I subscribe to a lot of rugby blogs, news sites and internet sites. Most of them I have in my Google Reader (LOVE IT!), but some of them I visit on a daily basis to keep up to date with the rugby world.
However, I have stopped visiting one site and am sad to say why. American Rugby News (http://americanrugbynews.com/) hasn’t had a new story on Women’s Rugby since December 15, 2007. There has been so much happening in the world of women’s rugby that I was perplexed as to why they didn’t have any updates. So on Jan 23, 2007 I emailed the editor of American Rugby News and asked them why they didn’t have more stories about women’s rugby.
Here is my email to them:
Hello,
I am writing today to ask one simple question. Why is your coverage of women’s rugby so dismal?
You haven’t had a new story about women’s rugby since Dec 15, 2007. More than 30 days and you haven’t written one thing about women’s rugby. There has been plenty happening if you didn’t know:
http://westrugby.blogspot.com
The USA Women’s National 7’s Team as selected just this morning
http://westrugby.blogspot.com
They also held a rockin’ camp about a week ago.
Women’s rugby teams are working hard in the USA and they deserve your recognition. While I definitely appreciate the coverage of the Round of 16 and accompanying Final Four Tournaments, as well as the great coverage of the Women’s National UK Tour 2007, there is plenty of news out there on a daily basis that should be reported.
I am not trying to promote my Women’s Rugby blog, but simply ask that we get at least HALF (we deserve equal) the press that the men’s youth, collegiate, club and national teams get on your website.
Thank you,
Wendy
I will not be posting the full reply that was emailed back to me. To say the least it was disappointing and showed their true color. I believe this excerpt sums it up pretty good:
“The reason we don’t spend a lot of time covering the women’s game is because generally speaking there’s not as much interest in it…Coupled with that, advertisers aren’t exactly banging our door down demanding to sponsor women’s rugby.”
While I understand business and understand advertising, I don’t understand this mentality. What could be the easiest way to boost your readership and sponsorship which equals funding the bottom line…than thinking outside the box? If you could cater to women and quickly become the best source of news for women’s rugby, you could corner the market! We all know that Goff thinks he has the market cornerd for rugby in general, but his poor reporting and accuracy is a problem.
So while your news site is biased against women and is so worried about the bottom line, my little blog will keep chugging along as these women rugby players deserve recognition. You have lost one reader that won’t be responding to your advertisements or helping your bottom line.
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If they were smart, they would hire some women to find the interest stories in women’s rugby and highlight them, rather than task “important busy and more interesting” men to do it. That is really the issue, men don’t find it interesting so they do report on it and they completely ignore the fact that woman read their site and do appreciate women’s news. Wouldn’t it be great it there was a central women’s rugby site with various women rugger bloggers from around the world that wrote articles every couple of days. Screw the men’s sites, we should make our own. Unfort I am sort of out of the rugby loop now…but I would still love to read it.
I was at a coaching clinic last fall and one of the things we talked about was the tremendous growth in women’s rugby and that the importance of pursuing it at the youth level to help grow rugby as a whole in the US.
I have been thinking more and more about opening up this blog to other writers. I think it would be amazing, I will have to think on it and maybe put a plan into action.
…because sponsors are banging down the doors to sponsor and throw money at men’s rugby?!?!?!?
Sigh. Definitely disappointing, but not shocking. The truth is women’s rugby is much more marketable than the men’s game, for a variety of reasons. We just need smart people to start marketing it.
hate to bring it up, but since our women have faired better in international rugby, they DO deserve the marketing and exposure the men get.
i for one support this blog and support women’s rugby as much as i can. you girls are amazing!
jerry
men’s rugby player
I agree with chaser, if there is such demand then put it together. A blog index for women’s rugby, pulling in articles from multiple sources, would be pretty cool. Sort of a digg.com for women’s rugby. That way you could keep the talents of all the people already writing good stuff about women’s rugby, but have a central source where people could find it. I would be willing to help.
Reading this article, and the associated comments, I found it difficult to appreciate that you are writing about the USA – you could write pretty much the same about the way women’s rugby (and soccer and many other women’s sports) are treated by the media in the UK.
I have two daughters who play rugby and we are often amazed at the number of people (both sexes) who think that girls/women shouldn’t play the game at all ……
Incidentally, you may also note that the England women’s team has also been much more successful than the men over the last 4 years – maybe the male ego is being pushed to breaking point on both sides of the Atlantic?! (It makes one wonder how the male New Zealanders are coping with their women’s team being world cup winners!)
Wow, Wendy. I don’t even know where to begin to respond to your lousy dealings with that magazine. Rugby’s biggest growth is with women players. That’s a mighty big demographic to blow off. As a rugby fan, a husband and a father to a 17 year old daughter, I am just apalled at his neanderthal rebuttal to your letter. The hell with him and his publication.
Women’s rugby deserves a great news outlet, I have said that over and over again. I think the growth of the sport could also be enhanced by such a place.
The issue of advertising is far more complicated than anyone wants to admit. Lets face it, our high level players are amazing women who have tons of charm and charisma. That’s great in person. However, middle America, and many would be rugby moms, would be uncomfortable with a lot of our high level players, based on how those players choose to express themselves in their physical aesthetics.
Or more bluntly put, “butch” female athletes don’t sell to most Americans and therefore don’t sell to most advertisers. It’s wrong but it’s a reality. USA Soccer has done a fairly good job of deciding on ambassadors and spokeswomen that they feel will grow their sport. And yes these women have all tended to be more traditional in their outward appearance.
Once they get in the stands, once they meet these amazing athletes in person, issues of appearance tend to matter a lot less.
Excellent and well constructed article. Sadly the coverage of the sport just isn’t widely enough carried by the media. This is one of those catch 22 situations as if people are unaware of the sport (and the opportunities it provides) less people take it up and if less people take it up there is less to cover.
I know we’re no were near your standard but I’ve just been on a blitz with media coverage and am send out reports weekly which are getting coverage. The press need stories to fill columns so we are running any and every angle. Blogs work well too but in the main the people who are reading already have an interest.
Get poking the media they will come round to your way of thinking soon.
Great blog btw.
spike
I’m not saying that they don’t suck, but you should check out american rugby news right now. There is a pretty sexy picture on the front page.
Where is this sexy picture? I see nothing sexy! 🙂
You aren’t looking hard enough!