What ‘We Need to Talk’ is Talking About

One of the first things I wrote about on The 11 Percent was CBS Sports Network’s new all-female talk show, ‘We Need to Talk.’ Now into ten episodes, a variety of topics have been covered and I can generate a sufficient opinion on the show. It definitely gives all of the women involved a chance to share their views on varying sports issues and events, such as Derrick Rose’s health concerns, if Adrian Peterson should be able to play again, and Marcus Lattimore’s retirement announcement.

Courtesy of CBS Press Express

Their format for talking about certain issues is somewhat of a round table, in that a question will be posed and everyone will go around sharing their view on that topic. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a debate show, because they are rather reserved in their commentary. It’s not like ESPN’s ‘First Take’ where Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith sometimes harshly disagree with each other to the point that it turns to arguing.

Courtesy of CBS Sports

‘We Need to Talk’ does have some members of the panel disagreeing with each other, but it’s not often, and with multiple panelists, the discussion moves too quickly to someone else before it can become a real debate.

They do cover the biggest and most controversial topics in sports today, giving women the chance to share their opinions rather than play a host and ask a man what they think. They also have had great interviews on their show from Bruce Arians of the Cardinals and Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman to Olympian Michelle Kwan. The show has both discussions and longer-form interviews, making it different than the typical sports talk show. Of course, it’s automatically unique in that it’s all women as panelists, but I think if they add a little more edge to their discussions and less passivity, the show will go further.

Courtesy of CBS Sports

Their discussion on Derrick Rose is my favorite, as they do show more intensity than I’ve seen in previous episodes. They disagree with each other in some aspects and all have a definitive view on Rose’s statement about his health concerns.

In another episode, where they are discussing Adrian Peterson’s reinstatement, several panelists don’t know if he should be let back into the NFL, but I want to know their opinions. Since that is the whole point of the show, each episode should have solid opinions, in-depth analysis, actual debate, and interesting interviews. If they can provide that in every show from now on, ‘We Need to Talk’ will be something that every sports fan will need to talk about.

Courtesy of GirlTalkHQ

What’s Trending? Women Not Following Sports-Related Twitter Accounts

I was perplexed to discover that not very many women follow sports-related Twitters according to Wendy Thurm’s article, Female Sportswriter Asks: ‘Why Are All My Twitter Followers Men? Actually, her findings show that only 11 percent of her own followers were women. Yes, 11 percent, what a coincidence. Her Twitter account isn’t just an anomaly in this either. Other female sportswriters Thurm contacted shared in similar statistics, with three other writers having 12 percent of their followers consisting of women.

Courtesy of CNN

Most of the Twitters I follow are sports-related, I mean, I think I follow almost every player on the NY Giants team, which is why I was pretty surprised to hear this. So to figure out why this could be, Thurm looked to female viewership of sports in general, saying,

“According to The Nielsen Company’s 2013 Sports Media Report, women made up only 35 percent of the TV audience for NFL games during the 2013 season, the highest figure among the four major American sports. The NHL was second, with 32 percent women TV viewers. The NBA and MLB lagged behind at 30 percent. NASCAR bested the NFL by drawing a TV audience that was 37 percent women.”

Those numbers seemed a lot more normal to me, so why don’t these Twitter accounts have female follower percentages in the 30% range? Or at least the 20% range? According to input Thurm received from Penn State professor Marie Hardin, women and men have differing expectations of how their leisure time should be spent. Men benefit socially from being sports fans, she says, while it would not be the cultural norm for women to put sports above their family and career. Therefore in their free time, they wouldn’t be perusing Twitter accounts devoted to sports.

Courtesy of RGB Social

Thurm sees this as a problem, as do I, because Twitter facilitates discussion about sports. So when women are not involved in that discussion, they’re not sharing their views on various sports topics and events. Thurm’s issue with this is,

“… If they’re not on Twitter in significant numbers, they’re not influencing where the story goes next on that medium either … And in the long run, that’s not good for women sports fans, women sports reporters, or for sports and our broader, more informed conversations about them.”

