espnW

Link to ESPN-W --> espnW

"espnW is a destination for women who are passionate sports fans and athletes."

Recently, ESPN launched their new site espnW. The site, aimed at the female sports audience, is set up like a blog. The majority of the espnW team are women and consist of sports columnists, reporters, and former athletes. The subjects of the posts are not restricted to womens sports: a Dec. 6 post involved the Monday Night Football match-up between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, one Dec. 10 post included briefs on Peyton Manning and Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, and another Dec. 10 post highlighted Brett Favre's supposed selfishness.

The side bar on the right contains the following:

- "Editor's Choice"

- "Most Shared" - the most frequently shared stories through Facebook and Twitter

- "What Matters" - links to stories from ESPN's main site and around the web

- "Games We're Following" - scores and a link to full recaps of the day's games

- "espnW Tweets" - espnW's posts on Twitter

- "This Week in Women's Sports" - historical facts in women's sports

- "Things To Do Near You" - local games, events, and competitions across the nation

On ESPN's main site, women's sports rarely make headlines--only under "More Sports" can one find a dedicated women's basketball tab. On espnW's page, there is a link on the very top that goes directly to ESPN's main site. On ESPN's main site, the only link to espnW is on the very bottom of the page, the last link on their mini site map. I personally do not see the need for a separate site for women's sports. ESPN is the "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network", which should encompass all sports, not just men's sports.

Daniel J.

KIN 338I - S6