An established name in the world of the cycling press, Rebecca Charlton is deputy editor for Cycling Active Magazine and a writer for associated Time Inc UK titles including Cycling Weekly. She is also currently covering the Revolution Series for Channel 4.
“When I first moved from women’s glossy magazines to the cycling industry I went from a female-only team to being able to count the other female writers and broadcasters on one hand.
At trade shows people would ask what I was selling, shocked when I said I was a bike racer and journalist. This has changed dramatically in the last few years and I regularly work with other firmly established female reporters.
Cycling Weekly re-launched this month with guest columnists including Sarah Storey and Katie Archibald. After complaints in the past that there isn’t enough female specific content in cycling magazines it got me thinking. People may be surprised to discover that there are as many female members of editorial staff as men and that when we write ‘bike rider’ we are not being gender specific.
Last weekend, while interviewing Lizzie Armitstead and rising talent Emily Kay for Channel 4, produced by Cyclevox, I realised, for me certainly, there’s no thought given to the gender of the interviewee. Coverage is based on performance, and stand-out riders command the attention of the viewers, male or female. With the likes of Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Lizzie Armitstead consistently on the biggest podiums in the world they are firmly in the media spotlight.
The success of Team GB on the track at London 2012 raised the profile of track cycling significantly in the UK, the names Trott and Rowsell sit next to Kennaugh and Clancy with complete parity. Leading magazines like Cycling Weekly are bringing the best of women’s racing and its leading ladies to the forefront of its coverage. Times are good in this respect.
Where things do fall down is on the road side when it comes to television broadcasting. The wheels are in motion, The Women’s Tour of Britain was highly successful in every respect, from the organisation to the level of racing and secured prime time TV coverage. While there’s a long way to go there’s a hunger for equal coverage, we have the stars of the sport and I believe it can get there.
We all need to continue to work together to secure the platform to show the public how exciting the international women’s road scene can be. I would love fans to be able to switch on a mainstream channel on a Saturday afternoon and watch women’s racing.”
