International Women's Day: Sonia Twigg

To mark International Women’s Day 2023, we spoke to Sonia Twigg – a Sports Reporter for the Press Association who regularly covers Fulham – about her career path as a female journalist in the industry.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into sports journalism?

I did History and French at uni, but then didn’t really know where that was going to lead so I did a Journalism Masters. It wasn’t specific to sport but I always knew I wanted to work in sport somehow, and I liked writing, so that seemed a good place to start. It meant I could use some of the skills I got at school and university. They actually had a work experience scheme with PA, up in Howden, Yorkshire, so I did a week with them. From that, I got offered some casual shifts doing National League reports on the desk, and then they offered me a traineeship a few months later. After nine months, I moved from the traineeship into a reporting role that opened up in London, and I’ve been down here reporting on south-east football, and some England cricket stuff, pretty much ever since.

As you started your career, did you notice any differences between yourself and your male colleagues?

I found that when I was on my course, the blokes who were interested in sport dominated most of the sport that was available to do, just by being more dominant. The sports stories weren’t necessarily being shared out, even though there were a few women who wanted to do sport, me included. When we did news simulations days, I didn’t end up doing a lot of the sport, even though now I’m the only one from that group who’s working in a sports journalism role. I did find that a bit difficult, but I just thought I’d bide my time and work hard, and see where that got me.

How good is it, now, to see an ever increasing number of female reporters covering football on television, radio, and in print?

There’s definitely more now than there were when I started four years ago. When I started, there were a lot of times when I was the only woman at press conferences or in press boxes. There would maybe be one other young female journalist around, but there’s definitely more coming through. But there’s a noticeable divide – there’s a lot of women in broadcast, there always has been, but when you get to the written journalists, there’s a lot fewer. I think there’s less jobs and less opportunities, and there tends to be less freelancers. There’s definitely a big divide, as it’s largely male written journalists, whereas there’s closer to a 50/50 split in broadcast.

Are there any journalists in particular that you look up to?

When I was little, I wanted to be Gabby Logan, because she was the only woman on TV doing football, and it’s hard to be what you can’t see. And when I started reading more newspapers and was consuming more news that way, there were some I looked up to for the journalism they did, but there wasn’t a specific woman because there weren’t many around that time, maybe two or three.

Have you ever been treated any differently because of your gender?

When I started, I got asked if I was on work experience a lot more than I think any of the blokes did. Especially when I was doing shadowing shifts, people would ask if I was there on work experience. I’d have to be like, ‘no, I am a reporter, I’m just learning.’ Having had younger journalists shadow me now, they are automatically more accepted and given the opportunity to ask questions, whereas when I started, I think before people got to know me, I was occasionally a bit overlooked. It might not be that I was outwardly treated differently, but I don’t think people treat you quite the same, so you sort of had to prove you had a right to be there.

What advice would you give to a female journalist looking to break into the industry?

I think they’ve come at the right time. There’s a lot more women getting into it now, and young women in particular, and it’s definitely the right time to do it. You’ve got to not be intimidated by the fact that you will be outnumbered. I think I’ve maybe gone to one press conference where there’s been an even split. You will always be the minority and, unfortunately, I just don’t see that changing any time soon. But you’ve got to believe you’ve got a right to be there, if you are the only woman in the room.

You also cover cricket in your role with PA, where there are even fewer female journalists than in football. How do find that?

When I went out to Pakistan [to cover the England Men’s cricket team], there were rooms of 50 men and me, which was quite intimidating, especially when you ask a question and feel the eyes on you. In a way, you’re representing more than just yourself. There is that pressure to get everything right, because if you make a mistake, people will be more likely to remember it than if one of the 20 blokes who asked questions that day had. There are less [women], but you spend a lot more time together in cricket so you do get to know the other journalists a lot better, so it’s easier to become respected and have people value your opinions, compared to football where maybe it's different people every week and you’re constantly having to prove yourself.

How long have you covered Fulham for?

I’ve done this role since Fulham came up under Scott Parker. I’d done a bit of Fulham before, but that was my first full season. I’ve got a relationship with Fulham that goes back quite a long way because my Dad’s a season ticket holder, so I’ve been coming here since I was about 12 or 13, through the Roy Hodgson era and everything. So even though I’ve only covered them as a journalist for three years, my relationship with the Club stretches back a long way.

Do you enjoy interviewing Marco?

I think he’s good, though he’s much happier when he wins! He’s interesting, he definitely takes time to answer questions and thinks about what he’s saying. He’ll give you a very long and detailed answer, and I think what he’s done with the team has been exceptional this year. He’s definitely got the best out of them.