Sharon Smith

[exactatom]

There was a lady that worked for ESPN named Sharon Smith that covered racing. I saw her the other day in a replay of the Second Breeders Cup at Aqueduct. What ever happened to her? Why is she not covering racing anymore?

[thespaah]

Dunno..
She knew her stuff though.
Found her website here..
http://www.sharonbsmith.com/index.html
Looks like she is keeping pretty busy

[dilanesp]

Dunno..
She knew her stuff though.
Found her website here..
http://www.sharonbsmith.com/index.html
Looks like she is keeping pretty busy

I think back in the day, she lost her job at ESPN because Tom Hammond's production company made a deal to take over their horse racing coverage. It only lasted a year, but they didn't hire Smith back.

As for why she didn't get more jobs, generally the television world is extremely sexist, and only wants female broadcast talent that is young. There are exceptions, but not that many. She got into her 40's and beyond and nobody wanted to hire her anymore.

[PaceAdvantage]

As for why she didn't get more jobs, generally the television world is extremely sexist, and only wants female broadcast talent that is young. There are exceptions, but not that many. She got into her 40's and beyond and nobody wanted to hire her anymore.Is this a guess or a fact in this particular instance?

[Just a Fan]

I agree with dilanesp. Other than Lesley Visser, I can't think of a prominent female sports anchor/reporter on TV today that appears to be over the age of 55. And if you have seen the measures Visser has taken to try to retain her looks, its pretty clear that she has fallen victim to the pressure to try to look as young as possible. I could name dozens of males in the broadcasting business that keep going into their 70s.

Did women such as Bonnie Bernstein, Andrea Kremer, Andrew Joyce, and Gayle Gardner suddenly become less capable of delivering sports news than the Erin Andrews-es of the world? Or did they get phased out in favor of the younger, prettier face? Is Michelle Beadle more qualified to report from the Kentucky Derby than Charlsie Cantey?

[thespaah]

I think back in the day, she lost her job at ESPN because Tom Hammond's production company made a deal to take over their horse racing coverage. It only lasted a year, but they didn't hire Smith back.

As for why she didn't get more jobs, generally the television world is extremely sexist, and only wants female broadcast talent that is young. There are exceptions, but not that many. She got into her 40's and beyond and nobody wanted to hire her anymore.
Linda Cohn is still and anchor with ESPN..Just checked her bio..She's 54.
Jeanine Edwards is 45..Suzy Kolber is 49. Michelle Tafoya is 49.
Andrea Kramer is 54. Chris Mc Kendry is 45

[thespaah]

I agree with dilanesp. Other than Lesley Visser, I can't think of a prominent female sports anchor/reporter on TV today that appears to be over the age of 55. And if you have seen the measures Visser has taken to try to retain her looks, its pretty clear that she has fallen victim to the pressure to try to look as young as possible. I could name dozens of males in the broadcasting business that keep going into their 70s.

Did women such as Bonnie Bernstein, Andrea Kremer, Andrew Joyce, and Gayle Gardner suddenly become less capable of delivering sports news than the Erin Andrews-es of the world? Or did they get phased out in favor of the younger, prettier face? Is Michelle Beadle more qualified to report from the Kentucky Derby than Charlsie Cantey?
Not many on camera people are over the age of 55.

[dilanesp]

Linda Cohn is still and anchor with ESPN..Just checked her bio..She's 54.
Jeanine Edwards is 45..Suzy Kolber is 49. Michelle Tafoya is 49.
Andrea Kramer is 54. Chris Mc Kendry is 45

ESPN is a little better now. But back then, people like Gayle Gardner didn't last either.

And even now, plenty of female sportscasters and newscasters (Lisa Guerrero, Melissa Stark, Pam Ward) don't last.

[thespaah]

ESPN is a little better now. But back then, people like Gayle Gardner didn't last either.

And even now, plenty of female sportscasters and newscasters (Lisa Guerrero, Melissa Stark, Pam Ward) don't last.
Not sure where you are going with this by evoking those names.
Did it ever occur to you that just maybe their job performance or lack thereof was the reason they have other career pursuits?
look, I don't care where you go. What industry you choose...There is racism, sexism, ageism and about a thousand other "ism's" people practice on a daily basis.
If one wants to live in a perfect world, they will have to choose a planet other than Earth.

[affirmedny]

ESPN is a little better now. But back then, people like Gayle Gardner didn't last either.

And even now, plenty of female sportscasters and newscasters (Lisa Guerrero, Melissa Stark, Pam Ward) don't last.

Gayle Gardner left for a better job I as I recall, it just didn't work out. Hardly ESPN's fault.

[Fingal]

Bonnie Bernstein isn't hurting.

http://bonniebernstein.com/bio/

Neither is Melissa Stark at the NFL network.

[dilanesp]

Not sure where you are going with this by evoking those names.
Did it ever occur to you that just maybe their job performance or lack thereof was the reason they have other career pursuits?
look, I don't care where you go. What industry you choose...There is racism, sexism, ageism and about a thousand other "ism's" people practice on a daily basis.
If one wants to live in a perfect world, they will have to choose a planet other than Earth.

The thing is, television is specifically a world where Ann Curry gets blamed for the bad ratings and Matt Lauer kept his job.

Look up Christine Craft's case in the early 1980's. She documented all the sexism. And yes, prejudice is a cancer.

[thespaah]

The thing is, television is specifically a world where Ann Curry gets blamed for the bad ratings and Matt Lauer kept his job.

Look up Christine Craft's case in the early 1980's. She documented all the sexism. And yes, prejudice is a cancer.
The ratings are everything. Nothing else matters.
If a show is not being watched, then the first to go is the on camera talent.
Simply put, in both radio and tv lack of an audience results in walking papers.
Advertisers and TV execs pay very close attention to viewer/listener feedback.
Apparently the majority of said feedback regarding Curry was not positive. She got canned. It's business. The 1980's was 30 years ago. We're much more 'enlightened' now.
BTW, I have no dog in this fight. I don't watch "Today"..

[dilanesp]

The ratings are everything. Nothing else matters.
If a show is not being watched, then the first to go is the on camera talent.
Simply put, in both radio and tv lack of an audience results in walking papers.
Advertisers and TV execs pay very close attention to viewer/listener feedback.
Apparently the majority of said feedback regarding Curry was not positive. She got canned. It's business. The 1980's was 30 years ago. We're much more 'enlightened' now.
BTW, I have no dog in this fight. I don't watch "Today"..

The thing is, yeah, the ratings went down. And when the ratings go down, every time, the male host keeps his job while a younger, better looking woman is brought in....

[thespaah]

The thing is, yeah, the ratings went down. And when the ratings go down, every time, the male host keeps his job while a younger, better looking woman is brought in....
Yeah ok....This went from a "whatever happened to" thread...A nice friendly "I wonder what Sharon Smith is doing now thread to an insipid diatribe about sexism in television....This is a horse racing forum....I'm bored and I'm out.
Whatever.

[dilanesp]

Yeah ok....This went from a "whatever happened to" thread...A nice friendly "I wonder what Sharon Smith is doing now thread to an insipid diatribe about sexism in television....This is a horse racing forum....I'm bored and I'm out.
Whatever.

The point is, whenever you do "whatever happened to" a female sportscaster who got old, it's not an unsafe assumption that she got replaced with a younger, hotter model. That's television.