Covering the Women’s World Cup: Perspectives from Journalist-Academics Leading Student Teams

Vicki Michaelis and John Affleck (Pennsylvania State University, USA), “Covering the Women’s World Cup: Perspectives from Journalist-Academics Leading Student Teams,” in Routledge Publishing’s Critical Research in Football series, working title Media, Communication and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Abstract: Any journalist who’s covered an international sports event knows the storylines encompass so much more than the results. Guiding student journalists through coverage of such an event involves immersing them not just in the Xs and Os of the sport/s involved but also in the event’s social, cultural and political backdrops. This chapter will examine how Penn State and the University of Georgia professors prepared and directed the student journalists who contributed to Associated Press coverage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The student journalists produced dozens of stories and photos distributed globally by the AP. They covered issues ranging from LGBTQ+ representation to the emergence of women’s soccer in countries where the national women’s teams have struggled to gain the support and respect – both from fans and federations – afforded their male counterparts. Sports provide comfortable spaces to examine uncomfortable topics and often bring those topics into sharper relief. The 2023 Women’s World Cup was no exception. Against the rising debate over whether AI can adequately generate sports coverage, this chapter will explore our efforts to put multifaceted, well-trained, critical thinkers in the press box and on the pitch to provide the human element that coverage of such an event demanded.