Getting Over the Hurdle Race & Gender in the Sports Media

GETTING OVER THE HURDLE

RACE & GENDER IN THE SPORTS MEDIA

Report From the Conference

February 27 & 28, 1989

Host Sponsor The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles

Co-Sponsors The Center for the Study of Sport in Society The Institute for Journalism Education The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The National Organization of Women Legal Defense and Education Fund The Women *s Sports Foundation

Special thanks to: The L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation Published by: The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles 2141 West Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90018 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Foreword...... 1

2. Introduction...... 2

3. Videotape Isolates Issues...... 3

4. Self-test Debunks Myth of Equal Participation...... 6

5. Panel Discussions...... 8

6. Keynote Speaker Calls for Diversity in the Newsroom ...... 12

7. Group Discussions...... 14

8. Plenary Session Recommendations...... 16

9. Conclusion...... 18

10. List of Speakers...... 19

11. List of Participants...... 20 FOREWORD

I encourage you to stay in touch with each other and continue the discussion that was started at the conference. It is our sincere hope that the commitment you showed by attending the conference is translated into action to implement the recommendations that appear in this report.

Special thanks to our conference co-sponsors: the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, the Institute for Journalism Educa tion, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educa tional Fund, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Women’s Sports Founda tion, and the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation.

Since the conference, a major event oc curred raising issues of portrayal of African American athletes. Tom Brokaw’s television documentary, "Black Athletes—Fact and Dear Conferee: Fiction," and resulting public reaction pro vided all of us opportunities to discuss issues Following is the final report on this year’s of race. conference, “ Getting Over the Hurdle: Race and Gender in Sports Media.” I say this We did not expect to solve major societal year’s conference because I fully anticipate problems in two days. But I think we have discussion of this topic to continue on an opened a discussion that may lead to a better annual basis. understanding of the issues, if not to immedi ate solutions. Thank you for taking part. I was pleased with the attendance and representation of the print and electronic Sincerely, media, as well as advocacy groups. I am con fident this type of gathering is the beginning of a solution to the problem of how women Anita L. DeFrantz and people of color are represented in, and President by, the sports media. Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles Please take the time to read the report, and share it with your co-workers and friends. Included in this report is a list of attendees. INTRODUCTION

that result in subtle, unintentional, but o.'n February 27 and 28, 1989, more than equally damaging discrimination against 60 influential leaders from print and broad women and people of color. cast media, advocacy groups for women and racial minorities, and amateur and pro- The code of ethics adopted by the Society fesssional athletics met in Los Angeles at the for Professional Journalists calls for truth, ac Amateur Athletic Foundation’s Paul Ziffren curacy, fairness and objectivity in journalism. Sports Resource Center to discuss race and One of the goals of this conference was to put gender issues in sports journalism. that code of ethics to the test and see if sport journalists are fulfilling Usually, attention is their responsibility. drawn to issues of race and gender in sports only when Sports have become a prominent sports figure is more open in recent involved—for example, years, and journalists when A1 Campanis was have attempted to do a fired from the Los Angeles better job of covering Dodgers in 1987 for saying all groups, but there that (African Americans still is ample room for lacked the “ necessities” to improvement. become baseball managers; or when Jimmy “ the Education and ongo Greek” Snyder was fired ing discussion are im from CBS just last year for portant weapons against saying that the prowess of unwitting bias, and black athletes was the result many of the recommen of selective breeding by dations found in this slave owners; or when Jerry report — including Rice of the San Francisco research, seminars, case 49ers raised the issue of studies, and hiring racism as a reason for the policies that bring more lack of coverage he received by the sports women and people of color into the newsroom media following his MVP performance at the — have to do with educating the media about Super Bowl. the sensitivities of women and people of color.

