Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman

By Ashley Bigley

In a career full of testosterone, an organization for women gathered for their annual convention in the Valley of the Sun on Thursday, marking its 25^th anniversary.

The attendees of the Association for Women in Sports Media Convention included college students, sports journalists, executives of decorated companies and athletes. The activities during the AWSM convention included several panels and guest speakers sharing their knowledge of various topics.

Trisha Blackmar, a senior sports editor for Sports Illustrated, spoke at one of the sessions, Breaking into the Big League. “Ideas are currency in journalism,” Blackmar said as advice for journalist to help grow their brand.

“Finding your voice is branding yourself,” ASU professor Robin Phillips explained in a session on multimedia storytelling. Your voice is “one-third your material, one third other people’s research and material, and one-third personal highlights.”

Several highlights during the convention included the honoring of Oklahoma State University as the first AWSM Student Chapter of the Year for the 2012-2013 school year. 

Brittney Griner, Baylor University center who was drafted first overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2013 WNBA draft, spoke the opening night during dinner about her career and what she would like to see journalists do when interviewing an athlete. 

Ann Meyers Drysdale closed the convention by signing copies of her book, “You Let Some Girl Beat You?”, and engaged the crowd with an informative conversation about the current state of women sports.

The 2014 convention is to be held in Orlando, Fla. AWSM is an international organization that supports the advancement of women in sports media.