With Twitter becoming a more integral part of today’s media landscape, women need to be involved in the sports discussion through this outlet as well. General sports-related Twitter accounts such as Bleacher Report also only have 11 percent of female followers, showing that women aren’t prevalent enough in this medium and I know some of us have a lot to contribute to the online sports discussion.

Sports Media Spotlight with Victoria Green

In this week’s Sports Media Spotlight, Victoria Green shares her variety of experiences in the field. She has had the opportunity to work at four consecutive Super Bowls and has great advice for those who are seeking to do the same. She also has a strong background in the Public Relations side of sports and has used both her work ethic and people skills to get farther in the field. She’s a big advocate for networking and as it is sometimes hard to keep in touch with those you’ve worked with, or met, her advice is, don’t! It has helped her succeed in the field and she has many more tips for those hoping to work in sports media in the future. Here are some highlights from my talk with Victoria or you can listen to the full interview below.

Green on how to be successful in the field:

“Relentlessness. Don’t give up. You just have to be patient and passionate. So if you’re passionate about it, you’ll be patient and you’ll wait for things to come.”

On how she got her past experiences in sports and her current position:

“Networking. That has been the success of my entire career.”

“I don’t really believe in luck. A lot of people say, ‘You’re so lucky,’ and it’s like I did a lot to get to where I am today. It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t necessarily calculated, but it definitely wasn’t luck.”

On how to get ahead in the sports media field:

“It pays to know people and for them to know what you do and how you do it well.”

“I would say relationships are going to be your biggest asset. And don’t just ask for something and if they can’t provide it, leave them alone. Follow up with them, see how they’re doing throughout the year … Every three or four months check in with them and see how they’re doing and really nurture that relationship. It will get you pretty far. I’ve seen it first hand.”

“If you don’t know those people, there are so many resources out there. Linkedin is one of the top ones. If you have an idea of a position you want or something you’d like to do, look at the people who are currently in that position. Look at their job descriptions, look at their work history, and how they got to where they’re at.”

On her success so far:

“When I started journalism school, I would have never imagined that this is where I’d be so early in my career. I literally worked my first Super Bowl less than a month after I graduated from college.”

“What drives me to be successful is making sure I’m happy and that I love what I’m doing.”

“I’ve got one life, if I have to do something full-time, I want to do it in a place that’s exciting and make sure that I’m excited every day. The job that I have now, I love.”

On misconceptions of women in the field:

“A lot of people don’t understand where PR comes into sports media. They have the assumption based off of, I’m assuming TV and what they see, that if you’re a female in the sports industry you’re either a broadcaster doing sideline reporting or you’re a publicist for some big name athlete … There are the stereotypes that I would be a sideline reporter and I’m going to be the next Pam Oliver, but I’ve never wanted to broadcast.”

On challenges women face in sports media:

“There are some organizations from what I’ve heard that don’t send in their female Communications team members into the locker room after the game … There’s different challenges depending on what your career path is. It is different for women. You don’t see too many women in the locker room after the game.”

Advice for women seeking to join the industry:

“Do your research. Make sure it’s what you want to do. You do have to have tough skin. It’s not to say this industry is horrible. It’s not. It is what you make it. I’ve had a great experience so far. There are different challenges, but as long as you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll be fine.”

“Find mentors in anyone you can. Even if it’s someone who may not be high up, they’ve got an experience that you don’t have.”

Listen to the full interview with Victoria below:

Appearance in the Media

Recently, I discussed how women are more harshly judged for the way they dress on television. However in continuing with this issue, it’s not only the way they dress that is at the forefront of the public’s attention, but their appearance in general. As sad as it is, when you Google “female sportscaster” almost every result on the first page is a list of the hottest/sexiest sportscasters. To be exact, there were only TWO websites out of the top TEN search results that did not relate to a list of “the hottest.”