Participants assembled for this conference, This conference was the beginning of a con however, not in reaction to any one event, but tinuing discussion setting out issues to be ex out of a common interest in sport. Examples amined again. We trust that the conclusions of blatant discrimination were examined, and and recommendations found in this report will conferees focused on attitudes and conditions aid in those discussions. VIDEOTAPE ISOLATES ISSUES

“He is a thoroughbred. " Issues of portrayal are difficult to isolate “That was a mental mistake, not a in ways that have impact. Individual com physical one. " ments may seem insignificant, but if viewed “There go those quick hands again, in the same context, over time, patterns of causing trouble. '' stereotyping emerge. The first presentation at the conference was a videotape created by the Using one of the few print media examples Amateur Athletic Foundation (AAF) illustrat focusing attention on this problem, the video ing the problems which exist in the coverage included charts from a January 22, 1989 of women and people of color by sports me article in the Boston Globe prepared by Der dia. The following issues in the category of rick Z. Jackson. The charts summarized the race were addressed: review by Jackson of the TV coverage of seven NFL playoff games and five NCAA 1) The Problem of Stereotypes and basketball games. For white players, 77 Dehumanizing Images percent of the comments in football and 63 percent in basketball were about brains — ' ‘He is the greatest listener in college intelligence, leadership, decision-making, and basketball. ' ' motivation. For example, players were de “Notice that decision-making by .. . " scribed with such phrases as: ' ‘He really understands how to play the game. ' ' “He's got his head in the game. That's ‘ ‘He goes and takes the inside, which is where you *ve got to be as a young quarter wise. " back. ” “There is the artist at work, waiting for These are a sampling of the phrases televi people to uncover, sensing the defense sion commentators used to describe the per was looking at him entirely,'' formance of white athletes in two NCAA men’s college basketball tournament games Only 17 percent of the comments about aired on national television. The comments white athletes described physical strength or reflect positively on the mental abilities of the athleticism, and weakling comments often had players. During the same games, however, white athletes overcoming slowness or physi commentators explained African American cal weaknesses with brain power. By con players’ performance almost entirely in terms trast, 65 percent of the comments about of physical strength and athletic ability, using blacks in football and 77 percent in basketball such phrases as: were about brawn — speed, running, size, strength or quickness. They were described ' ‘There 's the athlete. You can 't teach with phrases, such as: that. '' ' ‘There's that athletic ability again. What “This guy is an athlete. He's not a quar an athlete! ' ’ terback. He's an athlete! ' 'He has hands that can catch flies. management of the San Francisco 49ers to the ' 'Look at him weasel in. * * “ dismal picture” for the league as a whole. (In the NFL there has never been a black The phrase ‘ ‘great athlete” is not in and of person in the position of head coach, and only itself demeaning, but coverage attributing 48 of 280 assistant coaches are black men. black athletic performance almost entirely to Only a dozen black people hold front-office “ innate” physical strength and comparing jobs with the league’s 28 teams.) black players to animals ignores the facts -- that every athlete works hard and that team The NBC story is an example of excellent performance depends on judgment, decision coverage of a race issue in sports, but one is making, as well as the athletic skills of every left to wonder if the story would have run if player. Jackson’s article suggests that media Miami had not been rocked by racial violence coverage tends to trivialize both black intelli the week before the Super Bowl. gence and white athletic ability. 3) The Bruising Effect of Habit 2) Failure to Address the Subject of Race in Sports The video also examined the media’s reac tion to Jerry Rice’s charge that he did not Sports media increasingly report on societal receive enough coverage following his 1989 issues that affect sport such as drug abuse but MVP Super Bowl performance. Editors and rarely present stories that address issues of sports writers interviewed by San Francisco’s race. Newscenter 4 reacted to the accusation with surprise, but some admitted that precondition In preparing the video, the AAF took a ran ing might have led them to focus more atten dom sample, over several issues, of 18 front tion on quarterback Joe Montana and coach page stories in the sports section of a major Bill Walsh. metropolitan newspaper. None of the articles addressed the issue of race. Slights like this not only bruise egos, but are likely to have economic consequences as The AAF also reviewed a randomly selected well. The video cited two surveys. One listed month of Sports Illustrated. Of the 30 feature eight black athletes among the nation’s 10 stories, only one had anything to do with most popular athletes. The second listed the race. That story was a profile on Randall 10 athletes paid most for endorsements. Only Cunningham, a black quarterback for the one of those was black. Philadelphia Eagles.

