Karyn Bryant talks uphill battle for females in television reporting

Being a member of the MMA media is a labor of love for most. The money isn't great unless you have a television gig or are a member of a very small group that covers news for larger sites. If you happen to be a female, there are defintely more issues at play. As a member of that latter group, I've always been grateful for the opportunities I've been blessed with over the last 11 years. That's not to say I've not had some bumps in the road, but I've definitely been more fortunate than most.

A large part of the reason why I've not experienced some of the problems that other women in the community have faced is due to my choice to stay "behind the curtain," so to speak. I've always done radio and writing, nothing video oriented. When I started out, there wasn't a "vlogosphere." You could literally count on one hand the available podcasts, and videos were mainly for fights and highlight reels.

Today, everyone has a podcast, runs a periscope, a snap chat, live Youtube or Facebook feeds, and when a woman gets in front of a camera to cover sports, there is a noticeable change in perception from when a man does. From my experience of working outside the video bubble, I've been told things like, ‘You're a woman and don't know what you're talking about,' or ‘Let the men cover the men's sports,' and several other choice things along these lines. Putting yourself out there publicly, in any format, leaves you open for more than just criticism, it leaves you open for sexism and misogyny, and this increases exponentially when you're in front of the camera.

There are several excellent women in this sport's media circles currently, both in and out of video reporting. Megan Olivi, Ana Hissa, Phoenix Carnevale, Evy Rodrigues, Loretta Hunt and Sydnie Jones are names that immediately come to mind. Recently, the Three Amigos Podcast spoke to another great reporter, FOX Sports anchor, Karyn Bryant. She opened up and discussed what her journey has been like since she started covering MMA and the continuous battle women have in getting prime jobs in front of the camera. Below is a transcribed portion of our interview with her.

"I work mostly on television in a video-based medium with our MMA Heat site, so I'm primarily, and always have been, an interviewer and presenter. I think in terms of being on camera, there are opportunities, and I would imagine probably more so in the written word, because it doesn't matter what you look like. It's funny, because when I look for stories or I'm reading about fighters, I personally don't say, ‘Hey, let me go see what the women's take is on this storyline.' I personally don't worry about the source other than there's a couple of guys that I think are total jerks, and I don't want to read their stuff because I don't want to get their storylines branded in my head.

In terms of the female storytelling angle, sometimes that comes into play, but for the most part, I'm not really worried who the byline is coming from, so I think for that [written word], women can keep growing and do a lot more. Unfortunately, I do believe that on camera, there is still that requirement for a certain level of "hotness" that is decided upon by whomever is in the offices, who, by the way, are pretty much never women. In that respect, it's still an uphill battle.

We look at the guys that are covering the sport, and there is no requirement for them to be handsome, fit or whatever. For women, there certainly still is, and I don't like the idea that somebody who is passionate about the sport and may have a great depth of knowledge about the sport, won't get a job because she's not hot, and unfortunately, that's going to come into play, and I don't want this this to somehow get twisted into something narcissistic, because I'm not sitting here trying to say that I'm hot, because I'm not. I think I‘m just a little ahead of the curve in being a woman in the right place at the right time in some of these things.

Some of the people that I know are trying to get into it [television media], and when you look at people on the internet that are trying to do things, there is still that element of, ‘Hey, I'm a really cute girl and I like the sport, so I bet I could do it, too.' It's happened over the years, and I think it continues to happen. Eventually, they figure out that you have to actually know something, too. I'm not trying to call names here, I'm just saying you do have to know something and you can't just get by on your looks. The opportunity for cute girls that know stuff is definitely there, if you're looking to work on camera. Unfortunately, it's still an uphill battle and the requirements for the men are not ever going to be the same.

In terms of the fighters, they've been great. I don't think the fighters are worried about the women that are holding the microphone. I don't think they are prejudiced by what she looks like, but the people who may be offering the on-camera jobs...that is still a great concern. In terms of the fighters recognizing that women are valuable and have just as much of a right to be there, I definitely think they're all for that."

Karyn went on to discuss when she first started covering sports, before MMA, detailing the things she's been told or seen over the years, as well as the differences in the way males and females are perceived in sports reporting.

"Believe me, this is not my first rodeo. I've done a lot of reporting and coverage and on-camera things for years before I covered MMA. For the first--I don't know how many years it was, every interview would be [very affected imitation of male voice] ‘Oh I know what they did after that interview. They totally did it!' There was also the, ‘Who did she "F" to get that job? She probably brought her kneepads over there,' yada yada yada.

It still happens. It happens less than it used to, but it still happens. There are forum threads about which one of us the guys think is the hottest. Guess what? There's no storyline like that on the male reporters. That part is ridiculous, but it's also expected. It's not a surprise. It's not new. It can be discouraging."

There was a lot more to this excellent interview, with topics that covered the following:

• Assessment of females in MMA media and what kind of advancement you see in the next 3 years
• Biggest story over the last year
• Importance of free agency
• Thoughts on possibility of UFC sale and how it will affect the sport
• Thoughts on judging/refereeing issues that seem to be a blight on the sport

You can listen to Karyn's segment at the 1:23:20 mark of the audio HERE, or via the embedded player below. Remember, if you're looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we're under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Geroge Lockhart, Iain Kiddand Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast.