STEPHANIE COMPTON
Sports Editor
comptose@plu.edu
Alison Overholt has recently been hired as ESPN The Magazine’s first female Editor-in-Chief ESPN has always been a male dominated network. Sports news and sports reporting has been no different, but now there is a woman leading them all. . A magazine that reports on highly masculine topics like football and boxing will be led by a woman for the first time.
Now it may seem like a difficult choice picking a woman for this job in a highly male dominated field, but Overholt was an obvious choice. She has been editing for ESPN since 2005, when she was hired as a general editor. She has been integral to the growth of the magazine and was promoted in 2007 to senior editor.
When ESPN decided to branch out more toward their female audience, Overholt became the founding editor for ESPNW.
I myself am a female editor in a field that is mostly dominated by men. Seeing Overholt at the head of such a large production shows a lot of promise for female editors in the future.
The more women in leadership roles showing younger writers and paper editors that it is possible to break through the politics and become the leader of such a large magazine, the more leadership roles that will open up in the future.