If you search for the opposite, “male sportscasters” the results are extremely different. There is not one article or website relating to the appearance of the men in sports media. So yes, it is fairly obvious that when a women is seen on TV talking about sports, her looks may be noticed first compared to her words. How do we change that? Although I don’t think there will ever be a way to take appearance off of everyone’s minds, being and looking professional goes a long way. Ultimately these sports broadcasters are on TV to provide us with information, not to be gawked at. So going back to the way you dress, the more professional you are, the better. Awful Announcing also covered this topic on their site in an article entitled Should appearance matter so much in sports?, and they discuss both the media side and female athlete side of the issue. The point that I like the best, is that even if a women does happen to be attractive, that shouldn’t diminish the public’s perception of her as a real reporter. As the article says,

“It can be easy for male sports fans to assume that [Erin] Andrews, [Charissa] Thompson and the rest only got their jobs because of their appearance, but that isn’t the whole truth; after all, there are plenty of models out there who don’t work as sideline reporters.”

They also cite an article written by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil in which she makes the argument that these women are good at their jobs and that is why they are in their current position. In her piece, O’Neil writes,

“I know plenty of attractive women who are damn good at what they do. They do their homework. They know their sport. They care. They work hard. They also happen to look nice on camera. They shouldn’t have to apologize for that.”

Courtesy of Gallery Hip

 

“It’s Time for Women to Have a Seat at the Big Boy Table”

In this segment of “No Filter with Katie Nolan,” she talks about her opinion on boycotting the NFL because of the issues with Ray Rice and numerous occurrences of domestic violence within the league. As formidable as her views on this topic are, the best part starts at 1:20 when she relates the domestic violence situation to women as fans and then women in the media. I love the question that she was planning to pose to Roger Goodell at the FOX Sports NFL symposium. Although she didn’t ask it (and I wish she did!) she wanted to know,

“Why would you not consider a larger suspension for Ray Rice to send the message to the untapped market of female fans that the NFL actually cares about them?”

This is a great point and not one that I have heard anyone else even talk about. Nolan believes that since the media doesn’t give women as much attention as their male counterparts, then why would the NFL? One of the reasons I want to work in sports media directly ties into what Nolan says next.

“Women in sports television are allowed to read headlines, patrol sidelines, and generally facilitate conversation for their male colleagues.”

I wish to change this standard and Nolan feels the same. The fact that women are constantly playing a supporting role in television broadcasts is one of the biggest issues in sports media. Women can analyze the game and have opinions on sports issues and topics, as Nolan clearly displays when discussing the NFL’s domestic violence problem. Plus, she adds that even if a woman hasn’t played a sport, it doesn’t mean that they can’t talk about it. Likewise, just because a historian wasn’t alive during World War I doesn’t mean they can’t tell you about it or be an expert on it. Right? No matter if you’re a former player or not, you still need to study the game, it’s players, and what’s constantly going on to have full knowledge of it. Nolan wants women to get more involved in discussing sports, and says,

“It’s time for the conversation to change or at least those participating in the conversation. It’s time for women to have a seat at the big boy table.”

To relate this all to the NFL and circle back to where she started, she shares her opinion on why the NFL is not showing a greater consciousness towards women saying,

“The NFL will never respect women and their opinions as long as the media they respond to, doesn’t.”

Watch the video below to hear it in full:

Sports Media Spotlight with Kaitlyn Kaminski

< For this week’s spotlight, I talked to Kaitlyn Kaminski, who has already given herself a great head start into the sports media field. Although she’s still in school, that hasn’t stopped her from getting her foot in the door and gaining as much experience as possible. Currently, she runs her own website, Not Your Typical Jersey Girl, where she discusses sports and a variety of topics, and also has written articles for noteworthy media sources to add to her growing portfolio of sports reporting. Getting started on your career early is something I’ve always been a strong advocate for. Keep reading to hear more from Kaminski about how her early start has proven beneficial for her future goals in sports media.

The 11 Percent: What have been some of your experiences so far in sports media?