On the positive side, however, the video did contain a story aired by NBC prior to the 1989 Super Bowl. The clip compared the active involvement of black people in the The Portrayal of Women in Sports ment of strategy, or again, of the intelligence of the athletes. The final segment of the video focused on the coverage of women in sports — or the lack The intent of the AAF in preparing the video of it. was to present examples that would stimulate discussion. The hope was to influence how The Invisible Women decisions are made within the news environment as to what stories and pictures Of 35 images in lead-ins to three sports are given prominence. While the samples news shows, only one image was of a woman, focused on black and white athletes of both and that was of a body-builder in a string genders, the AAF emphasized that any full bikini. The AAF taped two weeks of local exploration of issues on race must include Los Angeles television sports reports. In 80 Asian, Latino and Native Americans as well. minutes of coverage, a total of only one min ute was given to women in sports.

Also, a review of several issues of a major metropolitan newspaper found that of the 18 articles on the front page of the sports sec tion, only two were on women. In a random month of Sports Illustrated issues, not one of the 30 feature articles had anything to do with women in sports.

When women do appear in the sports me dia, the coverage often is questionable. Clips of television coverage showed women por trayed in bratwurst biting contests, swimsuit competitions or bending over in a team huddle. (The announcer concluded his re marks with “ no butts about it.”)

“Adorable” Women

Other examples in the video showed how the athletic competence of women is trivial ized when they are described repeatedly as “lovely,” “adorable,” “vulnerable,” or “ attractive.” Rarely is there any comment offered in regard to the level of skill, develop SELF-TEST DEBUNKS MYTH OF EQUAL PARTICIPATION

For example: Institutional racism is an issue difficult to address. It affects our entire society, so, of — Prior to the passage of Title IX in course, it affects sports and sports media as 1972, 90 percent of women’s college teams well. Sports teams have become more racially were coached by women. Now only 48 per diverse over the past 40 years, but there are cent of the teams are coached by women, and still relatively few women or racial minorities the percentage is declining in almost every in coaching, sports management, or sports sport. While the number of women coaches writing, and even fewer in critical decision has remained constant, most of the new jobs making positions in the media. created as a result of Title IX are going to men. Richard Lapchick, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, authored the -- In 1972, less than 10 percent of book Broken Promises which analyzed a women’s intercollegiate athletic programs variety of racial issues in sport. To communi were under the leadership of male athletic cate some of his findings, he administered a directors. Now 85 percent of women’s pro 25-question self-test to conference partici grams are administered by men, due primarily pants. The test not only revealed how poorly to the trend to have one athletic department, women and people of color are represented in usually under the direction of a man. the world of sport, it also revealed how little even experts know of the resulting impact. — Thirty-two percent of women’s intercollegiate athletic programs have no females in administration.

— Only 5 percent of the voting repre sentatives to the NCAA governing organiza tion are women.

— Only 10 percent of athletic scholar ships go to black athletes.

— Only 51 percent of players on NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams are black.

-- Of the NCAA Division I institutions that had men’s basketball programs in 1987- 88 (excluding the 18 historically black schools), only 10 percent had black coaches.

— There are 265 NCAA Division I col lege baseball programs. None of them has a black manager.

— There is only one manager in Major League Baseball who is black.

— There never has been a black head coach in the National Football League.

-- There are only two full-time sports columnists currently working for nation’s major daily newspapers who are black and only two who are women.

No one at the conference answered all 25 of the questions correctly. Indeed, the average correct score was 10. PANEL DISCUSSIONS

mation about the events and times, and not Conference participants expressed concern enough about who the person is outside of that women *s sports and issues relating to race sports.” in sports were not being addressed or dis cussed. Whose responsibility is it to seek bal —Deitra Brown, a professional volley anced coverage of women and minorities in ball player with the Los Angeles Starlites, sport — the athlete*s or the media's? would like to see more coverage of her team. “ When we win we get five or six lines in the Athlete’s Panel Discusses Media newspaper. Lots of people don’t even know Access and Stereotypes there is a women’s professional volleyball team in Los Angeles. I would like to know Access — the difficulty of getting a news story out — was at the heart of a panel discus sion moderated by Ron Thomas, sportswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle and director of the Sports Institute. Women and minority athletes who are leaders in their sports dis cussed their experiences with the media.

