Association for Women in Sport Media

Michigan Student Chapter

E: awsm.umich@gmail.com | P: 619.838.035 National Web: awsmonline.org | Michigan Web: awsmumich.weebly.com

Wednesday February 12, 2014

Subject: Association for Women in Sport Media: Benefits of National and Michigan Student Chapter Membership To students interested in sport business and sport media: The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the Association for Women in Sport Media and the benefits from membership with the national organization, as well as the Michigan student chapter. Information for this report was gathered from an interview with Amanda Turner, President and Founder of the Michigan Student Chapter, as well as the Association for Women in Sport Medias website at http://awsmonline.org.

ABOUT ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS MEDIA

The Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) is an organization created in 1987. AWSM is a non-profit organization composed of nearly 600 industry professionals and students looking to pursue a career in sports media. AWSM was created in order to serve as a watchdog for women within the sports industry and promote a healthy image of professional women within media positions. Additionally, AWSM was created to provide opportunities for networking, mentorship, and open communication between aspiring students and established professionals.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION BENEFITS

Directory Once officially registered, members are given access to AWSMs comprehensive directory of students and professionals. Within the directory, members have access to names, emails, company, and city of residence. Having the ability to contact other AWSM members from various job positions and locations allows for unlimited networking and for mentorship relationships to develop between members. We are on our way to grow our database of connections and develop relationships with professionals in the area and around the country and the directory has provided a useful tool in doing so, Amanda Turner stated. Through the directory, chapters are able to acquire simple modes on communication with

industry professionals and find contacts to unite with other student chapters. The Michigan Student Chapter has been able to utilize the benefits of the directory in preparation for its first-year closing event and gathering mid-semester speakers. Annual Convention Each year the national organization holds a convention in which members are able to congregate with one another over Memorial Day weekend. During the convention, professionals and students listen to speakers, attend luncheons and gala dinners, as well as explore the host city. While there are several benefits that members receive individually, the convention was created to be a medium in which members are able to create face-to-face connections. The mission of educating people on the issues within sport media is also achieved at each convention through panels and keynote speakers. The 2014 Convention will be held in Orlando Florida during May 22-25th at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel. The 2014 Convention will feature a panel on diversity within sport media. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Richard Lapchick, and discussed by Christine Brennan, Jorge Rojas, Anucha Browne Sanders and a surprise guest. Winners of the Mary Garber Pioneer Award are also honored at the convention and provide brief speeches on their work. Scholarship and Internship Awards The national organization helps students with internship placement and distributes scholarship money annually. Through their Scholarship and Internship program, members are open to apply to a field of their interest within AWSM. From the applicant pool, AWSM chooses five to six members for each field and places them in interviews with nationally recognized companies. The students then undergo a traditional internship interview process with companies such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MLB.com and numerous others. The final student awarded with the internship position is also offered a $1,000 scholarship from AWSM. AWSM has place more than 150 students with internships since its creation and has expanded the number of offered internships and scholarships each year. Amanda Turner is currently undergoing this process and has completed three rounds of interviews with ESPN. When asked about the opportunity Ms. Turner answers, Having AWSM forge the initial connection with ESPN was huge. Thirteen thousand students apply for this internship each summer and because of my placement through AWSM, I have been able to speak with several members of ESPNs hiring team. Without AWSM, I would have been another online application, that more than likely would have gone unread. The sport industry is

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about creating connections and utilizing your network in order to develop job and internship opportunities. AWSMs internship application allowed me to access that network and get a connection that could have taken me years to develop on my own.

MICHIGAN STUDENT CHAPTER BENEFITS

Community of Likeminded Peers The Michigan Student Chapter is a subset of the national organization where students are able to bring the mission of the national chapter onto campus. Because the University of Michigan does not have a journalism major, Amanda Turner, President and Founder, felt it was essential to start a student chapter in order to bring students majoring in Sport Management, Communications, and Screen Cultures and Arts together to develop a network of students interested in the sport media field. The Michigan Student Chapter provides a community in which students interested in the sports industry are able to develop their skills and create a solid network of peers. Ms. Turner elaborated, We are building a network not only among the founding members of this chapter, but with future U of M members to reach out to for years to come. This is a small industry and being able to have that contact is crucial. The Michigan Student Chapter works to create this bond through regular chapter meetings, as well as various social events. Social events, including trips to Skyzone, Detroit Piston games, and movie nights, encourage members to build lasting friendships upon their professional connections. Additionally, each member is belongs to an individual committee within the chapter. Students participate on marketing, sponsorship, public relations or event planning committees to gain hands-on experience within their area of interest, as well as improve their professional relationship with AWSM members. Industry Speakers Throughout the semester, the Michigan Student Chapter hosts several professional industry speakers within various positions. By utilizing the connections of the student chapter members, the Michigan Student Chapter is able to bring a wide variety of speakers focusing on professions within print journalism, broadcast journalism, production, public relations, media relations, event production, and sponsorship. Having speakers work with the student chapter both allows for a greater recognition of the

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Michigan AWSM brand and gives members the opportunity to learn about unique jobs and network with professionals. Previous speakers include: Joanne Gerstner AWSM VP of Outreach, Knight Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, Interim Professor of sport media theory within the School of Kinesiology John Lowe Writer for the Detroit Free Press covering the Detroit Tigers Kelli Donahue Professor of Sport Management within the School of Kinesiology Courtney Welch Manager of Social Media and Communications for Fox Sports Detroit
Speaker, John Lowe

SUMMARY
The Association for Women in Sport Media acts as an excellent resource in order to create connections to likeminded peers and sport industry professionals. AWSM is constantly working to foster and promote an inclusive culture for women in the sport industry that is beneficial men and women alike. Through access to the organizations directory, a strong bridge between students at different schools and between professionals is created. Furthermore, AWSM works to bring members together to expand their knowledge through the annual convention. The Michigan Student Chapter retains the benefits of the national chapter but also provides a smaller oncampus support system in which members are able to grown personally and professionally. The Michigan Student Chapter achieves this through chapter meetings, social events, and professional industry speakers. There are many benefits to be gained from membership with the Association for Women in Sport Media, and additional advantages to membership with the Michigan Student Chapter. In order to find more information about how to become a national member of AWSM, visit: http://awsmonline.org/membership/join/. To learn more about becoming a member of the Michigan Student Chapter, reach out to awsm.umich@gmail.com. Go Blue and Stay AWeSoMe!

The Association for Sport Media Michigan Student Chapter Executive Board

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Works Cited Home. Association for Women in Sports Media AWSM. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from http://awsmonline.org

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