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Female Sports Reporters Finding a New Voice

Cbs Sports Women Large

As the creator, executive producer, and co-host of Instant She-Play, I was more than thrilled when AOL Sports-Huffington Post picked up my talk show featuring three women interviewing NFL athletes. It premiered in 2009 as the sports version of The View, as we discussed politics, religion, and other hot topics.

After a year, I wanted Instant She-Play to have a home with a broader audience, one that would tune in on a larger screen. Despite its online success, TV executives passed on the concept. The overall sentiment was: "Men do not want to watch a bunch of women act like they know about sports."

That mindset is not uncommon, and that’s why the recent premiere of CBS Sports’ We Need to Talk, the first-ever nationally televised, all-female sports show, is a major milestone in sports journalism. While the concept may appear to be a PR attempt to stop the bleeding of a deep wound inflicted on fans angered by the NFL’s domestic violence crisis, the show was actually conceived over a year ago.

Emilie Deutsch, VP of Features and Original Programming, was a major force in shaping the concept. The show brings female sports reporters and commentators together with current and former athletes to discuss everything from the high number of NFL penalties this season to the '”new” Big East and its effect on recruiting, and, yes, domestic violence among professional athletes.

The impressive roster of 12 rotating co-hosts includes former boxer Laila Ali, five-time Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, WNBA star Swin Cash, veteran sports reporter Andrea Kremer, and former Oakland Raiders CEO turned analyst Amy Trask.

In previous years, similar ideas had been tossed around the network, but it wasn’t until David Berson came on board as President of CBS Sports in June 2013 that resources were committed to a female-led show.

"[He] is a big fan of women in this business and a supporter of women announcers," said Deutsch. "We had a roundtable of producers [and staff from] marketing. We got together to discuss what [the show] would be like, the target audience, and what would make it work." It was decided that the show would be designed to appeal to anyone who considers themselves a sports fan.

The CBS family of networks has come full circle as a conduit of female advancement in sports broadcasting. In the mid-1960s, the media company hired Jane Chastain. Known as the Jackie Robinson of the on-air world, she became the first woman to work as a TV sports announcer.

Former Miss America Phyllis George joined CBS as a sportscaster in 1974. Because she had very little journalistic experience, she was often told what to say during her broadcasts. The network was criticized by those who felt that George was being exploited for her beauty.

The same was sometimes said of Jayne Kennedy. Also a beauty pageant alum, she replaced George later that year, becoming the first African-American woman to host a network sports TV broadcast.

Chastain and the others paved the way for female colleagues often subjected to hostility from fans, the male athletes, and the organizations that they were covering. In the early 1970s, Chicago broadcaster Jeannie Morris covered a Vikings vs. Bears game for CBS at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota. However, stadium rules prohibited her from reporting in the press box alongside her male counterparts. Instead she was relegated to work outside during a major blizzard.

While conditions have changed considerably, female sports reporters still find their competence questioned. I was recently interviewed by Katie Couric on her now-defunct talk show, Katie, alongside Pam Oliver of Fox Sports. Before we went on-air, Pam shared some of her sideline experiences with me. Despite being a former athlete and having more than 30 years of experience with other networks such as ESPN and TNT, she's still questioned about her knowledge of the game. Forty-plus years after George's TV debut, Pam stated she is frequently asked if a man is telling her what to say through an ear-piece.

As a sports connoisseur, I have found We Need to Talk empowering to watch and just as engaging as other programs such as ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption or Around the Horn. The segment discussions are energetic and relevant. There is nothing “watered down” about the content or the analysis—which contradicts the perception sometimes attached to women who work on-air in this business. The show is a testimony to the fact that female viewpoints are valid and that women can bring different perspectives to sports issues in the same way Democrats, Republicans, and Independents may all have different ideologies about economic policy.

While most sports programs have only one female per show, We Need to Talk makes a powerful statement by uplifting women from supporting cast to leading roles. It helps challenge stereotypes, as we watch these women who are credentialed, competent, and analytical enough to carry a show on their own.

My only complaint is the show's title. Every woman knows that phrase is the worst thing to say to a boyfriend or husband when we want them to listen. When men hear it, they know they're in the doghouse or they've done something horribly wrong. They will punt, deflect, or run in the other direction faster than any wide receiver you've seen.

As more women report from the gridiron, basketball court, and baseball field, and the “firsts” to do it become further removed, I hope that gender integration will be so commonplace that it's barely noticed in this male-dominated business. Providing a microphone for female voices to be heard among CBS Sports' 55 million subscribers is a sign that acceptance is slow but in progress. Since the network is currently not tracked by Nielsen ratings, we don't know who's been watching We Need to Talk. But we are discussing it, and I hope both men and women are all ears. 


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