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Post by Jep Gambardella on Jun 8, 2017 14:13:47 GMT
The main French-language TV sports network in Canada (RDS) has for years used the services of a certain woman (I don’t know her name) in all football broadcasts, from the MLS to the World Cup. I heard her again just this morning, as I turned on the TV and saw the end of the FIFA U-20 World Cup semi-final between England and Italy, which is what prompted me to post this.
I simply can’t stand her. I think it is her voice that I dislike, and not the fact that she is a woman, although that may play a small, unconscious part. Are there women narrating soccer matches in other countries? What about other sports? The tennis coverage on the same network has for years been the domain of a main commenter (a woman) and her male sidekick. Now her, I like a lot. She is insightful and her comments are always pertinent (which is not always the case for her sidekick). So it’s not that I have some kind of inherent opposition to women narrating sports.
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Post by staggerstag on Jun 8, 2017 14:40:26 GMT
In the UK, Jacqui Oatley was the first female football commentator (BBC) Along with Delyth Lloyd and Elidh Barbour , she worked on the in-play TV show Final Score, reporting in from grounds around the UK. They all have one thing in common. I do not doubt their enthusiasm, knowledge and what have you - but this one thing in common is a real turn-off : they shout. They shout very loudly. There've been many times in the past where one of them has reported in from their allotted match and I've had to reach for the RC to lower the volume yet again. It offends my ears, as Paul Bohill (a TV high court bailiff talking of shouty defendents) once said. They all seemed to squeal, gush, yes shout into the microphone, reporting at breakneck speed, cramming their 45 second slots with rather garbled dialogue. Whether or not the ladies thought they had to shout to make their softer voices heard over the crowd noise, I don't know. But it was extremely irritating. I have no issues with female commentators/reporters in football, but some of them need to tone it down a bit.
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