—Lynne Cox, who swam 2.7 miles across the Bering Strait to Siberia and 10 miles across one of the coldest lakes in the world, Lake Baikal, in Siberia, said it took enormous persistence to get the coverage she has received for her distance swimming. “ Editors associate my accomplishments with adventure stories or stunts rather than sport. Edwin Moses I think a man would have had an easier time getting publicity.” how people in the media decide what they are going to cover.” —Edwin Moses a two-time Olympic gold medalist who dominated the 400-meter —Lyn St. James is one of approxi hurdles for more than a decade with 107 mately 20 women drivers on the professional consecutive victories before finally being race-car circuit. She recently broke her own edged out in 1987. He said: “ It took four to record for the fastest lap ever driven by a six years of work after the 1976 Olympic woman on an oval track — 212.43 miles per Games to finally get word out to the Ameri hour. “ I get good coverage because of the can public about who I was off the track and uniqueness of being a woman race-car why I was winning. I think with most women driver,” she said, “but it is hard to get be and minority athletes we get too much infor yond that story, to let people know that I am not just some weirdo, but an athlete who Media Panel Addresses Problems, happens to drive race cars and happens to do Explains Constraints that very well. It is frustrating to find out an interview has been dropped because a media In a panel moderated by Christine Brennan, outlet has already done their women’s sports president of the Association of Women in subject for the week.” Sports Media and sportswriter for the Wash ington Post, media representatives had an —Del Rodgers, running back for the opportunity to respond to questions about San Francisco 49ers, shares Moses’ interest in sports coverage raised earlier in the day and getting out the personal stories of black ath to discuss their own concerns. letes. “ The media often go out looking for —Derrick Z. Jackson, columnist with the Boston Globe, spoke in greater detail about his study of commentary in college basketball and NFL playoff games. He said that a message goes out to a huge audience when white basketball players who steal the ball are described as “ taking care of busi ness” or “ playing a good defensive game” while black players are described as “ weasel- ing in” or “ having quick hands that cause trouble.” One black player was even called a ‘ ‘thief. ’’ ‘ ‘The difference in imagery between ‘quick hands causing trouble’ and ‘taking care of business,” ’ Jackson said, “ is akin to the difference between a mugger and a Wall Deitra Brown Street banker.” the story they already have in mind rather —Bill Dwyre, sports editor for the Los than looking for the story that is actually Angeles Times, said fewer demeaning com there,” he said. “The short-answer inter ments about women and minorities get into views in the locker room after a game don’t print today than in the past, but admitted give a true picture of the person. We need “ we still have a problem.” He said he hires more in-depth stories that give intelligent as many women and minorities as he can and black athletes a chance to speak. We are role appreciates the ongoing educational program models for children, so the image of black they provide for him and the rest of the staff. professional athletes as dumb jocks has to He refuses, however, to be a scorekeeper, change.” running a story on women’s sports only be cause he hasn’t run one for a while. “ I try to put out the Times sports section for likely to risk filling one with a woman or minority. So I am worried that we don’t have people coming up through the ranks.”

--Terry Ewert, coordinating producer for NBC during the 1988 Olympic Games, said the network commentators are aware that stereotypes exist. “ It is easy to fall back on preconceived notions the society as a whole might have about “ little girls” when covering 15- or 16-year-old gymnasts or figure skat ers,” Ewert said. “ Sometimes we discuss these stereotypes informally and try to avoid Gayle Gardner them, but probably in the future we should try to address these issues more directly.” all people in all walks of life,” he said, “ and —Pat Haden, CBS sports commentator, I try to be open to all sorts of stories, but the pointed out that live coverage presents unique best stories go on the front page, the next best problems. “ Sometimes you say things that on the second page and so on.” immediately when they leave your mouth you wish you had never said, but you can’t get Dwyre said a million things go into his de them back. I don’t think anyone makes mis cisions about which are the best stories — takes on purpose.” including reader interest, the importance of the subject matter, timeliness, humor, human When the question of women and people of interest, and the quality of the writing. color perhaps being too sensitive about media coverage was raised, Dorothy Gilliam, colum --Gayle Gardner, NBC sports anchor, nist with the Washington Post and chair of the also believes that hiring women and minori Institute for Journalism Education, responded ties is the best way to fight stereotypes and by explaining that the sensitivities were get more coverage of stories related to race or warranted in light of larger social issues. gender. But the turnover in sports news is low, so jobs are hard to come by. Gardner “ Blacks get their most positive coverage in was particularly concerned that women and sports and entertainment, so a lot rests on minorities are not being hired at the hundreds their portrayal in sports,” Gilliam said. “If of small local stations around the country. the public sees that someone who is very Gardner said, “ The smaller stations around much admired is called a thief, if someone the country serve as the farm club for the who is held up as a model is called a weasel, networks and major metropolitan stations. If what then are perceptions going to be of the you only have two positions, a manager isn’t poor black kids in the ghetto areas who don’t have those attributes? This negative portrayal in sports really reinforces negative white perceptions of blacks in the broader society.

