A critical analysis of women in the creative and cultural industries in relation to digitalisation and representation of female sports broadcasters in the digital age.
Equality and Diversity is a term that is frequently thrown around in the creative and cultural industries. Historically, when it comes to the sporting world, it has been a sector dominated by straight, white men. With UK Sport putting the concept at the forefront of their manifestos, it is evident that they are taking a proactive approach to tackle this with an innovative mindset and with zero tolerance towards any type of discrimination.
With this in mind, as a young, budding female sports broadcaster, I often find myself questioning: Will my voice be listened to in a world where people like Joey Barton still exist? I am more than certain that other female sports enthusiasts are under the same impression, whether it is posting your own opinion online, sharing opinions with friends or plainly being a supporter. Although female voices have become more proficient in the sports broadcasting digital age, there is still a void that needs to be filled in the industry.
Specifically in football, female broadcasters used to be rarer than hen’s teeth. Whereas now, we are privileged to have faces like Laura Woods and Kate Abdo paving the way and inspiring girls to get into sports broadcasting. Role models like these ladies are fundamental to keep the fight going for equality and diversity in the sporting industry. This is because there is still much work to be done for female pundits to be on a level playing field in such a male governed region.
[Image Credit: ITV]
However, ex footballing international Joey Barton blatantly and very openly disagrees with the leaps and bounds with female representation within both sporting activity and journalism. On the social media platform ‘X’, more familiarly known as ‘Twitter’, he vindictively labelled former female international Alex Scott ‘The Ted Bundy of Presenting’. Disappointingly, in an environment predominately piloted by men, it is not the first time Barton has referred to female commentators as serial killers. In January, he compared Itv’s Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko to Rose and Fred West. For Barton to compare two highly-experienced female broadcasters to an infamously recognised couple who are said to have murdered at least 12 people over a 20-year time frame discourages and sets women back years in the fight for equality both within and outside the workplace.
With sport being one of the least inclusive of the creative and cultural industries, it cannot really afford to have such a large controversy threatening its progression for equality and diversity. With previous research by the European Parliament discovering that 85% of media coverage is of male athletes and 90% of articles on sport are written by men.Making it evident that there is still substantial measures that must be taken in order for the sporting industry to reach real diversity on and off the field.
Which raises the questions:
- Who is responsible for giving Joey Barton a platform to disregard the opinions of females in sports broadcasting?
- Are women welcomed in the broadcasting environment?
- What does it mean for the next generations Clare Balding and Laura Woods?
In this case, it could be argued that the digitalisation of journalism has created platforms for people like Barton to spread such misogynistic and hateful opinions. This type of online forum has led to more hate and harassment to presenters such as Eni Aluko. Just months ago, Aluko felt the need to flee the country as a result of the brutal online hate she was facing after becoming a regular presenter for sky sports covering the premier league. Whilst online trolling attempts time and time again to silence these knowledgeable women, they constantly prove why their voices are so unique and special to have in the mass media. Shedding light on years of playing experience and tactical expertise, we as viewers are lucky to have such well-informed ex-professionals on our screens, no matter what their race, gender or sexuality is.
[Image Credit: BBC Sport]
Other pundits such as former treble winning Manchester United captain Gary Neville and Alex Scott [as shown above] spoke out in the media to emphasise their support for Eni Aluko. Scott once again proving why she is such an invaluable member of the BBC broadcasting team and solidifying her status as an inspiration for budding female journalists everywhere. In a closing statemen live on air, Scott shows that once again women in sport will continue to fight for their voices to be heard:
Ultimately, with Barton having free rein on social media to project such blatant misogynistic comments, the big question that we should be asking ourselves is; Has Digitalisation helped or hindered Equality and Diversity within the sporting industry?
[All Images and Media are used under fair usage for educational purposes]
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