Presenter(s): Sierra Webster
Faculty Mentor(s): Lori Shontz
Oral Session 2 O
Male sports reporters produce nearly 90 percent of sports media coverage (The Status of Women in the U.S. Media, Women’s Media Center). Just 13 percent of sports staff are white women, while 5 percent are women of color. Further, men predominately hold decision-making roles in sports media, making up 90 percent of sports editors (2018 AP Sports Editors Report Card). Thus, the underrepresentation of women and women of color in sports media necessarily produces misrepresentations of female athletes and female athletes of color. In the very nature of how journalism works and the role of journalists as agenda-setters, reporters and editors decide which and how narratives around women are told.
For my School of Journalism and Communication honors thesis, I have produced a long-form feature story focused on fans of the Seattle Storm, the 2018 WNBA champion, and their relationship to a professional team that is not centered around masculinity and whiteness. The Storm seems to sit at the forefront of a movement that is giving more prestige and attention towards professional sportswomen.
My project has combined extensive sports media coverage research and knowledge with journalistic storytelling, interviewing and reporting to tell the story of Storm fans and why their stories matter through the accessible medium of journalism. I traveled to Seattle to interview sources and gather information, scene and a sense for the city’s support of its WNBA franchise. The information gathered on reporting trips paired with information gathered through research culminates in a product that is more than a research article but is a compelling story that demonstrates the value of women’s professional sports. Using my research and my experience as a woman in sports media, I have produced a narrative that is dignifying, nuanced and representative of the women on the court and in the stands.