Being a female sports reporter

In October I won the annual Sports Journalist of the Year award. I'm still ecstatic because titles don't come easy.

Sports journalism has taken a different turn, with many women entering the fray and holding their own.

So much has changed, also with the introduction of social media and so forth. Everything is so instant.

You cannot miss a moment of the action, which basically means that whatever you cover, you bring your A-game, you forget the old way of doing things, but most importantly, you stay up till late to honour your obligations.

It is never pleasant and it's most definitely not easy, but the job has to be done. Being a sports reporter means having to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to watch boxing. It means going out of your way to bring fresh content to sports lovers.

People want to know what happens on and off the field. They want to know what their favourite athletes are up to, and as much as it might seem like prying, content is produced, with permission of course.

I did not win the award on a silver platter. I woke up early and went to bed late, plotting the next best story, and of course the photos and videos to accompany it. If you have no vision of what you want your readers to see and consume, you are lost. You need creativity. You see, sport is supposed to be fun and entertaining; that is why most if not all the newspapers have it on their back pages.

But of course there are serious matters that also need to see the light of day, so we present them as fairly and constructively as possible.

Anybody can cover sport and do this. Whether they present it on TV, radio or through newspapers, it is the journalist's choice.

My stronghold is print because I have the gift of bringing imagination to life through what I write. Others might differ, but that too is fine. But what I mean to say is that you should nurture what you are good at.

Let the readers respect you for what you can do as a female reporter, without the need to prove anything to anyone, because quite honestly many male reporters never played sport at any level - regional or national for that matter - but have nothing to prove to anyone.

My advice is don't think of sport as a macho thing. Think of it as any other job, which provides everyone the chance to break into it.

I played football, so I know the dynamics of sport and the challenges an athlete faces. I have a better understanding of certain things, and of course I keep an eye on things like a hawk.

In simple terms, many women are knowledgeable about sporting events, and this is expected because our lives are completely shaped by sport.

Anything is possible in this field. You have Carol Tshabalala of SuperSport covering and doing in-depth analyses and discussions on football matters, and it is clearly visible that her colleagues respect her, because not only does she present a pretty face, but she is a go-getter.

So be a Carol. Let your passion work for you. Learn and do what needs to be done, but most importantly, do it right all the time.

I still have a long way to go. I can never be the next Carol, but I'm here to create my own legacy and to help nurture, aid and boost the rest of my female colleagues in the industry. As the African proverb by Ghanaian scholar Dr James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey says: “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a nation.”



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