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This column examining how almost every FBS school's football announcer is a white male is good, but I don't think it addresses the root of the problem in broadcasting, which is the unpaid internship. (1/12) https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2020/06/of-130-major-college-football-programs-how-can-none-have-a-black-play-by-play-announcer.html
During the three summers I worked an internship in college, I was paid only for one. Two summers I worked in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and the other I worked for the Syracuse Chiefs (now the Mets). In the CCBL I got $0, and in Syracuse, I got $1,000 a month. (2/12)
During the first summer I spent living on Cape Cod I lived in a friend's family vacation home. I drove a car that was purchased for me by my family. I had privilege that allowed me to get in the door and I didn't even realize it at the time. (3/12)
I worked a day job during those first two summers in order to pay for gas and food, but I knew that I still had financial support from home if I needed it. I would imagine that's not the case for everyone. For many, an unpaid internship can be a money-losing proposition. (4/12)
We know that the wealth gap between white households and that of other races is staggering in the United States. How can we continue to have unpaid internships and also try to increase the diversity among play-by-play broadcasters? I don't think we can. (5/12)
The field of play-by-play broadcasters is predominantly white. How did it get this way? It can't be because there's far more interest in the profession from only white people. We have to examine the underlying causes that got us here, and the internship is one piece. (6/12)
The unpaid internship becomes even more burdensome if you have to commute or pay for housing away from your primary residence. That likely eliminates qualified candidates right from the start because of the cost. (7/12)
While the laws of supply and demand would say there's no incentive to pay interns calling play-by-play, if there's a sincere effort to have diversity in the field, then the people or organizations with those internships have to pay the students for the work they're doing. (8/12)
And it goes beyond just summer internships. In my first two professional jobs as a play-by-play broadcaster, I earned $1,300/month and $75/game, respectively. Both numbers are pre-tax. I wasn't able to support myself on those wages, and received financial support from home (9/12)
I remain grateful for the help that I got in paying my rent, but I also realize that not all parents have the ability to subsidize their child's finances after just shelling out for college tuition for four years.
So how can we help make things better? (10/12)
So how can we help make things better? (10/12)
What @adamgiardino has done with this initiative is a start. https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-broadcasters-grant-amp-scholarship-fund?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email_m_pd-5332-donation-receipt-adyen&utm_content=internal But the change has to come from the top, along with a desire to make the profession inclusive for everyone, not just those who can afford to work for $0. (11/12)
If there's anything we should have learned in the last several months, individual acts are good, but what's needed is systemic change.
Please share other thoughts or ideas on what we can do to make things better. (12/12)
Please share other thoughts or ideas on what we can do to make things better. (12/12)