“The role model aspect is important, too. If young people hear over and over again that it is not Magic Johnson’s brains that got him there, but his brawn, the importance of aca demic success is diminished for the kids. This kind of coverage perpetuates cycles and makes the media a kind of co-conspirator in some of the social ills that we have.” KEYNOTE SPEAKER CALLS FOR DIVERSITY IN THE NEWSROOM

newsrooms. Women represent only 13 percent W ith so few women and people of color of newsroom managers. in the newsrooms and in critical decision making jobs in the media, there simply are — All minorities make up 25 percent of the not enough people to raise a flag when an in population but only 10 percent of print and nocently turned phrase could create or per radio newsrooms and 13.3 percent of televi petuate damaging stereotypes. Not enough sion newsrooms. people are there to question the taste or wisdom of airing images that offend or dehu “ The things we find interesting, the things manize a large segment of the potential view we talk about among ourselves, are generally ing audience. the things we decide to put in our newspapers Imagine a newsroom and broadcasts and where the demograph over the airwaves. It ics of the staff mir follows that if the rored the numbers in demographics of our the general population. newsrooms do not That could bring in represent those of the more readers and general population we viewers and more are serving, then how money from advertis can there be any way ing and subscriptions, we can possibly know suggested Henry Free what that population is man, managing editor interested in? And for sports at USA To what smart business day, in his dinner key man would ever just note address. kiss off such large segments of his potent- “ So if the commun Henry Freeman tial market?" ications industry is a business and not a public utility,” Freeman One of the maxims of good management, asked, “ why do newspapers and other media Freeman said, is to hire people who are strong outlets start out by discounting large parts of in the areas that you are not. their potential audience?” USA Today had the advantage of starting Consider this, he said: off from scratch with a commitment to hiring a geographically, racially and gender diverse -- Women make up 51 percent of the popu staff. As a result the demographics of the lation and 51 percent of potential readers, but staff, the newsroom and the management at they make up only 35 percent of the nation’s USA Today come closer to those of the gen print newsrooms and 32 percent of electronic eral population than in any other news organization. Freeman believes this trans lates into more sensitivity to race and gender issues in the play of stories, photographs and graphics. But the numbers, he said, are still not good enough.

The fact that so few women and minorities are represented in newsrooms is, Freeman said, "a calamity for newspapers, which are missing the richness of different voices; a loss for readers who get only the male point of view on what makes news; and a tragedy for women and minorities who want to contribute to the profession and fully realize the poten tial of their careers."

He called for a commitment from his col leagues in the media to develop new talent among women and minorities and to hire qualified women and minorities for staff and managerial positions. GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Participants listed common perceptions -- T h e second day of the conference partici that blacks are dumb but genetically gifted as pants separated into two groups. One group athletes; that Hispanics come from poor discussed issues of race; the other addresed issues of gender. Participants in each group families, have hot tempers and give bad drafted recommendations for action, which interviews because of a language barrier; that were affirmed by all participants at the closing Asians are unscrupulous, stoic, reserved, and plenary session. Ron Thomas and Mike Brown better at academics than sports. of the Sports Institute moderated the race discussion, and Donna Lopiano, athletic direc Our perceptions usually are reinforced by tor at the University of Texas and trustee of the people we know and our experiences in the Women *s Sports Foundation, moderated life. the gender discussion. Another participant said our frame of refer ence is like an internal tape recorder that Race takes down every experience we have during the course of our life. So every experience we Participants in the race discussion noted have had regarding minorities or women will that growing up in a * ‘color-coded” society play back over and over again unless new has affected every one of us. experiences and new information record more positive notions over the old tape. “ We’ve almost breathed in attitudes about race and gender,” said one participant. “We Pre-season meetings between athletes and have to think continually about unloading media decision-makers to get to know each excess baggage of cultural bias.” other as people and to talk about mutual in media resources, so the competition for problems, multi-cultural training sessions for coverage is intense. Women’s sports need a news staffs, ongoing seminars and more superstar or a unique angle to get coverage, formal research to prove or disprove stereo while men’s teams tend to get regular cover types were some of the strategies suggested age whether they play well or not. for recording new perceptions. The issue of whether the media has a re Gender sponsibility to cover women’s sports was not resolved, nor was the question of whether The subtle stereotyping of women athletes audiences or potential audiences are more as “ nice,” “ vulnerable,” or “ attractive” can interested in women’s sports than editors be even more dangerous than blatant outra presume. Participants in the discussion called geous remarks because they are so easily for more market research in this area. accepted. No one will call or write to com plain, but the comments shape the way we think about these athletes nonetheless.

