Losing Journalistic focus

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March 23, 2002
By WILLIAM HOUSTON
Globe and Mail

Losing journalistic focus

Some midriff, a peak at the panties, a bit of cleavage. So what?

When three prominent women sports broadcasters posed for the spring edition of UMM (Urban Male Magazine), did they overstep the line? Several women broadcasters said the divide between journalism and entertainment in sport disappeared years ago. How do you cross a line that doesn't exist?

Credibility? Kathryn Humphreys, a sports reporter for Citytv in Toronto, said her chief concern was that the cover shot of her wearing a black leather vest and showing cleavage, as a sort of dominatrix, was unflattering.

Jody Vance of Rogers Sportsnet is pictured lying on her back, in jeans, glasses off and holding her hair. A surprise? She told ESPN Radio two years ago that she sits at a glass topped desk to show off her legs, and that her boss viewed her as the "Mary Hart" of TV sports. Vance is a talented sportscaster, but she seems to see herself as an object as much as she does a reporter.

The outfit worn by Hazel Mae, also of Sportsnet, shows her midriff and some panty. Mae, when she was reclining on the chair, probably didn't weigh the pros and cons of a reporter doing a bit of cheesecake on the side. After all, she has never worked a journalist. Her entry into the world of sports TV consisted of submitting an audition tape to Sportsnet and winning the job of morning sportcaster.

Why should any of these women consider themselves serious journalists, several female broadcasters asked. They work in a business that sells sex and violence (the World Wrestling Federation shows), hires actresses to work as anchors (TSN's Jennifer Hedger, a former actor on The Lofters), sees some of its top U.S. personalities enter a Playboy "hottest TV sports babes" contest and chooses on-air personalities, women and men, based largely on their physical appearance.

Would a male broadcaster pose in a sexy outfit for a magazine? "If they asked me to appear in leather and lace I'd say no," the CBC's Ron MacLean said. "Not because I take myself seriously, but because I don't think I'd look that good."

MacLean and his broadcast partner on Hockey Night In Canada, Don Cherry, actually were approached by UMM magazine to pose for pictures, but said no.

"I didn't have a serious problem with it, but it just sounded a bit off with me, a bit lame," MacLean said. "I don't mind mixing a little high brow with low comedy, but I didn't like the idea of using a pictorial to paint all sportscasters with the same brush."

MacLean said he would be agreeable to posing in a bathing suit for a photo spread, but only it was in context with the editorial content.

Terry Leibel, a CBC anchor who started working as a sports reporter in 1980, says the participation of the women in the UMM pictorial would have shocked her 20 years, but not today.

"Entertainment and sports is blurred," she said. "You look at that picture of Kathryn Humphreys and ask, 'Does it besmirch her image as a journalist? Does that compromise her?' I think it does. But as an entertainer, I think it enhances her image. And I don't think she purports to be a journalist."

At Citytv, where the male anchors sometimes wear Toronto team sweaters, the daily sportscast falls short of being a journalistic endevour, so why wouldn't Humphreys consider herself an entertainer? There is some good work done on local television and on the cable channels, but the explosion of sports content over the past 10 years has produced a mixed bag.

"There are different types of sportscasts and a lot of it is personality driven," said Brenda Irving, who has worked as a CBC sports reporter for 12 years. "Everyone is free to make their own decision about what they want to do. It isn't something I would do (pose for a magazine), but to each his own."

Some women did turn down UMM's request. Martine Gaillard, an anchor at The Score, gave it some thought and said no, not just because of the premise but also because of the type of magazine UMM is. The recent edition includes topless models, an interview with a porn star and a contest to decide Canada's sexiest bartender.

"I had never heard of the magazine," Gaillard said. "If it was Flare or Chatelaine, and it had been a profile, I would have been more comfortable with it.

"You work so hard to be taken seriously, you have to be careful."

Women in sports TV, since the beginning, have endured two assumptions. One, that they know nothing about sports but were hired because they were good looking and would attract male viewers. And two, that they got into the business because they wanted to sleep with athletes. It goes without saying that Humphreys, Vance and Mae are attractive.

Anna Stambolic, the head of programming for WTSN, the women's sports network, says appearing in sexy clothes in a magazine might have been fun for the women. If they don't want to be perceived as serious journalists, that's fine. And the publicity sure won't hurt the ratings on Citytv and Sportsnet. But they're also reinforcing the old stereotypes, and that's a slap in the face to the women who pioneered TV sports and brought a high level of professionalism to the job.

"We all know that sex in sports sells," Stambolic said "I'll bet any money that networks will experience a buzz about these women. But the bigger issue is the responsibility that goes with their position.

"We all know what the environment is like. Big networks will look for a pretty face to increase ratings. Does that mean it's right to pose? Absolutely not. I think it sets us back."

And finally, from Leibel: "In terms of credibility, I thought this battle had been fought and won a long time ago."

reprinted with permission

Gender Equity