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Early in her career, Amie Kiehn, social media manager for the Carolina Panthers, worked for the NFL Combine and\u00a0was surprised when she\u00a0saw a long line coming from the men\u2019s restroom, while the women\u2019s room was almost empty.<\/p>\n
That suggested to her how male-dominated the professional scouting and interview camp was, from players who were trying out to the reporters who covered them. And it was, for her, representative of the sports world at large.<\/p>\n
Now Kiehn oversees\u00a0a predominantly\u00a0female staff\u00a0in the Panthers’ social media department, including a female photographer, which she believes is very rare in the world of football.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou probably can\u2019t tell from the (social media) voice of a team if it\u2019s run by a woman or a man,\u201d said Kiehn. \u201cMost people are surprised that it\u2019s women that are running the accounts. I think they just associate sports, particularly the NFL, with being male-dominated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since she was eight years old, Kiehn knew she wanted to be a sports journalist. As she got older she realized there were other opportunities for women to be more than just a\u00a0feminine face on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes more opportunity for women need to happen? Absolutely, and I think you\u2019re going to see that,\u201d said Kiehn. \u201cBut I think the biggest thing is you\u2019re seeing more representation of a role besides on-camera personalities. And that\u2019s really important for women.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the male-dominated world of sports,\u00a0an unequal distribution of males and females in professions surrounding sports\u00a0is no secret.<\/p>\n
Walking into the press box of a major sporting event,\u00a0an observer\u00a0will notice two things\u00a0\u2013 the number\u00a0of people and the amount of equipment. After a while, something else becomes apparent, the number of men eclipses the number of women.<\/p>\n
Kevin Hull, an assistant professor and journalism sequence head for USC\u2019s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, has experienced many aspects of the sports media business.<\/p>\n
Hull started as an intern at a local sports station in high school. After graduating from Boston University, he was a news and sports reporter in Wilmington, North Carolina, before teaching high school and ultimately continuing his career at USC as a professor.<\/p>\n
Now Hull teaches a sports media class, advising students about the industry that has drawn him in since he was a child.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact is, it\u2019s a field that\u2019s been dominated by men for so long so I grew up idolizing male sportscasters because that\u2019s who was on TV,\u201d said Hull.<\/p>\n
Hull talks to his students about the difficulty of breaking into the sports beat, for both men and women, as it is a market that requires a lot of hard work before a successful career at an outlet like ESPN.<\/p>\n
Makenzie Miller, a recent graduate of USC and current sports multimedia journalist\/producer at WACH FOX 57, is well aware of the obstacles standing her way as both a female and young professional interested in sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just because of the years past you know, the stereotype some women can\u2019t do sports, can\u2019t cover sports,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just the past and we just have to make sure that we keep on growing and making our way into this field so we will seem just as accepted as men.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller is confident that the sports media profession is changing and will continue to change for women as they feel more comfortable in their roles. Miller sees women as a major asset to sports because \u201chaving a female there in general adds a whole other perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMen are grown to think one way and we\u2019re grown to think another way and I think that women do have the capability to think outside the box, not that men can\u2019t think outside the box, our minds just go in a different way,\u201d said Miller.<\/p>\n
This idea of diversity in\u00a0the press box is one that others are also promoting.<\/p>\n
Kevin Fitzgerald, broadcasting and media relations director for the Columbia Fireflies, works with an almost entirely male staff, but sees the value in having women participate in sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more and more females you see working in the sports broadcasting realm the better,\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cDiversity\u2019s a good thing, you know I truly believe that. And I would say that I\u2019m obviously not the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald has spent the past two years in Columbia with the minor league baseball team and in his experience understands why viewers expect men to report on sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoaches, managers, players, it\u2019s almost an expectation to see men in a reporting role\u2026\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cIt is so male dominated, that\u2019s just what the average person expects but that\u2019s wrong, just because you expect something and that\u2019s the way it\u2019s been doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, women will continue to be a wild card, a minority bringing new ideas to American traditions. But as women settle into fresh roles as reporters, commentators and analysts, experts suggest a pastime that has been so consistently male may see a change in the way media covers the game.<\/p>\n
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A female photographer is a rare sight on the sidelines of a football game, whether it’s at the college or professional level.<\/p>\n
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USC professor Kevin Hull’s sports media and society class explores the relationship between the sports industry and the media. Hull and his students examine the way reporters from different organizations cover sports.<\/p>\n
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Makenzie Miller has been a long-time lover of sports and decided to turn her passion into a career. At WACH FOX 57, Miller covers sports in a male-dominated environment.<\/p>\n
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