DETROIT (WXYZ) — "I don't think I want to think like a man," laughed Daniella Bruce as she sipped coffee in the front window of Coffee & Bark in downtown Berkley off of Coolidge Highway. Outside of the coffee shop, snow falled while birds chirped in a classic, beautiful Michigan spring day.
It was no weather that Bruce, Anne Doyle, or Angelique Chengelis were stranger to as they have all spent their entire, or much of their, lives in Metro Detroit. Doyle and Chengelis sat in brown leather chairs across from one another, while Bruce shared a couch with WXYZ sports reporter Jeanna Trotman.
Looking forward to sharing this story with you all tonight on @wxyzdetroit at 5pm.
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) March 28, 2024
In an open, honest conversation with three women in sports journalism whose careers span over six decades, we talked what has changed, what has posed challenges, and what’s next. pic.twitter.com/6b9J8KualY
In 1978, Doyle became one of the first women hired in the U.S. as a major market TV sports anchor and reporter. She then came back home to Detroit to CBS-TV until 1983. Through the work she did in sports journalism, especially as a pioneer, she later earned a nod for the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. In addition to being a journalist, she is a global business executive, author, and women's leadership expert.
Chengelis is the University of Michigan beat writer for The Detroit News. Originally from Cincinnati, she's been in Detroit ever since 1992 when the News first hired her as a writer. She values her time covering women's athletics, starting with some of the most notable female figures in sports, from Pat Summit to Carol Hutchins.
After graduating from Michigan State in 2016, Bruce has been with the Red Wings and Tigers ever since. She came aboard in Detroit with the start of the Little Caesars Arena era. She started in a smaller role with the Red Wings, but has grown to the radio broadcast reporter for both the Wings and the Tigers. She said she is surprised how much she loves radio, but has clearly found herself a role in Detroit. Bruce became woman to ever do play-by-play on a Red Wings radio broadcast.
Together, Doyle, Chengelis, and Bruce have experience in the sports journalism field that spans over six decades. Doyle recalls the Supreme Court ruling that literally allowed women to step foot in a men's professional sports locker room. Chengelis remembers there being no women's bathroom in the Notre Dame football press box. Bruce acknowledges the current struggles of the business, but is inspired by the "fight" the pioneers like Chengelis and Doyle put up for women in the newer generations.
Together, the three journalists talk with Trotman about what has changed since they began their careers, what challenges society poses as women's roles advance in the business, and where they hope to see the landscape grow in the future.
