For my final project, I wrote a column with the intention of having it published in Hunter College’s newspaper, The Envoy. However, with every process there are bumps along the way, and mine was the frustratingly slow and disorganized publication process that The Envoy struggles with. (Despite handing in a draft in early April, no paper has been published since March.)
Professor Caçoilo told me that as long as it was published somewhere, it sufficed as being published. This got me thinking: anyone can have the power to publish content, every minute of every day. Why hadn’t I taken more advantage of this? But before I decided to publish my project on my own, I decided to send out my column, just for the heck of it. I sent it to The New York Times, USA Today, and The Journal News. Nothing.
As disappointed as I was by the lack of response for my column, I decided that it might’ve been a blessing in disguise. It motivated me to finally make a Wordpress of my own, byshannonho. I decided to feature it as not just a platform for this one piece, but all pieces that I’ve written for internships, The Envoy, and noteworthy school assignments. Go big or go home right? This website is my online portfolio now, and I even referenced it in my latest internship interview, which the interviewer definitely found interesting.
One thing I realized during this process is that it’s not only New York Times writers who are getting recognized anymore. Messages and awareness can be brought to one person at time, by a simple blog like mine. And I still have high hopes for this piece.
While researching and writing this column, my findings were horrifying. The statistics I looked at were not encouraging especially for me, an Asian American woman who wants to be a sports journalist. The odds are not in my favor; approximately 10% of women are sports journalists, and about 9.6% of sports editors. Furthermore, there are no Asian women sports editors, nor are there Asian women sports columnists. On top of this, I found stories of women in the industry itself that are often subjected to harassment by their male coworkers, in addition to getting paid significantly less, especially in higher-level positions. (And the pay gap applies to all of journalism.)
I also mention how the women in sports are reflected, which is another unfavorable aspect. This is different though; a truth is that women are the victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, committed by athletes. In my not-so-humble opinion, this is perpetuated because the women-abusers often don’t see a real punishment. (Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, I’m talking about you. Come on, man.) This is the narrative of women we remember. We do not remember Robin Roberts, we remember infamous footage of Janay Rice in that elevator with her runningback fiance, Ray Rice. We don’t remember Mo’ne Davis, a superstar pitcher who defied the odds by playing with the boys, we remember the collegiate baseball player who called her a “slut” on Twitter. (She’s 14.)
In short, we are getting the narratives of men, narratives by men, and narratives that shame women. Having this single narrative in and of itself is dangerous, not just for women, but for everyone’s understanding of the world around us.
While my column may seem grim, I end it hoping to encourage women to join the field as I hope to one day. Even if readers aren’t interested in breaking into this field like I am, the hope is that it brings them awareness to the incredibly large disparity between men and women in sports journalism. Women’s voices should not be discounted because they are women’s voices. Our perceptions, ideas, and narratives are different from men, and they should be welcomed in sports, and all other forms of journalism and media. We have to change the current narrative, and we will.
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