination. Jeannine Edwards, a sideline reporter for ESPN college football was verbally harassed by her fellow male counterpart, Ron Franklin. At a college football game they were both covering Franklin says to Edwards, Listen to me, sweet baby, let me tell you something then proceeds to say to Edwards, OK then, listen to me, asshole (McCarthy, 2011,para.5). Edwards did not tolerate being referred to as a sweet baby, and certainly did not appreciate being called an asshole( McCarthy, 2011, para.6). A colleague of Edwards immediately takes action after these degrading remarks were made, and Franklin was soon fired. Erin Andrews, one of the most well-known female broadcasters of this day, was sexually violated after being videotaped nude in her hotel room in Nashville, Tennessee by Michael Barrett (Sayales, 2011, para.1). Andrews comments about this very frightening situation and states that she still suffers from "great emotional distress and embarrassment" (Sayales, 2011, p.6). Lisa Olson, a reporter for the Boston Herald, experienced a New England Patriots pulling out his genitals and shoving it in her face, and then was called a classic bitch by Victor Kiam, the New England Patriots manager. Today there are still numerous situations of female broadcasters experiencing gender biases in the news industry, as well as the sports industry.

Zambito 3 Among the gender biases still present in the industry is the pressure for females to maintain a certain physical appearance. As Ferri and Engstorm point out, women need to appear attractive, perhaps even glamorous while the men just have to look trustworthy (2000, p.623). Physical appearance is the gender bias that female sportscasters agree is the most stressful pressure they experience. Paula Zahn, a CNN broadcaster for plenty of years felt violated after CNN aired an ad about her program American Morning, in which a male announcer asks, Where can you find a morning news anchor who's provocative, super-smart, oh yeah, and just a little sexy?" with the word "sexy" popping up on the screen followed by the sound of a zipper being unzipped ( Paula Zahn and the Zipper promo: How low do we have to go?, 2002, p.4 ). Zahn took this offensively and did not respect that she was referred to as something based off of her physical appearance rather than her intelligence. Ferri and Engstorm go on to discuss the controversial issue of a females appearance: The prominence given to the appearance of news presents has led to much criticism being directed toward TV news as being more preoccupied with appearance than journalistic substance(as quoted in Harp and Stretch, 1985,p.49). In 2006, Katie Courics physical appearance seemed to have grabbed many peoples attention as she began to lose weight, and she became more conscience about her clothes and hair style (Martinez, Maggie, & Brian, 2010, p.3). Soon after, Couric was labeled having the best legs in television (Martinez, Maggie, & Brian 2010, p.4). Contrary to what viewers as well as the industry thinks, Couric admits that it bothered her that her legs and the way she dressed was the medias main coverage in their stories (Martinez, Maggie, & Brian 2010, p.3). Societal expectations have extremely high standards for women to maintain their physical appearance, especially if they plan on being successful in this industry. Similar to female news broadcasters,

Zambito 4 female sports journalists are often highly judged based off of their looks and physical appearance. The 2000 contest in Playboys "Choose America's Sexiest Sportscaster," which the magazine asked readers to vote on the website for who they think the ten 'hottest' female sports broadcasters are. Responding to this survey is Jeanne Zelasko former Fox Sports news reporter. She states, When I talk to young women about careers in this field, do I advise them to get a solid background in sports and reporting, or do I tell them to enter a beauty contest? ( Sheffer & Schultz, 2007, p.82 ). Female sports broadcasters have to be perceived as predominately attractive in order to please a male dominated audience. Sheffer and Schultz also comment that news directors also seemed to believe that viewers would accept a female sportscaster if she was a beauty queen (2007, p.92). Karen Kornacki a sportscaster for KMBC-TV News in Kansas City states, The number one emails I receive from my viewers are comments about my appearance. People are not concerned about my interviews or my knowledge of the game (Gordon, 2010, para.3). Almost all female sports casters can agree with Kornackis statement above, considering female sports broadcasters are judged first by their outward appearance rather for their knowledge. Management and the remaining parts of the industry overlook womens knowledge, and focus instead on their physical appearance. Physical appearance is the number one gender challenge that female broadcasters experience. Age is among another pressure that female broadcasters encounter. As females start to age, their looks become much older and different from when they were younger; which is only a natural part of the life cycle. This also means that many female broadcasters are in their early 30s, while the average age of male broadcasters is forty years old (Ferri & Engstorm, 2000, p.622). In the broadcasting industry the younger the female is when she starts out, the easier it is

Zambito 5 for her to maintain a long-lasting successful career. There is only a minimal amount of older females that are still sportscasters. There is nothing that woman can do about this since the industry values females more for their looks as opposed to males who are valued more for their abilities which do not fade nearly as fast as ones physical appearance can (Ferri , A.J., Engstorm , 2000,p.625). Women have realized that there is not much that they can do to stop these gender biases that stand in their way of receiving the same equality that men do. Considering the vast majority of management positions are held by men, women are hindered in the hiring process because of their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Management underestimates the fact that female broadcasters can maintain a job and family at the same time. Ferri and Engstorm explain the situation by stating management says it understands, but neither understands nor forgives when theres a news emergency and mom is needed elsewhere (2000, p.625). Although women have to balance out their career and family lives, many females know the responsibility that coincides with having a time consuming career. In Ferri and Engstorms survey two female broadcasters state, Ive been turned down for jobs once Ive mentioned I have a family-it turns into a dirty secret , and, I have felt my hiring has been affected by the fact that Im married. I feel it will be even harder when I have kids(2000, p.625). Females are overlooked when applying for jobs, and are not provided an equal chance to prove to the industry that theyre wrong. Therefore, management positions should not underestimate the capabilities of a female because of her gender. Womens applications are not viewed equally, resulting in yet another gender barrier that women broadcasters experience.

