Earlier this week, The Atlantic published a well-circulated and widely-discussed story by former CBS News general assignment correspondent Julianna Goldman. Goldman chronicled her experiences over 15 years in the new business. She recently chose to not sign a new contract with CBS after she was, “. . .Pressed to choose between staying in my career and being a mom, I chose the latter. But it didn’t really feel like much of a choice.”
Goldman’s views and thoughts on the subject are deep and detailed within her story. To be sure, she has strong feelings on the topic. Likewise, ESPN college sports sideline reporter Kris Budden has her own, quite different perspective on being a working mom in the television business.
Budden was moved to write her own response to Goldman’s piece at her personal blog, TouchdownsandTantrums, in a post titled, “Juggling being a working mom and why we should be encouraging the next generation.”
“. . .I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that we are telling a whole generation of women in our industry that it’s almost impossible to do both,” Budden wrote. “. . . I’m also aware that I’m extremely lucky to work at a place that has been incredibly supportive throughout my pregnancies and career.”
In the video above, Budden, who will be the sideline reporter for Sunday’s Purdue-Texas game with Lowell Galindo and Fran Fraschilla (ESPN2, 6p.m. ET), shares some of the reaction to her post.
Kris Budden and Emily Archacki produced the video.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Kris Budden’s colleague, ESPN reporter/host Jen Lada was particularly struck by Budden’s post and offered this comment on working parents:
Lada: “I don’t think being a working parent is easy for men or women. While men don’t deal with criticism of their pregnant or post-partum appearance, my husband and my male colleagues miss their children’s events for assignments and struggle with balance as well. The perception that raising a family and managing a household are just Mom issues furthers the narrative that Moms are the caregivers and Dads are providers. Both can be both. ESPN management has been incredibly supportive of me during my pregnancies and I hope women in this industry who want both won’t be discouraged from raising a family while chasing their professional dreams.”
Jen Lada photo credit: Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images
Molly Mita contributed to this post.
