Rachel Blount can still remember those early days of her sports writing career. It was 1985 and she was working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in her first job after graduating with a M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri. She’d spend Friday nights covering high school football, and coaches would say to her in postgame interviews, “What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be home baking biscuits?” Or, “Do I have to explain to you what a touchdown is?” On Saturdays she would cover Division I college football, and while all the male reporters were allowed in the locker room for postgame interviews, she would have to stand outside the locker room — waiting as long as 45 minutes — to have a chance to conduct an interview. Sometimes that chance never even came.
But despite those obstacles, Blount never let it discourage her. “Looking back at it, it did make me angry,” Blount said. “I just thought, ‘What is wrong with these people? I am just doing a job.'”
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It’s a job that Blount is still passionate about to this day. She now works as a sports reporter and columnist for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. In her 24 years in the business, she has covered six different Olympic Games, and countless high school, college and professional sporting events. It’s safe to say she has witnessed firsthand just how opportunities have evolved for women — and it is much deeper than having access to the locker room that she didn’t have back in the day.
That’s why she urges women who aspire to get into a career as a sports writer to follow their dreams and do it. Blount speaks on the topic about 10 times a year and is always eager to discuss her career with aspiring writers and women who are interested in learning about the profession.
| “I find it is often slightly easier for women to get their foot in the door, but much harder to move that foot up the stairs to the top of a sports department.” |
“I encourage women who have an interest in this profession to pursue it,” says Blount, who has been with the Star Tribune for 19 years. “You get a chance to travel, meet really interesting people, write and be creative. It can be a great career.”
Adopt the right attitude to break in and move up
While there appear to be more opportunities than ever for women in this career, there is still more women can do — if given the chance, says Sandy Rosenbush, event news editor at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT.
“I find it is often slightly easier for women to get their foot in the door, but much harder to move that foot up the stairs to the top of a sports department,” says Rosenbush, who has more than 20 years of experience in sports journalism. Her previous jobs include roles as the assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated, founding editor of SI for Women and deputy sports editor at The New York Times.
Rosenbush says that the idea that sports is “for men” is problematic. She adds that while men are much more frequently the consumers of sports news, features and events, it should not follow that the delivery of those items needs to be made by men, nor that the decision-making in the sports media industry needs to be limited to men. It has changed slowly, but not yet enough for women and minorities, says Rosenbush.
“There is more inclination to have us on board now, but still no imperative in many corners to see us succeed at the highest levels,” says Rosenbush. “But there are new networks growing, and new mentoring systems in place. I hope this will keep the change coming.”
Two women who have carved a niche working in sports journalism and covering traditionally male-dominated sports are Leah Howard and Maggie Hendricks. Howard is the assistant media relations director in the sports information department at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. One of her duties is working as the primary media relations contact for the school’s wrestling team. She travels with the team, writes press releases, assists in handling media requests for coach and wrestler interviews, organizes and distributes statistical information, handles multimedia duties and writes wrestler profiles for the team Web site, MGoBlue.com.
Howard got started in the Michigan sports information department as a 20-year-old college junior while pursuing her degree in economics and communications studies. She played hockey growing up and had a general interest in all sports, but the job as an SID as an undergrad gave her a behind the scenes look at what really went into this profession. Eight years later she has graduated, earned a M.A in Sports Management, and now has a full-time job and career working in sports media relations.
“I think there is a perception that females don’t fully understand — or aren’t able to hack it in — male-dominated sports, like football, ice hockey or wrestling,” says Howard. “I think there is a perception that females interested in working in these sports have ulterior motives to, as crass as the implication may be, simply cozy up next to those athletes. But for me, having been a hockey player and growing up around the sport gave me instant credibility, and, after proving that I was capable as far as the actual work went, I was able to grow a good reputation for myself.”
Howard adds, “In this profession, doing quality work, being personable and having a good reputation certainly trump gender. Those are the equalizers, and while women may have to prove themselves a little more at the start, those traits make a quick impression.”
Exercise your right to write
Hendricks is based in Chicago and writes a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) blog for Yahoo! Sports and CageWriter.com, and also works as a freelance sports writer for NBCChicago.com. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 2001, she worked with the Chicago Bulls front office and then with Georgetown University’s athletic department. She returned to Chicago and worked in corporate public relations for six years. In 2007, she started her own blog called Chick Heart Fights — MMA and amateur wrestling, from a woman’s perspective. Her work was so well-respected and admired it was picked up by Yahoo! Sports and led to the positions with CageWriter.com and NBCChicago.com.
Hendricks admitted it was a little intimidating when she first started writing about and covering MMA — a sport with a large and crazy male fan base, and with a male-dominated group of colleagues.
She said, “My main relationships that needed to be developed were with other writers, and for the most part, the reaction was, ‘Hey, it’s cool that a woman likes this stuff. Would you talk to my girlfriend?’ As with the readers, there were a few chauvinists, but I found that if it was clear that I was truly there because I loved writing about sports, people would back off.”
Blount says there is still some skepticism among some people that women can do this job. At one social gathering, a male who found out she was a sports writer thought that meant she should know who the MVP of the 1952 World Series was and be a walking encyclopedia of sports facts.
“You still see it where others think you got the job because you are a woman and they hired you to cover women’s sports,” says Blount. “Women still have to prove themselves, but by doing your job and being professional, you can overcome those stereotypes.”
Howard believes women in this field face the same type of challenges that women in corporate settings would: Both have been dominated by males for a long time, but the gap has certainly narrowed over the last few decades. Women in these fields have to conquer similar stereotypes — they’re not tough enough to go toe-to-toe with men, or they’re not poised enough to deal with pressure situations, or they’re not knowledgeable or experienced enough to provide a product of equal quality.
“But with more and more women entering and excelling within the sports industry, those stereotypes have diminished over time,” said Howard.
All four journalists agree there are some basic skill sets to master to succeed in this profession, regardless of gender.
Seven tested tips for women seeking sports writing success
1. Love what you do. “It’s important to enjoy writing, listening to people and telling their stories, and to be curious and willing and able to ask a lot of questions with the subject matter you are writing about,” says Blount. “Practice writing about anything and everything to master the craft.”
2. Find a mentor — male or female — to provide guidance, says Blount.
3. Be prepared to work nights and weekends — forever! “It’s harder to have a family in this end of the business than most due to when the events take place,” says Rosenbush.
4. Build a support network. “Hold on to the good friends you make in this business and work to build your support network,” says Rosenbush. “You will find this valuable as you move along.”
4. Be open-minded. “Experience a variety of sports, move away from the mainstream and try something completely new and different,” says Howard. “Just because you’re a woman does not mean to have to work exclusively with women’s sports. Speak up and cover the team(s) you want to cover.”
5. Practice. The most important thing is writing well, and the best way to improve your writing is to practice, says Hendricks. Write about everything you can, whether you will get paid or not. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your desired field.
6. Write in uniform. “Learn AP style,” advises Hendricks. “Study your subjects, brainstorm new and different ways to cover them and read everything you can get your hands on. When you get lazy, it shows.”
7. It’s not all glamorous. More often than not, Hendricks sits at home wearing sweatpants and writing with reruns of The West Wing and Beverly Hills, 90210 on in the background. “Covering sports doesn’t mean that you are going to be rubbing elbows with star athletes, and when you do meet athletes, they’re generally very different from expectations,” she says.
Matt Krumrie is a freelance writer and communications professional.
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