Kaitlyn Kaminski: In high school, I would cover some sporting events and go to the games. Within the past couple of years I started getting into baseball (NY Yankees), football (NY Giants), and hockey (NY Rangers).

“Twitter has been amazing allowing me to reach out to people that I would never think to.”

It allowed me to start writing for websites like HoundSports, Sports Rants, and The Post Game.

The 11 Percent: What made you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in this field?

Kaminski: I have always known journalism was what I want to do. I remember watching Ernie Anastos broadcasting the news and I told myself that I wanted to do the same thing. Sports has always been something that I would watch with my family-mainly my dad, and it became a huge part of my life. “Sunday Fundays” as I like to call them now revolve round watching sports with my family and friends.

The 11 Percent: Where do you see your career going? What are your biggest long-term and short-term goals?

Kaminski: I see my career going far.

 “I know it sounds cliche, but I do not settle for anything. I like to set goals for myself and like to finish what I start.”

My biggest long-term goal is to work for ESPN and show women everywhere that they can do the same thing. My short-term goal is to find more projects that allow me to expand my horizons in the “sports world.”

The 11 Percent: Do you find it more difficult for a woman to be in this field?

Kaminski: I think it is difficult for a woman to work in this field, but I do not think it is as bad as it used to be. I actually did a story on my website www.notyourtypicaljerseygirl.com discussing this topic. However, it is nothing that a woman cannot handle. Any career that has a male dominant workplace and a woman joins- she will endure stereotypes and harder times.

“The cookie-cutter image and being a tall, skinny, blonde are what people think of as women getting jobs in this industry and I think that needs to change.”

The 11 Percent: What made you join the Association for Women in Sports Media? Are you a part of any other groups of this kind?

Kaminski: I was on LinkedIn and saw that it was a suggested group. I decided to join, as I think it is important that woman unite  and mark their mark in this industry.

The 11 Percent: You write for the Huffington Post, Sports Rants, Hound Sports, and the Post Game. What made you decide to get started on your career this early on?

Kaminski: I have always been a person who has zero patience. I do not see a point in waiting until I am in college to start in this industry. I believing in start early on everything that I do. The more experience the better and I like knowing that I can make an impact writing even though I am only in high school.

The 11 Percent: How did you obtain these writing positions? Any advice for those who are looking to get started writing or get an internship?

Kaminski: I owe a lot of my success to Twitter. I posted an article that I wrote for my friends to read and the next thing I knew I had a  direct message to write for HoundSports. The other positions were from word of mouth and me e-mailing different places.

“If you are looking for an internship E-MAIL. I cannot reiterate that enough. You never know who is on the other end of the computer reading your resume and I think that is the greatest thing ever.”

You have to stay persistent and send a follow up e-mail if you do not hear anything just so you know the person/company acknowledged your e-mail and got it.

The 11 Percent: How did it feel when your first article was published?

Kaminski: It was amazing! My first published article was on The Huffington Post on why I want to study journalism. They tweeted my article out on their twitter accounts and the responses I got back were overwhelming. People from all over the world were retweeting the link and commenting on my article. It was truly like Christmas morning.

The 11 Percent: What teams do you root for and how did you first become interested in sports?

Kaminski: New York Yankees, New York Giants, New York Rangers.

My dad always had some game on ESPN or the YES Network, my twin, Kayleigh, and I just started watching religiously within the past couple years.

The 11 Percent: What challenges do you think you may face as a woman in sports. How will you overcome them?

Kaminski: I face being discriminated that I do not know anything because I am a woman.

“People think that only guys know sports and that is not true. I plan on proving people wrong one day.”

Watch out world! 🙂

One Suit for One Year: What Stefanovic’s Experiment Says About Appearance and Gender

Karl Stefanovic, a morning show anchor in Australia, just revealed a social experiment he has been conducting for the last year. For it, he wore the same suit on TV every day and waited to see if anyone would notice. No one did. One year later, the conclusion of his experiment shows how the importance of appearance is radically different between men and women in the media industry.

