International Women’s Day: News Corp’s commitment to coverage of women’s sport
Sport for women has evolved. As a media company, we have to keep pace with those changes – by recognising history, and looking to the future, writes our new women’s sports editor Emma Greenwood
You can just imagine it.
A seven-year-old Ariarne Titmus rugged up in front of the television in Tasmania, captivated, as Stephanie Rice won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The young Titmus had just started swimming in a squad and while she had “zero comprehension of what it would take”, she knew at that moment, she wanted to stand on top of the podium just as Rice had, with a gold medal around her neck.
The history books show Titmus achieved that goal – twice in fact – at the Tokyo Games, continuing a gold medal run that started for Australia in the pool when Fanny Durack won gold in Stockholm Harbour in 1912.
Durack and Mina Wylie were the first women chosen to represent Australia at the Olympics as women’s swimming made its Olympic debut.
The two were renegades for their time, competing in a sport that was still segregated on the basis of gender and needing a public campaign and funding support to become part of the team.
As News Corp celebrates International Women’s Day by highlighting the inspirational journey of Australian women at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it’s a theme that has played on repeat in the 112 years since.
The pair’s selection and success though paved the way for 1883 women that have represented Australia at the Games since, each inspiring the next generation of stars, who in turn captivate the nation when they pull on the green and gold.
Some among that number and many more who hope to join the Olympic family in Paris this year, have revealed their greatest motivators ahead of International Women’s Day.
Their stories are ones we hope will urge others to post their own #InspirationalWomensDay messages to social media to celebrate their sporting mentors.
Today’s champions will be the inspiration for a generation of girls who have their hearts set on competing on home soil in 2032 when greater Brisbane hosts the Olympics and Paralympics hoping to create the same kind of fervour the Matildas did during the World Cup last year.
Where once the mere participation of women in any sport – let alone one, like football, once regarded as the domain of men – was frowned upon, it’s now not only accepted but celebrated.
When the women’s eight was a late addition to the Rio Olympic rowing program, women outnumbered men on the Australian Games team for the first time.
It happened again three years ago when 34 more women than men were a part of Australia’s team for Tokyo, where, for the third time in the past four Games, female athletes outperformed their male compatriots.
Sport for women has evolved.
As a media company, we have to keep pace with those changes.
No longer is it acceptable just to note or summarise the performance of women or relegate their position on the sports pages, websites or social media feeds based on gender.
As our Olympians and the likes of Ash Barty, the Matildas and the Diamonds have shown, audiences are hungry for the best sports news, regardless of the athletes’ gender.
My commitment, as women’s sports editor, is to drive the conversation around all the issues that are important in women’s sport – and not just the positive ones.
Just as Fanny Durack and Australia’s earliest female Olympians challenged the norms around women in sport, so will we with our coverage.
Celebrating the success of our outstanding sportswomen is our bread and butter.
But so too is asking questions of those in power, holding people to account and reporting without fear or favour.
That means forensically examining women’s sports and their administrations, coaches and boards – just as we do in men’s sport.
Some of the most powerful stories covered by our outstanding journalists in the past year have challenged the conventional narrative around women’s sports coverage.
Talking to some of the most successful athletes in the country about body image, fertility and maternity, menstruation and sexuality – topics that would once have been considered taboo – have yielded powerful personal stories that have resonated with audiences.
Striving to be a leading light means we will reflect the success and positive stories of our athletes and what they mean to their communities.
But we will also be unafraid to shine a light on the big issues, tackle the meaty subjects and criticise constructively where it is due.
It’s what our most successful women have been asking of themselves for more than a century as they strive for a place in Olympic history.
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