The Association for Women in Sports Media’s regional event roundup made summer stops in Atlanta and Miami. Upcoming fall events include stops in Nashville (October), New York City (November) and Tampa (December) to close 2018.
While SEC media days were going on at the College Football Hall of Fame, AWSM held a July 17 event at Fado Pub in midtown Atlanta. The gathering brought together members and supporters to network as well as learn from dynamic voices in the industry.
The panel discussion featured Brittany Grant from ESPN’s The Undefeated, John Bednarowski from the Marietta Daily Journal and Leigh Fairey from Turner Sports. Greg Lee, former editorial director at NBA.com and newly appointed senior managing editor of The Athletic D.C., moderated the discussion.
The panelists came from various backgrounds – local and national print journalism, television production, digital and analytics. Topics included work challenges in the digital age and advice on setting career goals and landing jobs.
Many members and nonmembers were in attendance, including current AWSM Scholar winner Isabel Miller, who was in the midst of completing her internship with CNN Sports in Atlanta.
AWSM partnered with WISE South Florida (Women in Sports and Events) for a mixer in midtown Miami. New hotspot Amara at Paraiso played host to a networking hour overlooking Biscayne Bay, followed by a panel on women in Miami sports. AWSM’s first Mary Garber Pioneer Award winner and Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Lesley Visser opened the evening. Visser shared her experiences as a trailblazer and as a woman in sports, her ties to AWSM, and the importance of having a support network.
Headlining the panel was Jennifer Strawley, University of Miami deputy director of athletics/COO; Katie Meier, UM head women’s basketball coach; and Susan Miller Degnan, UM football beat reporter for the Miami Herald. Christy Cabrera Chirinos, UM beat writer for the Sun Sentinel moderated the discussion. The hourlong session took a closer look into the state of college athletics, cultivating relationships with college administrators and female athletes, the many challenges in an age of digital media, improving coverage of women’s sports, maintaining a work-life balance, and much more.
Coming up Oct. 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt, AWSM will welcome featured speakers Laura Okmin and Sara Walsh. Okmin is the founder of GALvanize and a longtime NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports. Walsh is a veteran sports anchor, most recently with ESPN. RSVP by Oct. 12 to awsmevents@gmail.com.
