Women athletes absent from TV news

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Girls will need to put down the remote and pick up their sneakers to find female athletic heroines.

One Purdue Health and Women's Study professor recommends girls tune out TV news reports when they look for female athletes. A 20-year study by Cheryl Cooky looked at women's athletics in news coverage.

"The peak was in 1999," said Cooky. "The local affiliates covered almost nine percent and that's gone down now to 1.6 percent in 2009."

Cooky explained participation in women's sports is at an all time high, but females are mostly absent from TV news. Part of the reason could be because of little market demand according to Gold and Black dot com's Alan Karpick.

"There is tremendous passion for women's sports and women's sport fans but by looking at the big numbers there are less of them than there are for men's sports and that ultimately impacts how much exposure women get on TV," he said.

Cooky said when women athletes do get coverage, reports often portray them either as sex symbols or wives and mothers.

"This potentially sends the message to viewers especially girl viewers that what matters is what female athletes do off the court rather what they can do on the court," she stated.

The lack of coverage could reduce the number of girls participating in sports. Cooky said being part of a team can boost confidence and grades. Girls will need to turn off the tube and get to a game to find female athletes.

"It's a great option. It's affordable. It's a great experience," said former Purdue basketball player, current West Lafayette girls basketball coach and radio broadcaster Jane Schott. "You see some terrific young women who are great role models."

Schott said the area is fortunate to have Purdue, where women's sports are high profile.

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