Andrews' situation reminds us women in the media continue to suffer
By: Jim Williams
Examiner Sports Columnist
July 22, 2009
ESPN reporter Erin Andrews' privacy being violated by a lowlife who videotaped Andrews in the nude through a hole drilled in the wall of her hotel room is both disgusting and scary. The entire video went straight to the Internet and while Andrews' lawyers are looking to find the pervert who committed the crime the damage is done.
During my nearly 30 years in the broadcast business, I have had the honor and pleasure of working with many women both in front and behind the camera. Many of the women in front of the camera were subjected to ridicule and sexual innuendo despite, in most cases, being smarter and knowing more about sports than their male colleagues.
Howard Cosell coined the term "jockocracy" in his bestselling book, "I Never Played the Game." He talked about athletes getting broadcasting jobs simply because they played a sport. In most cases, Cosell pointed out that just because someone played a sport did not mean they knew the sport. More importantly he contended the former players were rarely good communicators for the viewers.
We fast forward 25 years, and there are women who should be in the sports broadcast booths who simply aren't because they didn't play the game. Meanwhile, former players who have little to no traceable communication skills get plugged right in.
Pam Ward of ESPN, who we all know as a local talent, is the only woman to do play-by-play on college football games. She also handles women's softball and college basketball.
The vast majority of baseball broadcasters on radio have never played the game, yet the Yankees' Suzyn Waldman is the only woman in an MLB booth. There are only a handful of women in the NBA, NHL, MLS or major college broadcast booths.
This in an era when there are more live sports on TV than ever before.
Not all jocks are bad communicators. There are many fine guys who do a great job talking about their sport and deserve to be on TV and radio. That being said, we need to see women given more chances in local broadcast booths, on sport talk radio as hosts, and in network broadcast booths. In many cases, Howard Cosell's "jockocracy" is alive and well over 25 years after he coined the phrase.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
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