Women Sportscasters

1521 Words7 Pages
Women Sportscasters By Andascha Moore-Pryor Media Programming November 14, 2011 | | | | Mrs. Harry Johnson | Jane Chastain | | | | | | | Lesley Visser | Leandra Reilly | | The first network program that had a featuring female sportscaster debut was in 1948. This was the representative of NBC’s Sportswoman of the Week. It was a 15-minute sportscast, featuring a lady named Sarah Palfrey Cooke, who was a 13-time national women’s and mixed double tennis champion. She was known to have interview outstanding female athletes of the time. Despite her athletic achievements, Cooke was often regarded as simply a “beautiful” Boston socialite. However, the show was not picked up as a part of the NBC program listings in…show more content…
Roughly or wrongly. Some viewers might look at a woman sportscaster as guilty until proven innocent, and the males are proven guilty” (Salter 131). Reilly, the first spokeswoman that was mentioned earlier to do a play by play for the NBA stated, “The networks used to pick women for their looks, but now they require more qualifications. Some may still hire a woman just because she is a woman and the network needs a minority in the field.” Visser who now works for ESPN and ABC sports adds “When women(sportscasters) are given greater responsibilities and prove that they can manage them, they build a good reputation as sportscasters (Women in Sportscasting). The women knew the responsibilities that they had to take on to be accepted. In fact, they had to work extremely hard to get what they wanted, to get the respect they deserved because of their gender. “No one is going to just hand you a job,” says Gardner. “For women especially, this profession will never stop being a struggle with constant blows which must be taken” (Women in…show more content…
Cahn. Women and Sports in the United States: a Documentary Reader. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2007. Print. Salter, David F. Crashing the Old Boys' Network: the Tragedies and Triumphs of Girls and Women in Sports. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. Print. Schwartz, Lou. "Article - Women in Sportscasting: A Brief History, by Lou Schwartz."American Sportscasters Online. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.americansportscastersonline.com/womeninsportscasting.html>. Schultz, Brad. Sports Media: Planning, Production, and Reporting. Vol. 1. Amsterdam: Elsevier Focal, 2005.
Open Document