Zambito 6 Another gender bias that female sports broadcasters experience is that they are perceived as less credible and knowledgeable opposed to their male counterparts. Authors, refer to the article Sexism and the Authoritativeness of Female Sportscasters as being involved in a male dominated industry mainly because sports is, perceived as a specialization in which practitioners must excel in credibility and knowledge (as quoted in Allen 2003, Allen, C. 2003,p.122). It is only assumed that females lack credibility and knowledge; there is no real evidence to prove that this is actually true. If these women: Hazel Mal, Jillian Barberie, Jill Arrington, Melissa Stark, and Bonnie Bernstein lacked any sort of sports knowledge, they would not have successful careers as sports broadcasters. Women sports casters realize there is little that they can do to change societys perceptions about them, rather they can only ignore these gender biases that impede on the receiving of equality in this industry. The locker room barrier is another gender bias that a majority of female sports casters continue to experience, even after the Melissa Ludtke case. Female Sports broadcaster Melissa Ludtke was assigned to cover the 1977 World Series, the New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers. Melissa Ludtke was denied access into the New York Yankees Locker Room because she is a woman. Therefore she proceeds to file a civil rights lawsuit against Bowie Kuhn the Major League Baseball Commissioner, in order to receive equal access into the locker room that her male counterparts receive ( Matysiak, Everbach, 2010, p.1 ). In 1978 Ludtke was successful and the court ruled that the Yankees discriminated against Ludtke because of her gender, further granting her equal access into the locker room (Matysiak,L., Everbach,T., 2010, p.1). Although Ludtkes victorious case now allows for female broadcasters to have full access into athletic locker rooms, sexual discrimination against female broadcasters has not stopped.

Zambito 7 Physical, verbal, and sexual discrimination are huge issues that female sports journalists encounter, specifically while gaining access into athletic Locker Rooms. It was reported last September female sports broadcaster Ines Sainz who was reporting for Azteca TV, had footballs being thrown at her and was taunted in the locker room of the New York Jets while trying to gain an interview with one of the players (Rogain,2011,p.6). Recently there has been a numerous increase of violent attacks against female sports broadcasters trying to gain access into locker rooms. Lawrie Mifflin a sportswriter for the New York Daily reported on an incident of a hockey player pushing her out of the locker room at a New York Islanders game. She was verbally attacked by other teammates and was grabbed by her arm and pulled out of the locker room (Matysiak, Everbach, 2010, p.12). Melanie Hauser who was a sports reporter and was covering a National Football League Game explained how a naked player whispered in her ear violating her personal space ( Matysiak, Everbach, 2010, p.12). Paola Boivin had reported a jock strap being chucked at her by a Major League Baseball player after gaining access into the locker room (Roth, A., Gunther, A. & Kautz, D., p.74). Joan Ryan was threatened in a Football Locker Room by a long-handled razor blade, and she states that she felt something going up her leg ( Matysiak, Everbach, 2010, p.11). A San Francisco 49ers player pulled out his genitals in front of Ann Killion who was a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News ( Matysiak, Everbach, 2010, p..11). Mary Schmitt agrees that any male locker room is extremely uncomfortable for a female news reporter (Boyer, 2009,p.12). This is a statement that vast amounts of female sports journalists can vouch for. However, male broadcasters have zero problems gaining access into athletic locker rooms. They are able to waltz there way right into the locker rooms without any worries of being physically, verbally, or sexually harassed in anyway. The article, Female

Zambito 8 Sports journalists: Are we There yet? No by Marie Hardin and Stacie Shain report, Aspiring female sports journalists should expect to face sexual harassment, not only in the locker room but also in the workplace (2005, p.23). This makes it clear that women face sexual harassment on the sidelines, as well as in their normal workplace settings. Female broadcasters can only keep an optimistic outlook about their profession, and can only hope that future female broadcasters will not have to experience gender biases. Although this is not guaranteed, female broadcasters maintain a positive attitude and try to not let gender challenges impede on their path to success. There is no question women entering in this field can be successful. However, they need to be aware of the pressures of physical appearance, age, demeanor, as well as the physical, sexual, and verbal abuse that coincides with this profession. Gender Biases need to be completely crushed in order for women to receive the respect and equal treatment that their male counterparts have the privilege to experience. Women sports casters continue to face these struggles, and question whether or not the unfair treatment is worth it. Women broadcasters are then quick to realize their passion for this profession outweighs every single gender bias they endure. Word Count: 2,427

References

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Zambito 10 Publication of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association 14, 2. 71-84. Retrieved November 13, 2011. Sayles, Matt. (2011). Erin Andrews Files $10 Million Lawsuit over Peeping Tom Video. Www.people.com. Retrieved December 13, 2011. Shain, S. & Hardin, M. (2005). Female Sports Journalists: Are We There Yet? No. Newspaper Research Journal 26, 22-35. Retrieved November 8, 2011. Sheffer, M.L., & Schultz, B. (2007). Double Standard: Why Women Have Trouble Getting Jobs in Local Television Sports. Journal of Sports Media, 2. 77-101. Retrieved November 11, 2011. Young, R., & Etling, L. (2007). Sexism and the Authoritativeness of Female Sportscasters. Communication Research Reports 24,2. 121-130. Retrieved November 11, 2011.