Calls increasing for more media coverage of women’s sport
Scotland Women's National Football Team
Calls are increasing for improved funding to coverage of women’s sports in the media.
Even beyond people within female sports teams and institutions, women in sports journalism are part of the push for enhanced media representation.
They aim to look at barriers for female’s entering sport, both at community and elite level, which of course includes a lack of coverage and viewership compared to most male equivalent sports.
Herald editor Catherine Salmond spoke to the committee, where she said that women’s sports do not have the audience to justify committing additional resources to cover them.
She went on to say that a possible solution could be a public funding scheme for reporters covering women’s sport to allow increased exposure without a risk of loss to the journalists.
Ms Salmond also added that, while not necessary, an increase in number of female sports journalists would help.
Popularity of women’s sport has increased over the years, with BBC Scotland’s head of commissioning, Louise Thornton, stating the coverage is “on a journey”.
Further to Ms Salmond’s comments to the committee, former Scotland on Sunday sports editor Ginny Clark expressed her support while speaking to the Glasgow Standard.
The journalist agreed that coverage has come a long way, but says it is “slow, and still has a long way to go”.
Speaking on increased broadcasting of women’s football and more women emerging in punditry and reporting, she said: “That representation is crucial in terms of helping to drive change across all media, whether in print, online or on-screen.
“We need more women sports journalists, but we also need more girls and young women to become involved with sport, as participants as well as spectators, and to see what opportunities that can open up for them.
“Increased coverage brings its own reward. Scotland’s achievement of reaching the women’s World Cup in 2019 had the effect of almost doubling participation figures for female football players within a year.
“This is reflected in crowd numbers too. In many professional sports, disparities in wages and in sponsorship are being chipped away, with a number of women’s football teams recently involved in protests and even strikes in the pursuit of parity and improved conditions.”
Mrs Clark cited record high recent SWPL attendances, such as the 8,066 at Hibs v Hearts, as evidence that saying there is a lack of interest in women’s football is “outdated and misplaced.”
She finished by saying: “Media coverage needs to catch up.
“There is a whole new world of readers and viewers out there, and surely that has to mean potential business opportunities for those news organisations too.”
