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The Washington Post is the only newspaper in the world to have four major sport beats covered by women

By Cara Bahniuk

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March 4, 2017 12:31 am

As media makes news everyday in the political world, the Washington Post is quietly making waves in sports journalism. The Post is the only newspaper in the world that has four major professional sports beats covered by women.

Isabelle Khurshudyan (Capitals), Chelsea Janes (Nationals), Candace Buckner (Wizards), and Liz Clarke (Redskins) were all together at the Post’s office in DC on Friday and snapped an awesome photo.

The lovely ladies in the photo above all have joined the Post at different points throughout the past 20 years and all bring a range of previous experience.

  • Isabelle Khurshudyan became a full-time staff member of the Post in September 2014 after finishing an internship. Khurshudyan graduated from the University of South Carolina and began her career at the Post covering high school sports. She took over coverage of the Capitals in September 2015 after Alex Prewitt’s departure.
  • Chelsea Janes joined the Nationals beat in late 2014 after interning with the Post in 2013. Janes was a reporter in college for the Yale Daily News, earned her MA from Stanford and later covered the San Diego Padres for MLB.com.
  • Candace Buckner joined the Post in 2016 from The Indianapolis Star, where she covered the Indiana Pacers and earned top 10 honors for her feature writing and breaking news. She covers the Wizards.
  • Liz Clarke has been a sportswriter for the Post for 17 years, covering the Redskins, Olympics, World Cups, tennis and NASCAR. She has previously written for USA Today, The Dallas Morning News and the Charlotte Observer and has been twice honored as the Motorsports Writer of the Year.

Even as the Washington Post is making history today, it also holds the honor of being one of the first newspapers that hired women sports reporters. Jennifer Frey, a Harvard grad, joined the Washington Post sports team in 1995 after climbing the journalism ranks with internships and full-time jobs at the Detroit Free Press, the Philadelphia Daily News, and the New York Times.

Frey gained notoriety when, as an intern with the Detroit Free Press in 1990, she faced harassment from male athletes. She would go on to become an advocate for women in sports and sports journalism, eventually landing at the Post. Sadly, she passed away on March 26, 2016.

The Washington Post also launched the career of ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, who covered the Capitals beat from 1996 to 2004. Nichols is now a sports reporter and anchor, who is currently hosting ESPN’s The Jump.

As the world changes, so does the presence of women in careers originally thought of as only for men. The sports world has grown by leaps and bounds since the 1990s, especially as demonstrated by the Washington Post sports team. Today we have Khurshudyan, Janes, Buckner, and Clarke covering our favorite local teams, and they have the access they need to write the stories we crave.

Over the last few years, hard-working women have continued to carve out a bigger voice in hockey. Here are some of our favorites:

  • Katie Brown, who started at the District Sports Page, is now a Capitals’ NHL.com correspondent.
  • GIF extraordinaire Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) has turned herself into a must follow on Twitter. She posts every important highlight from every NHL game and is one of the most hardest-working people on the internet.
  • Montreal’s Amanda Stein is an anchor on SportsCentre and a reporter for the Canadiens.
  • Carolyn Wilke is the hockey editor of FanRag Sports and is, in general, an analytics wiz kid.
  • Jen LC is an essential follow on Twitter and reports on hockey systems, player evaluations, and statistics.
  • CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers is CSN Chicago’s beat writer for the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Helene St. James is the Detroit Free Press’s beat writer for the Detroit Red Wings.
  • Sarah McLellan covers the Arizona Coyotes for The Arizona Republic.

RMNB staffs many talented woman whose names you see on a weekly basis – Amanda Bowen, Elyse Bailey, Margaret Stuart, Madeline Dement, Rachel Cohen and myself. Our friends over at Japers’ Rink also sport Emily Bennett and Becca H.

As having personal experience in the music and sports industries — both predominately male dominated in the past — seeing women have more of an impact is refreshing and inspiring. All the women listed above are making strides for journalism today, but they are also carving the path for future ladies to be accepted to the industry without any hesitations.

Know of another sports/hockey woman reporter you love to follow? Drop a comment below.

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