We recently learned that SBS Zela, an Australian website dedicated to women in sport, will finish up after the Olympics.
The reasons for decisions like this from any publication are far from simple and I’m not going to go into it here.
It’s left me with mixed emotions. Sadness to start with, exasperation next, and finally, fatigue. These feelings aren’t directed at SBS or the reasons the decision was made. It takes courage and conviction to back something like this to start with.
These are feelings I have when I see forum posts asking why women aren’t featured in other publications, when I see a high-quality article on women in sport receive almost zero traction on social media, and when I see skilled writers and photographers work for free because they want to contribute to this gap but can’t build a relationship with enough publications that can pay them for this work. In short, my feelings are in response to the state of media on, by and about women in sport far more broadly, and the actions from audiences in response.Continue reading “Read it or grieve it. Why media on women in sport needs your support.”