I’ve been onjudged what I look like

Lynsey Hooper on being a woman in sports journalism in 2023

By Megan Geall

I remember being stood with one of my best mates at the time, who was male, and we were watching England and talking about them. I remember some lads behind us tapped him on the shoulder and said: “She knows what she’s talking about, don’t she?” They weren’t speaking to me, but speaking to him about me.”

Have you experienced sexism in a professional sense?

“I’ve defnitely been judged on what I look like more than what I know, which doesn’t happen to men. That was a big thing when I was in my mid-to-late twenties.

I think the industry is starting to change its stance. I don’t think it’s perfect and I don’t think it’s gone completely.

I’ve had a couple of very horrible experiences that I feel really could have altered my career. I didn’t even realise that in my mid-thirties I would be deemed too old for the place I was working. They replaced [me and a colleague] with women 10 years younger, but they didn’t replace the men.

I lost out on a job to someone from fashion television. They used to say to me: ‘have you thought about doing something with your hair?’ For me, it was clear that my knowledge did not weigh as much as what my look did, and she looked incredible but she didn’t know anything [about football].

We still have a big problem with women ageing, as well as acknowledging women as experts in male dominated areas. But amongst all of that, I have to say that without the male allies, and without the men that were brilliant to me, I probably still wouldn’t be working either. It certainly hasn’t been an easy path.”

What kind of criticism have you received? Have you ever experienced sexist comments from fans?

“I haven’t done too badly, to be honest. I know people that have had much worse. But what you’ve got to remember is I’ve done 20 years in football. I’ve done podcasts and I’ve done a lot of things that show my opinion and that I can back up what I say.

When you say you do the job that you do, people go: ‘So do you like football then?’ and I’m like ‘Oh God, do you really think I could do this for 20 years if I didn’t?’ There is going to be something about the male ego that won’t like that I know more [about football] then they do, and that will be it for some men.”

What changes need to be made to further the rise in female pundits and get more women on screen?

“Actually, I don’t want to generalise too much, but I think we have a lot of women that want to do broadcast or social media, but we don’t have many that want to do print or other jobs in the industry. Now, why is that? Are [print jobs] not as glamorous?

Part of the other problem in the industry at the moment is that we’re trying to replace journalists with social media infuencers. Journalism should never be replaced by that, they should coexist.

I want to see more women coming through [local journalism] just because it makes you better, whether it be journalist, presenter, broadcaster, wherever you end up going, and doing those vital bits of experience, they shape you. I’ve had a long process of getting to where I am now. But I wouldn’t change those years, because I think it made me better at what I do.”

How important has podcasting been in giving you a platform as a female sports journalist?

“When we started it, it was born out of the frustration of not being allowed to have enough of an opinion. There wasn’t anywhere where women were saying, ‘oh, I thought they played better with a back three instead of a back four’, so I think it’s been crucial in promoting women in having a voice and justifying our positions in the media.”

If you could describe your career as a female sports presenter in three words what would they be?

“Gutsy. Sacrifce. Relentless.”

What advice would you give to a new journalist or sports pundit?

“Be persistent. You’re gonna get some knockbacks. But you need to make sure that you stay focused on what you want to do.”