Which is mightier – the pen or the sword for Women in Motorsport Media? Can Women rely solely on their racing talents to prompt Media coverage when victory has been achieved, or do women – competing on track – gain Media interest to broaden knowledge to global audience on female athletes racing varying Motorsport disciplines around the world?
The answer is clear cut. Gone are once-in-a-life-time mind-sets that Media responds only to driver’s, rider’s and racer’s who stand top of the podium. Gone are the traditional pundits who re-hash, regurgitate and re-write results at end of racing, after technology has already shared race content live around the globe.
The power of Media has tapped into writing in depth stories, interviews, and feature articles along with filming videos on who these women are, and what each has endured to compete in the most physical, mental, and technically demanding of Motorsports. Behind the scenes visuals, and sharing of personal and professional comments pre-during and post racing has elevated the presence of Women to mainstream audience, a far cry from capturing moments of victory standing on the dais.
The consequences of such a shift in Media perspective are second to none. Women have capitalized on growth of Media interest to raise their profiles, and promote their corresponding Brands, Sponsors and industry providers whose financial endorsement enable each female athlete to race. Pre-race interviews, launch of Team line-up including vehicles and athletes, along with snap-shot on bio’s of women competing all contribute to increasing global audience knowledge on Women racing on track.
Media has provided the tools for Women to extend their portfolio’s across various mediums: written articles which appear on websites and in hard copy, visual images and reels posted on social media platforms which act as bridge between sharing personal space with public viewers, along with professionally filmed and edited videos uploaded to Media channels: TV, YouTube, and the like.
The results are ten-fold for increasing awareness of women competing in FIM and FIA Motorsport disciplines, albeit outside the confines of the actual event itself. For women racing World Championships whose calendar earmarks specific number of Rounds with corresponding dates, Media posts circumnavigate the time-frame on when racing takes place by providing fans info on what goes on beforehand, in training, in work-time, and when each female gets to chill and relax.
The flexibility to choose when to promote on Media sites, what content to create, and where to post stories to fans and followers world-wide remains THE most powerful weapon women have to enhance their career pathways. Specifically, women can dictate the narrative on sharing content about themselves as a person, driver, rider, or racer, as opposed to a competitor who races against a field of equally determined athletes.
Notwithstanding the meaning of answering which is mightier for Women in Motorsport – the pen or the sword – yes results count, but sharing how the results have been achieved ranks top of list. Moments of glory standing on top of the podium are short lived. Moments planning training programmes, gaining and securing sponsors to race, and actually pulling off wins takes a lot of effort, time, dedication, and determination from each aspiring female racer to complete. Sharing what it takes via Media makes the pen – or keyboard – or phone screen – mightier than the victories themselves.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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