RSVP for SPJ/LA's Panel Discussion: Exploring Sexist and Racist Media Coverage of the Summer Olympics

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A reporter asks Pia Sundhage, the head coach of the Swedish women’s football team, about her ability to coach a men’s team. Michael Phelps’ silver medal takes top billing while Katie Ledecky’s world-record medal is relegated to a subhead.

A newspaper tweets that “Phelps shares historic night with African-American” in reference to Simone Manuel’s historical gold medal. These are just a few examples of how media coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio seemed to come from a mindset that might have prevailed at the 1932 summer games.

What was that so? Have we learned nothing over the years about the need for racial and gender sensitivity? Was there more insensitive and discriminatory coverage this year or did it just seem like it because of social media? How does such coverage affect the public? What can be done to improve sports coverage in the future?

These are among the questions to be explored Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 by a panel convened by the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the 90-minute program will begin at 7 sharp.

Panelists will be: Jackie Pepper, a sports journalist who produced short-form videos for Yahoo Sports during the Olympics and has also produced content for USA Today and NFL Network. David Wharton, lead Olympic reporter for the L.A. Times and affiliated newspapers who went to Rio early to cover IOC meetings and write a blend of features, issue stories and, of course, lots of Ryan Lochte. Marcella DeVeaux, Ph.D., a tenured Associate Professor of Journalism at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and a Depth Psychologist. As a media    expert, and diversity consultant, she grapples with unconscious bias in media, education and the workplace. The moderator will be Stephanie Bluestein, Ed.D., a veteran reporter and assistant professor of journalism at CSUN.

When: Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Where:  USC, Wallis Annenberg Hall Room 106, 3630 Watt Way, Los Angeles 90089. Parking available in Lot A ($12)Enter campus on the east side of Vermont Avenue across from 36th Street, and the garage on the right just inside the campus. Pay $12 to park, then walk down Downey Way, away from the gate, to Watt Way. Turn left on Watt and walk to Childs Way. Wallis Annenberg Hall is on the corner on the right.

Cost: Free to the public

RSVP:spjlosangeles@gmail.comContact:  Richard Hendricksonnewsprof@mac.com