The Hosts
The world's first live sports broadcast was of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Then in 1939, NBC televised the first United States live sporting event of a baseball game from Columbia's Baker Field. There were only men holding the microphones, and they dominated the field for three decades. The era of cable launched sport networks in the mid-40's, changing the game of TV. It wasn't until the mid-70's before the world would finally see a woman talking about sports on a national network. In 1975, the world saw a woman on a sports network on the national level. That woman was 1971 Miss America pageant winner, Phyllis George. In 1974, CBS asked George to join this network as a sportscaster. The following year, the former beauty queen was promoted to the cast of NFL Today, which made her one of the first women to have a prominent role in sports broadcasting. George would join NFL today alongside Brent Musberger, Irv Cross and Jimmy Snyder until she accepted a role at CBS Morning News. In 1978, history would be made again when another woman would replace George, but this time a black woman. Jayne Kennedy became the first black woman to host a network sports TV broadcast.
Phyllis George
Jayne Kennedy
Women like Leslie Visser and Gayle Garner would continue to snag prominent jobs with different sport networks for the next decade. It wouldn't be until 1990 when the word would see another black woman holding a major role for as a sports anchor. ESPN hired Robin Roberts as the first- ever black anchorwoman, a milestone for black women everywhere. In a sit-down interview with a former intern, Roberts said she just wanted to land a job: it didn't matter where. With sports broadcasting jobs already being limited, the task was even harder when you were a black woman, according to Roberts. During my research, I was able to interview five black women in different stages of their careers who also had the same mentality when trying to land their first job. Tiffany Greene, a commentator for ESPN, explained her hunger to get in the business started right out of college, just attempting to get her foot in the door.
Luckily, for Tiffany it only took six months for her to land an on-air job in Savannah, Ga. It seems not much has changed for women in Greene's shoes nearly fifteen years later. Samaria Terry, who is now at her third station in her career at WJTV in Jackson, Miss., was also eager to get in the business. Mississippi was a place she thought she would never end up but the opportunity to work in a medium- sized market covering college football was hard to refuse. Terry's situation is like many women trying to transition from news to sports.
All interviewees agreed that once they landed the job, the pressure to have an "acceptable", look came into play. Landing your first job includes the role of the, "one-man band." This mean as the reporter, you're playing many roles, including photographer, editor and journalist. Something that not everyone realizes is that as an MMJ, you're also going to inherit the roles of hair and makeup artist. It's an important aspect of being on-air as a sports reporter or anchor. Women whom I interviewed who worked at ESPN say the standard of beauty on black women can be different. Karen Hall, who is currently a color analyst for ESPN and has over 20 years experience in the sports world, agrees that black women are often held at a higher standard when it comes to appearances and how they are supposed to carry themselves.
Another black woman who spent over two decades behind the scenes in various roles including executive producer spoke about how it goes beyond just black women. In her opinion from what she's seen, it's something the people of color go through as a whole. It's a standard that maybe viewed as unfair but somehow doesn't really go away.
Jessica Elay is an experienced news and sports reporting now at her third station in St. Louis, Mo. Elay excepted a part-time news position to be able to be with her husband and son but still strives to transition back into sports full-time. While being at a small market, she's experienced the pressure of trying to please management and the viewers."I wore straight wigs, or I got a sew-in with straight hair," said Elay. Elay adds that it can be very costly to achieve these straight hair styles, which is why she invested in a wig.
- Jessica Elay
WDAF Sports/News Reporter