Courtesy of metro.co.uk

For men, a suit is the norm, but women have countless options. The fact that Stefanovic received not one comment about his repeated outfit or appearance shows the different standard women have to face. With women having the choice between dresses, skirts, blouses, skirt suits, pant suits and more, having consistency across the industry is impossible. In sports, sideline reporters are often asked to work in extreme weather situations where they could either be in the stifling heat or freezing cold. Some sideline reporters have been known to wear tank tops as they conduct interviews in Florida or motorcycle jackets in the fall to protect against the cold.

Courtesy of SB Nation

In 2003, CBS reporter Jill Arrington took off her sweater during a broadcast and gave her report in a sleeveless black top. She was criticized for it and more recently, Azteca TV reporter Ines Sainz was harassed and condemned for the tight jeans she wore on the field to interview NY Jets players. Although there are ways to be conservative and ensure a professional look regardless of gender or the numerous options, should there be a standard for female broadcasters? Either way, Stefanovic’s conclusion is that there is a problem with the perception of appearance depending on gender. To the Australian newspaper, The Age, he said, “But women, they wear the wrong color and they get pulled up. They say the wrong thing and there’s thousands of tweets written about them.”

Courtesy of LukeFord.net

What a woman wears in the sports media industry certainly has the potential to give the public an impression of the broadcaster themselves. However for men, Stefanovic proved a suit will look just fine and not garner too much attention. Unfortunately his experiment also proved the double standard in the industry. “I’m judged on my interviews, my appalling sense of humour — on how I do my job, basically,” he said. “Women are quite often judged on what they’re wearing or how their hair is.”

Courtesy of CBS

#iSupportCari

If you’ve seen the #iSupportCari hashtag, and don’t know what it’s referring to, it unfortunately has a very unpleasant origin. Although the hashtag itself is great to show support for Cari Champion, ESPN’s anchor on First Take, it is the result of the repeated Twitter harassment she received from comedian Artie Lange.

Courtesy of CelebrityNetWorth.com

His tweets are first directed at Champion’s looks and then culminate in him describing her to be his slave, insinuating rape. With some of these tweets getting hundreds of retweets and favorites, it puts the public also at blame for responding to Lange’s comments and distributing them to others. Although there has been an influx of support for Champion, Lange has been retweeting and responding to those who have shown support for him. He also has retweeted those on the opposite side, who have said what he did was wrong, as a sort of joke. He then apologized to Champion over Twitter, saying they were just jokes and adding, “Pls don’t let them harm you. If they did I’m sorry.”

He also backed up his tweets by saying he was just making an observation that Champion “was a gorgeous lady.” Unfortunately as a woman in the public eye, people are often going to concentrate on appearance, which is why women in sports media have such a large issue to overcome.

Courtesy of @LuvLyricalMusic

Although we can’t control what comedians deem as “jokes” we can control our response to it. The #iSupportCari hashtag is just one of those ways that the public can get involved in fighting against injustices of this kind.

Sports Media Spotlight with Jessica Quiroli

Named by espnW as one of the “Ten Women in Sports to Follow,” Jessica Quiroli is not only a staff writer for Minor League Ball, but has her own website, “Heels on the Field” to go into the sport even more in-depth.  She has written for numerous other media outlets, but throughout her career has kept her love of minor league baseball at the forefront of her coverage. In today’s Sports Media Spotlight, Quiroli shares her background with us, as well as why she decided to start her own blog and get to where she is today.

The 11 Percent: What would you consider your biggest accomplishment so far in your career?

Jessica Quiroli: Creating something of my own, in a very tough and crowded industry. Hearing from girls that say I inspire them. Covering an area of baseball-the minor leagues-where there are very few women and plowing through horrible treatment. Having Melissa Ludtke tell me she loved the name of my blog. Speaking at the baseball Winter Meetings.

The 11 Percent: You are the creator of “Heels On The Field.” What made you decide to create your own blog?

