Mary Byrne wants to make it less newsworthy for women to be the APSE president

When Mike Sherman of The Oklahoman served as the president of Associated Press Sports Editors in 2014-15, nobody wrote that he was the 39^th man to hold that position.

However, there are numbers attached to Sherman’s successor. Each story dutifully notes that Mary Byrne is APSE’s third women president, and the first since 2000.

“I hate the fact that it’s still newsworthy,” Byrne said.

Byrne’s goal is to make it less newsworthy for the next wave of women in the business during what should be one of the most eventful and busiest periods of her career. Besides being inducted as APSE’s new president at its convention in San Diego in June, Byrne, the former USA Today’s managing editor for sports, also is in her early days at ESPN as its new senior deputy editor for NFL, NHL and NASCAR coverage.

“It’s been hectic,” said Byrne after apologizing for having to reschedule our interview.

Then again, her colleagues can’t recall many moments when it isn’t hectic for Byrne. Given her multi-tasking skills, it hardly is a surprise she rose to the top of her profession.

Byrne, though, struggles with the symbolism that comes with joining Sandra Bailey of the New York Times in 1992-93 and Tracy Dodds of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer in 1999-2000 as APSE presidents. She wishes she was the 13^th, not the third.

“I would like to say it doesn’t matter, but it does,” Byrne said.

There is a premium for women having role models in male dominated businesses, sports and otherwise. Byrne said she was struck from hearing a story in the wake of Danica Patrick winning the pole position at the 2013 Daytona 500.

“After seeing that, Jeff Gordon’s daughter told him that she wanted to be a race car driver,” Byrne said. “And this was despite the fact that her father was one of the top drivers of all time. It made me look at it in a different way. If [young women] can see it, [they] can believe it.”

In her first speech as APSE’s president, Byrne implored more women to follow in her footsteps and become more active in the association. She wants them to run for board positions so they can get in the leadership pipeline.

“I said more women need to become involved so the next [woman] APSE president isn’t 15 years down the road,” Byrne said.

Byrne then left San Diego and headed to her new home in Bristol. Initially, she said she turned down ESPN’s overtures to leave USA Today, where she guided the sports department for three years. But then she looked at the opportunity and ESPN’s resources. It got to the point where she said, “I couldn’t imagine not doing it.”

Byrne’s main responsibility is to coordinate ESPN.com’s coverage of the NFL. The site has a beat writer assigned to all 32 teams. She works with editors and reporters on how stories will be handled on ESPN’s multiple platforms.

“The NFL drives so much these days,” Byrne said. “The fact that we have someone with every team is a tremendous asset.”

With her previous job at USA Today and now ESPN, Byrne has been fortunate to work for growing, aggressive outlets with a wealth of resources. She knows that is an exception to the rule elsewhere in the business where constant cutbacks seem to be the norm.

Byrne hopes sports editors will use APSE’s resources to help navigate through the tough times. She thinks the exchange of ideas is vital to “determine what works and what doesn’t work.”

“Sometimes you need to get that fist pump where you go, ‘Alright, I can do it,’” Byrne said.

The new APSE president also has another message for the association. Even though bad news abounds, Byrne insists there is reason to be optimistic about the business.

“I might be crazy, but I’m bullish,” Byrne said. “There’s so many people out there who want the information and they want it now. It’s up to us to get it to them the way they want it. With the all the technology, it’s a great time to be in media.”

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Recommended reading in sports journalism:

Richard Deitsch of SI.com talks to women reporters about encountering sexual harassment on the beat.

Bryan Curtis of Grantland examines why the media loves Jordan Spieth.

Tim Graham of the Buffalo News discusses his approach to writing long features with Mark Selig of Backstory.

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Ed Sherman writes about sports media at shermanreport.com. Follow him @Sherman_Report.