It's time for people in sports media to realize that professional sports reporting ain't that deep. I'm sorry to break the news. With basic knowledge and the ability to write well, anyone can be a sports reporter. Anyone. It's not on the same level of general news which is why it's on the ass end of most local news. Rarely does a sports story lead the local news or headline a newspaper. However, being a sports personality takes on different responsibilities.
No doubt, Ms. Andrews works hard in the high stakes world of television where one mistake can brand you for life. The stress alone will wilt most people.
As you may or may not know,
Erin Andrews (pictured to the right), reporter for ESPN, had her privacy violated when someone videotaped her, through a peephole, walking nude in some hotel room. The video has been circulating the Internet for months and she had threatened to sue the bum who filmed her without permission. Allegedly, the bum was trying to sell this video to the TMZ.
The bum, named Michael David Barrett, was sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to interstate stalking in March of 2010.---added by vloghog 2010
This has given haters of Andrews an avenue to spout off yet again about how she is only popular because of her looks and not her talent. They talk about how she's not a real sports journalist. They talk about how she has
gotten ahead because of body.
Without doubt, many commenting on this saga will inevitably say that she brought this on herself for flaunting her sexuality. In fact, Christine Brennan, columnist for USA Today posted on her
Twitter account, "Women sports journalists need to be smart and not play to the frat house. There are tons of nuts out there. The Erin Andrews incident is bad, but to add perspective: there are 100s of women sports journalists who have never had this happen to them."
When did someone appoint Christine Brennan queen of all female sports reporters?
Yeah, Erin Andrews got some breaks because of her looks. Shocker! Stop the presses! Mothers mind your skirts! ESPN is a television network that has a large male viewership and many of those men love to look at her and other hot woman.( Fox News figured this out a long time ago.) The way this peephole story gained national attention proves how popular she is.
Of course she dresses to be seen and not heard because
she's on television! As hard as it is to believe, some people get paid six or seven figures a year for looking good on television while doing much much much less than Andrews. Ask Vanna White of Wheel of Fortune.
Do the haters of
Andrews have the same type of scorn for someone like Jon Gruden, former NFL head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs, who will get the Monday Night Football announcing gig without ANY type of broadcast experience?
What kind of questions can Andrews (or any sideline reporter) ask in one minute of a football game that hasn't been asked a billion times? People act as if other ESPN reporters ask hard hitting relevant questions to athletes. For the most part, they don't. Well,
not to their faces? Why? They don't want to get shut out of the hot interviews. So, they usually pepper athletes with softball questions. Andrews isn't the only one guilty of occasionally pandering to athletes. Not by a long shot.
It's obvious to me that some are jealous of Andrews when their arguments against her lack any real substance.
My post is a response to this blog post from Chicago Now:
Wherein I Defend A Naked Erin Andrews---Sigh--- A League of Her Own
VIDEO: Erin Andrews on The Big Idea (CNBC)
VlogHog
It's time for people in sports media to realize that professional sports reporting ain't that deep. I'm sorry to break the news. With basic knowledge and the ability to write well, anyone can be a sports reporter. Anyone. It's not on the same level of general news which is why it's on the ass end of most local news. Rarely does a sports story lead the local news or headline a newspaper. However, being a sports personality takes on different responsibilities. 
