Getting Started...

When I began planning the foreground fro this research project, I continuously had this one image stuck in my head that I could simply not ignore. Now, when I tell you all about this image I would rather you did not get the wrong idea. This is because I could not get ESPN female reporter Erin Andrews' face away from me and she happens to be a stunningly beautiful woman (so why wouldn't any man have her image on their mind?). But being the sports nerd that I am, I was intrigued by her because of the impact that she has on sports media - at least through my eyes.

This was all sparked a few weeks back when a streaming internet video - which I will for obvious reasons not be posting a link to - of Ms. Andrews changing in her hotel room was placed on multiple internet sites. Long story told short, scandal broke out and it got me thinking as to why Erin in particular was targeted in such an awful crime; and more importantly, why was her video so popular - there are trillions of places you can see naked women on the internet!!!
And so here I am - if your not confused yet then I am glad - I am wondering to myself, the fact that Andrews works for a sports entertainment a company, her popularity among the male sports fan is without a doubt through the roof.

For those of you who do not know who she is, here is a news clip from ABC news that shows several examples of her in action on the athletic fields.
just click on the link above for the video

When examining the female sports reporter over the years, Erin Andrews has - since 2004 - been the first face that comes to mind because she seems to exemplify why I think the female sideline reporter has become a near fixture in sports broadcasts. This is of course pure opinion on my part, but I I feel that sports broadcasts become more tolerable both for men and women when an attractive, well-spoken women is interviewing different sports stars throughout broadcasts.

Now, the first question that I must ask is:
Who was the first female sports broadcast reporter?
According to write Paul Farhi of the Washington Post, ABC and ESPN associates Lesley Visser (a member of the pro football Hall of Fame), and Andrea Kremer were the first women to do sideline reporting on the "Monday Night Football Broadcast" - which according to Pamela J. Creedon, author of the book Women, Sport, and Media Institutions: Issues in Sports Journalism
Reporter Lesley Visser told Creedon that when she began working at The Boston Globe in 1974, "No women or children allowed in the press box." and she now feels "it's very comforting to me to say that women are sideline reporters now."

What I can see from this is that there is definitely some sort of comradery among female sports reporters, and that they have a common goal to become something of a necessity on sports broadcasts today. Since the 1970's, when sports were just starting to be truly emerged as a media jackpot, women has grown as sports reporters, thus leading me to believe that yes indeed women have become - at the LEAST more trusted among television producers and executives.

Farhi also mentions in his article that both Kremer and Visser have produced their own individual programs on both ESPN and ABC. This intrigues me because it may mean that their could be an emergence of more than just female sideline reporters, but an emergence of a greater population of women in sports media altogether.

While Erin Andrews stands out because of her physical features, as well as her presence in alternative media, her work only leads me back to her predecessors, making me curious as to how the male counterparts feel about the potential

more to come,
Blog Master Nilsen

Welcome!

Hello Dr. Ryan's COM 215 class,Over the course of the semester I plan to chronicle my research study on a topic that has undoubtedly crossed the minds of Mllions of fans across the United States. I will be constructing this blog through a series of videos and images, but I will also be uncovering information that have found through my research, possibly leading me to some kind of overarching answer to my question. Of course I will also be asking the rest of the nation questions that may give me some general sense of how other fans (or non-fans) feel about the topic at hand. Okay, if I have not bored you all to tears yet, I would now like to actually know, has the female 'sideline reporter' come to be a common aspect of some televised.
The semester ends in December and I assume that I will be much further along with my research by that point. I hope to post at least once a week just so I can give you all a consistent update on my progress, along with my thought process that I bring along with this research study.
Some things to look forward to from the blog:
Feedback/coverage of a November 2nd Q & A session with NFL super-agent, Drew Rosenhaus and Sports Illustrated reporter, Selena Roberts.

I am extremely excited, and I assure you that my enthusiasm about sports and sports media will surely not be absent from this forum,
Blog Master Nilsen