In 1984, Claire Smith, KLN’ 79, the first female reporter to cover major league baseball full-time, was kicked out of the San Diego Padres’ clubhouse for being a woman. Now, forty years later, she is an associate professor of journalism at Temple University and the founding executive director of the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media. A pioneering sports journalist in her own right, Smith has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, was the second woman to be honored individually by the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2023, became the first Black woman to win the Red Smith Award. Now in 2024, she, along with Klein College of Media and Communication and the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media, launched the inaugural Women in Sports Media Symposium.
Taking place on Friday, October 18, the Women in Sports Media Symposium was held in Mitten Hall. Pioneering female journalists of the past and present from across the country came together to discuss progress for gender equality in the field of sports media and how much work is still left.
Shevita Aulana, a Klein College graduate student, attended the symposium to learn more about the career she wants to pursue.
“[These women’s] experiences are amazing, and it’s motivating me to go and keep doing great things,” Aula said.
The event kicked off with a short viewing of the film Let Them Wear Towels. This was followed by a “Breaking Through Barriers” panel, where Smith, Melissa Ludtke, KLN ‘87, and Lisa Nehus-Saxon discussed their experiences as some of the first professional female sports journalists.
“We were seen as an invasive species that people did not want to come into the sport,” said Ludtke, a previous Sports Illustrated reporter.
The three women shared their harrowing experiences while being the first in their field. Verbal, physical and sexual harassment from players and coaches was a common occurrence. Still, they kept pushing forward.
“Why wouldn’t we be allowed to live our childhood dreams?” asked Smith, noting why they did not leave their careers despite tremendous setbacks.
Smith also explained that her experience allowed her to build a strong support system, including other women in the field who were facing the same discrimination that she was.
“A part of the perseverance was sisterhood,” Smith said.
The event also featured a book signing of Ludtke’s Locker Room Talk, which detailed her experiences in sports journalism.
In addition, three inaugural awards were announced: Shakeia Taylor, the deputy senior content editor at the Chicago Tribune, received the Bright Light Award for excellence in baseball journalism; Doris Burke, a sports commentator for ESPN and ABC and the first woman to call a National Basketball Association championship final game, received the Trailblazer Award; and Steve Garvey, the former professional baseball player who helped Smith when she was kicked out of the Padres’ clubhouse, was honored with the Allyship Award.
“Women have created and defined who I am,” said Garvey during his acceptance speech.
The Women in Sports Media Symposium also featured female sports journalists currently in the field discussing “What’s Changed, and What Hasn’t.” This featured CBS4 Indianapolis sports reporter Alexa Ross, KLN ‘18, and Philadelphia Inquirer reporters Isabella DiAmore, KLN ‘22, and Gina Minzell. Ross believes that women in sports journalism are still facing gender inequality.
“Inherently, misogyny never goes away,” Ross said.
The panelists touched on the harassment they face on social media platforms. They expressed that they cannot make an error in their reporting, or it will be much worse than when a male reporter does.
“There’s this magnifying glass over women in sports,” explained DiAmore. “They’re waiting for you to make a mistake.”
The Women in Sports Media Symposium also saw the first Master CLAIRE Talk. Smith, Burke, Diana Richardson, Temple’s women's basketball coach, and Pam Derderian, KLN ‘82, founder and CEO of 15 Minutes Inc., shared stories and discussed the continued fight for inclusion in sports media.
“If one of us is denied equality, then all of us are,” stated Derderian.
The final CLAIRE Talk was a panel focused on allyship and featured Garvey, Michael Huang, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s managing sports editor, Jon Slobotkin, NBCUniversal senior vice president, and Nehus-Saxon. They discussed how men in the sports media industry can be better allies. Students in attendance then had the opportunity to ask panelists from the entire day questions about their experiences and advice for their future careers.
Denise James, an associate professor at Temple, thought that this event was a great opportunity for female sports journalists to discuss solutions to inequities in the field. The mixture of old and new reporters sharing their experiences made it that much more enriching.
“Progress is not linear…[and] we have to connect in order to have these conversations and continued progress,” James said.
James is optimistic about the future of women in the sports media industry. She remembers the experience of women in the 80s advocating for a space in sports, the backlash they faced and how far those in the field have come.
“We’ve come from where speaking up means to step on someone else, to the point where speaking up means you want to be included and at the table,” said James.
There is much further to go, but people like Smith prove that change is possible.
“Never give up, and never ever, ever let someone explain to you who you are,” Smith said.