In the latest interview for mediabistro.com’s “So What Do You Do” series, hall of fame CBS sportscaster Lesley Visser discusses a career that’s taken her everywhere from John Madden‘s bus to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here’s an excerpt:
How has the field of sports reporting changed since you first started?
When I first started, The Boston Globe was very progressive and made me the first NFL female beat writer in the mid-’70s. And at that time, the credentials said, “No women or children in the press box.” It was really brave of The Boston Globe. They said she’s going to be the beat writer and everybody had to make accommodations, which they did. Then CBS made me the first woman to handle the post-game trophy, so I have to say, I’ve always sort of been at the front of history, but behind me there have been so many talented women, and it’s fantastic for women now. Women can grow up saying I want to cover a Super Bowl, I want to cover a Final Four, I want to be a sportscaster, and I want to have all the opportunities. I think sports and Wall Street were the last areas that men were going to give up.
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Read the full interview here.