By Kikue Higuchi
Medill Reports
The Catbackers — an organization of women with a passion for Northwestern sports — assembled a panel for women in sports media, ahead of Northwestern women’s basketball’s 67-64 loss against No. 21 Illinois on Jan. 22.
The panel featured Northwestern alumni Megan McKeown, Lauren Withrow and Patricia Babcock-McGraw as well as Medill professor Melissa Isaacson. McKeown, daughter of women’s basketball head coach Joe McKeown, works as a reporter and analyst for the Big Ten Network. Withrow serves as a team reporter for several Northwestern teams including football and men’s basketball. Babcock-McGraw recently became a communications coordinator for Stevenson High School after 27 years at the Daily Herald.
The panelists regaled their audience with amusing anecdotes and serious stories about the growth of women’s sports and how far the industry still has to go.
“I would say right now, more than ever, the women’s sports product is the best it’s ever been,” McKeown said. “Whether you’re watching basketball, soccer, softball — whatever it might be — women’s sports is having a moment, and I don’t think it’s just a moment. I think it’s truly here to stay.”
Transcript:
Narrator: Ahead of Northwestern women’s basketball’s game against No. 21 Illinois on Sunday, the Catbackers — an organization of women with a passion for Northwestern sports — organized a panel for women in sports media.
Megan McKeown: I would say right now, more than ever, the women’s sports product is the best it’s ever been. Whether you’re watching basketball, soccer, softball — whatever it might be — women’s sports is having a moment, and I don’t think it’s just a moment. I think it’s truly here to stay.
Narrator: The panel featured Northwestern alumni Megan McKeown, a broadcaster for the Big Ten Network; Lauren Withrow, a Northwestern team reporter; and Patricia Babcock-McGraw, a communications coordinator for Stevenson High School, as well as Medill professor Melissa Isaacson. The panelists touched on the growth of women’s sports and how far the industry still has to go.
Isaacson: I had always endeavored to do the best beats at the paper, and they happened to be men’s beats throughout my career. Now all of a sudden, I’m covering women, and I’m getting the point of those were the most satisfying years of my career was covering women because it was uncharted territory. Now you’ve got women who had never told these unbelievable stories before. So, not only was I covering Serena Williams, but I was covering women who had largely never talked to the press before.
Narrator: The panel had dozens of attendees of all ages and interests who went on to watch the game after the event — giving the matchup new meaning.
McKeown: Anytime you have a personal connection, you’re more interested and you’re more likely to go do something with somebody. So I think events like this are so important in order to just garner interest and just to get people talking in general about the sport.
Kikue Higuchi is a sports media graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter @kychiguchi
