Fox' Pam Oliver in the October issue of ESSENCE magazine writes a first-person account of being replaced as the net's top NFL sideline reporter by Erin Andrews and noted she "knew they hadn’t brought [Andrews] on just to be a benchwarmer" when the net hired her two years ago. Oliver: "Without official confirmation about a change in my position, I decided I was going to do my work like I always had. Still, I was humiliated." Fox execs in April called a meeting with Oliver to discuss her role with the net, and Oliver writes it "showed a lot of respect that they chose to meet with me in person instead of delivering the news through my agent." Oliver: "They could have done all this without ever looking me in the eye. Still, it wasn’t an easy conversation. It took a while, but eventually it got down to them saying they wanted to 'change direction within the company.'" The execs told Oliver that they wanted her to work "primarily on specials and long-form stories" for FS1 to give the cable net "more reporting credibility." But Oliver told them that she "still wanted to do sideline reporting." The net agreed to let Oliver work on Fox as a sideline reporter for the '14 NFL season, but told her that she would "no longer be working with the network’s 'A' crew" featuring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Oliver: "The three of us have been a unit for a decade and suddenly we were being split up. That was very difficult to hear." While Oliver does not believe the changes had to do with her being African-American, she believes they might have had to do with age. Oliver is 53, while Andrews is 36. Oliver: "The business is very demographic-oriented. As one executive said to me, Fox Sports will look radically different in the coming years. I assume that means they want to look younger. It’s not difficult to notice that the new on-air people there are all young, blond and 'hot.' That’s not to say that Erin isn't capable." She added, "It’s just a job change. I’m not out on the streets. I’m not unemployed. Everybody wins: Fox gets its coveted reporter in the lead role and I get to do my sideline job for my twentieth and final year" (ESSENCE, 10/ '14 issue).
ON THE SIDELINES: In Boston, Chad Finn writes sideline reporters are "often perceived by viewers as superfluous decorations to be judged rather than respected." Attractiveness "sometimes supersedes competence" among viewers and execs in the "shallow world of television." Some sideline reporters have "been justifiable fodder for a punch line though the years," but there is "variation and versatility among many of them, and the position, its relevance a recurring matter of debate, should not be endangered." To "generalize or dismiss the genre is a disservice to those doing it right, and there are many, including an impressive number of accomplished women in high-profile roles." ESPN's Suzy Kolber said, "You need to have somebody there, and you need to have somebody who is a journalist and can report. Everybody loves the pretty faces there, but I’m pretty old-school about it; if you’re attractive, that’s a bonus. That’s awesome. But if you can’t report, frankly, I don’t see the reason why you’re there" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/5).