As one participant in this discussion put it: “ Describing men in terms of strength and dominance and women in terms of vulnerabil ity reinforces the power imbalance that exists in the larger society.”

Some media representatives in the discus sion said they had never thought these terms could be offensive. The sensitivities raised in the conference left some of them wary and in want of a list of do’s and don’ts. Others said setting up finite rules for such subjective issues would be difficult because everyone has different sensitivities.

The consensus was, however, that most stereotypical comments are unintentional and that the best remedy is education.

The lack of coverage of women’s sports presents a more difficult problem. There has been an explosion in women’s sports over the past decade without a corresponding increase PLENARY SESSION RECOMMENDATIONS

among all members of the organization. In seeking solutions to the issues raised at the conference, participants prepared the fol 2) Youth lowing list of recommendations, which are or ganized into four categories: Education, Re — Ask women's sports and media search, Monitoring, and Hiring. organizations to encourage women to go into sports writing by sponsoring writing contests Education and scholarships;

The objective of education is to make — Encourage journalism schools to people aware so instances of unfairness can be develop more courses or mini-courses in avoided. Education recommendations focus sports writing; on three groups: — Develop a unit on race and gender 1) Managers issues for use in journalism ethics courses.

~ Publish staff training manuals that 3) Athletes identify race and gender issues and offensive terminology and also provide examples of fair — Develop media training programs for and objective reporting; athletes to give them understanding of how the media works and how to get their stories — Conduct seminars for editors, pro out effectively in an interview; ducers and writers to identify and discuss issues of race and gender as was done in this -- Inform sports organizations’ public conference; relations people about race and gender issues and strategies for making frequent and posi — Develop case studies to open discus tive contact with the media. sion on race and gender issues. These case studies could be used for professional develop Research ment by professional organizations or news organizations; There is a need for more research on race and gender issues in sport in order to define — Make a videotape available to news the issues more clearly and test the assump organizations and professional organizations, tions that guide editorial policy. The confer raising issues as the AAF video did, but also ence participants recommend that universities showing examples of accurate, fair, and or other objective, experienced research or objective coverage; ganizations conduct more research on: — Ask managers to discuss or broadly — The content of sports coverage; distribute letters of complaint about race and gender issues in order to raise sensitivity — Hiring policies in the media and tion meeting can help sideline problems be sports industries; fore they arise. But for truly balanced cover age and access, the objective should be a — Market demographics and prefer newsroom that at every level reflects the ences to determine if there is a larger audi balance in the larger population. We cannot ence than presently assumed for coverage of be satisfied with token placement of women women’s sports. and minorities.

Monitoring

Participants called for more introspection in the media. In a nation where a free press is guaranteed by the Constitution, much regula tion must come from within news organiza tions, starting from the top. The public can help by making the media aware of mistakes. Recommendations in this category include:

— Ongoing professional development for writers, editors, commentators and pro ducers to make them aware of changing issues and sensitivities;

— A recognition program for exem plary sports reporting;

— Encouraging managers to state explicitly that fairness issues regarding race and gender are an area of high concern;

-- Encouraging the public to direct their letters of complaint directly to the media rather than through advocacy groups.

Hiring

Progress in this area demands a firm commit ment by management to overcome the imbal ances that exist. Even one woman or minor ity on an assignment desk or in a pre-produc- CONCLUSION

Sport is a powerful force in our society. It is a multi-billion dollar industry relying heav ily on media for its financial health. We must remember that sport belongs to us all. It is not the sole province of any one group. Sport is a part of our nature as human beings. Sport has the ability to inspire. Athletes are role models for millions of youngsters, and as such, their portrayal in the media can have impact far beyond the world of sport.