Quiroli: I needed an outlet outside of my professional baseball writing to say what I wanted to. The blog has made me a better writer, because even when I’m not working, I’m writing.

The 11 Percent: What has the response to your blog been like?

Quiroli: Mostly positive through the years. But one reporter called the name ‘provocative’, which I hated. And a woman I’d admired in the business shunned me after finding out the name of it. Literally ignored my emails and ignored me to my face.

“All those things did was show me I needed to be proud of myself no matter what. And to always encourage others, male and female.”

The 11 Percent: What do you like about covering Minor League Baseball? What got you involved in that area of the sports industry?

Quiroli: Watching the process. The minor leagues is the workshop.

“You’re seeing the real sweat and heart of baseball.”

I started writing for a baseball website just to try it. I seemed to take to it pretty quickly and I was a good student. I wasn’t intimidated by the difficult aspects, which is very important to succeed.

The 11 Percent: What is the hardest part about your profession?

Quiroli: The hours. A normal personal life and schedule is difficult.

Quiroli interviewing a member of the Trenton Thunder, affiliate of the New York Yankees

The 11 Percent: What has your career path been like thus far?

Quiroli: I haven’t had a map or some grand plan. I do what I love. I work at it. And I never stop seeing myself as a student. The path has been unpredictable, sometimes extremely difficult and exhausting, but mostly exciting, fun, and rewarding.

The 11 Percent: Any advice for anyone seeking to join the sports media field?

Quiroli: Embrace new media but don’t lose sight of the traditional, the purity of the craft of sportswriting.

“Realize how HUGE the industry is now and try to find your own niche, your own voice. Study writing. Study everyone around you.”

Ask questions, but also figure things out on your own other times. I’ve gotten lost trying to find the clubhouse, gotten names wrong, did interviews with little research. But I learned from my own mistakes, and that gave me confidence.

Quiroli speaking with a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones, affiliate of the New York Mets

The 11 Percent: How did get interested in sports and what made you want to work in the field?

Quiroli: I was a baseball fan, but I think I always knew I wanted to be a writer. The more I did it, the more I loved it. So I just worked harder. I grew up a Phillies fan.

The 11 Percent: What would you say to someone who thinks that women don’t know about sports as much as men?

Quiroli: To get over it.

The 11 Percent: Do you think women get treated differently than men in this field?

Quiroli: Of course. But that’s never stopped me or all of the women who came before me, and kicked down doors for us.

“We just keep on doing that, by working hard, standing up for ourselves and each other, having a great sense of humor, and remembering to follow our passion.”

Quiroli covering the Phillies minor league camp

You can follow Heels on the Field on Twitter at https://twitter.com/heelsonthefield as well as check out her page: http://www.highheelsonthefield.net/

Women Play Fantasy Football Too

Fantasy Football is no longer a game just for the guys. About 20% of the total number of fantasy players is female. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, there are 41 million fantasy football players in total, so that means millions of women are playing too. In a talk with Brett Vandermark, Director of Fantasy Content for NBCSports.com, I was able to hear his analysis on female involvement in fantasy football.

Courtesy of sports.yahoo.com

The full interview is below. Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On the number of women playing fantasy football:

“It think it is noticeable that more and more women are playing.”

On the perception of gender in fantasy sports:

“When it comes to fantasy, people don’t care who you are. They just need to know, can I trust the person?”

“They’re just regular players. They’re not women that are in the league. They’re just another person in the league that happens to be a female.”

On the success of female participants in fantasy sports:

“If you understand the sport or you understand the numbers, there’s no reason a woman can’t do just as well as a guy.”

“They want to beat the guys, because they can. It’s not like a guy is in any way superior in this.”

On the character, Jenny, from FX’s The League:

“They portray her as just as knowledgeable or more than any of the other guys.”

On marketing to women specifically in fantasy sports:

“I’m sure there are ways to market more to women … I think staying away from women’s leagues would do it. That’s not the way to market it,  to focus on women beating women.”

Courtesy of csnbaltimore.com