Female Sports Broadcasters

One way in which females are treated differently than males is in sports broadcasting. For centuries, the male gender has been dominant in reporting, whether it was regular news or sports news. There is not doubt that female reporters have been harassed or have been questioned about performing their job because of their gender.

Amanda Gunther, Daniel Kautz, and Allison Roth, researchers at Wilkes University conducted a study that analyzed female sports broadcasters. Since sports broadcasting is viewed as a male role, these three researchers discovered whether or a female broadcaster was treated the same way as a male broadcaster and if the female broadcaster was found to be a credible source or not.

According to these researchers, "85% of women of females working in the sports journalism field feel as though they are not seen as equals because of their gender" (75). Overall, their results to their testing was ineffective and inconclusive because they did not extend their research to a large enough area. however, through prior research and other case studies, there has been other significant research done to prove that there is a difference between how female reporters are treated versus male reporters.

Gunther, et. al., stated "Not only does credibility come into question when it comes to the female sports reporter but authoritativeness as well. Some believe that females are less authoritative than men on the side lines and in the locker room" (75).

After reading the essay "The Credibility of Female Sports Broadcasters: The perception of Gender in a Male-Dominated Profession," I researched more information on female sports broadcasters. I wanted to specifically know who these women were and what sports they worked for. As I was trying to research about female sports broadcasters, I came across this website. (The link is attached below)

http://www.viralworld.net/the-18-sexiest-sports-broadcasters-that-have-ever-been-on-television-are-ranked-here/

This website contains a list of the "18 sexiest sports broadcasters on TV). Each broadcaster featured in this lystical are woman. Instead of featuring the women doing their job, they are featured in a sexual position. For example, the first women that appeared out of the eighteen was Lisa Posdenik. Lisa is a UFC reporter who is married a baseball player. The first image that appeared on the website was this:

Lisa was not featured in this article for doing her job. Instead she was posed in a sexual position holding a sports accessory. Lisa was not the only female sports broadcaster posed in this manner. Every single one of the female sports broadcasters were posed similarly. The picture below is of Carrie Milbank.

Once again, this female sports broadcaster is not depicted doing her job. Instead she is posing on a hockey arena in a bathing suit and a scarf, holding a hockey stick behind her head. These types of photos do not represent Carrie as a reporter, instead they represent her as a sex symbol. 

There have been female broadcasters that have helped progress history. For example, Jane Chastain was the first female broadcaster to conduct live play coverage at a sporting event. There also has been Harry Johnson who was a sports commentator in the the 1930's and 1940's (74). Despite those advancements, women have been hired to fill roles as what can be defined as a "hostess." These women, some of which are beauty queens and cover girls, were hired to represent a sports team. These females were hired to act and look nice for the teams (74).

This past year, Major League Baseball hired their first female broadcaster, Jessica Mendoza, on ESPN.

A few decades ago, women were hired to fill the role as what was defined as a "hostess" where beauty queens and cover girls were used to act and look nice for the sports teams (74). 

Even though there have been female broadcasters who have helped make history, they are still challenged within the field because of their gender. Women are constantly being treated differently than men in relation to sports. Sports broadcasting is one example in the way in which females are not treated same and do not have the same respect in the field of sports as men do. Instead of being treated as a professional sports broadcaster, these women are either treated as sexual objects or reporters who are not credible and do now have an idea of what they are talking about.

Overall, the treatment of women in relation to sports is not fair. Just because a woman is a broadcaster, does not mean that she does not know what she is talking about. Chances are, those female broadcasters know more about reporting and what is happening in the game than what their critics know.

Works Cited:

Gunther, Amanda, Daniel Kautz, and Allison Roth. "The Credibility of Female Sports Broadcasters: The Perception of Gender In A Male-Dominated Profession. "Human Communication 14.2 (2011): 71-84. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2015