Participants came to the conference with no agenda other than concern and left with continuing concern. There will be other forums for further discussion of the issues. The Amateur Athletic Foundation will take the lead in funding academic research on the content of media coverage. Participants are encouraged to keep in touch with each other and continue discourse that will heighten concern and self-examination and result in news that is, indeed, true, accurate, fair, and objective. LIST OF SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker Media Panel Henry Freeman Managing Editor for Sports Bill Dwyre USA TODAY Sports editor Los Angeles Times Video Presentation Anita L. BeFrantz Terry Ewert President Coordinating producer, NBC Sports Amateur Athletic Foundation For 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea

Self-test Questionnaire Gayle Gardner Richard Lapchick NBC sports anchor Director Center for the Study of Sport in Society Derrick Z. Jackson Columnist Panel of Athletes Boston Globe Dorothy Gilliam Deitra Brown Columnist, Washington Post Professional volleyball player Chair, Institute for Journalism Education Los Angeles Starlites Pat Haden Lynne Cox CBS sports commentator Distance swimmer Christine Brennan, Moderator Edwin Moses Sportswriter, Washington Post Olympic gold medalist, 400-meter hurdles President, Association of Women in Sports Media Del Rodgers Running back San Francisco 49ers Group Discussion, Gender

Lyn St. James Donna Lopiano, Moderator Race car driver Athletic director, University of Texas Trustee, Women’s Sports Foundation Ron Thomas, Moderator Sportswriter, San Francisco Chronicle Group Discussion, Race Director, Sports Institute Ron Thomas and Mike Brown, Moderators Sports Institute LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Alpha Alexander John Callaghan YWCA of America University of Southern California 726 Broadway Physical Education and Exercise Sciences New York, New York 10003 PED 107 University Park Deborah Anderson Los Angeles, California 90089-0652 Executive Director Women’s Sport Foundation Margaret Carlisle Duncan 342 Madison Ave., Suite 728 Assistant Professor New York, New York 10173 of Human Kinetics The University of Wisconsin Paula Banda P.O. Box 413 2826 Cedar Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 Long Beach, California 90806 Lynne Cox Nancy Beffa Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce Cappy Productions 3243 Katella Ave. 33 East 68th St. Los Alamitos, California 90720 New York, New York 10021 Anita DeFrantz Christine Brennan President Wsahington Post Amateur Athletic Foundation 1150 15th St. of Los Angeles Washington, D.C. 20071 2141 West Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90018 Mike Brown The Sports Institute Tracy Dodds 230 6th Ave. Los Angeles Times San Francisco, California 94118 Times Mirror Square Los Angeles, California 90053 Dietra Brown LA Starlites Bill Dwyre 4330 Barranca, Suite 101-372 Sports Editor Irvine, California 92714 Los Angeles Times Times Mirror Square Mary Bullard-Johnson Los Angeles, California 90053 Director/Multicultural Management University of Missouri Ruth Eddington Box 838 121573-373 Country Club Dr. Columbia, Missouri 65205 Palm Desert, California 92260 Jane Ellison Elyse Glassberg Attorney at Law NOW Legal Defense and Armato, Gaims, Weil, West & Epstein Education Fund 1875 Century Park East, Suite 1200 99 Hudson St., 12th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 New York, New York 10013

Patrick Escobar Jane Goldstein Vice President, Communications Public Relations Director Amateur Athletic Foundation Santa Anita Race Track of Los Angeles 285 N. Huntington Dr. 2141 West Adams Blvd. Arcadia, California 91106 Los Angeles, California 90018 Pat Haden Terry Ewert 300 S. Grand Ave., 29th Floor Coordinating Producer Los Angeles, California 90071 1988 Olympic Games NBC Tom Hartman 30 Rockefeller Plaza 178 Moore St. New York, New York 10020 Princeton, New Jersey 08542

Henry Freeman Tommy Hawkins Managing Editor for Sports Executive Vice President USA Today Los Angeles Dodgers P.O. Box 500 1000 Elysian Park Washington, D.C. 20044 Los Angeles, California 90012

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