From Florida to Georgia and always on the sidelines, Florida State and University of Georgia graduate and journalism graduate-assistant, Karmen Morrison defines following one’s passion and letting nothing else interfere.

“I was being asked to do a lot of different interviews for my education and for sports at the time. And some were print, some were video, some were radio. And it didn’t matter what it was. I kind of just liked it. I liked the environment. And I just felt like I could do the same thing. That’s really what it was.”

Morrison is originally from Jacksonville, Florida where she won the Athlete of the Year title as a senior in high school and later obtained her bachelor’s degree from FSU where she practiced interviewing techniques, learned the ins-and-outs of journalism and explored multimedia journalism. Once she graduated, the University of Georgia began calling her name and she pursued her master’s degree as a Bulldog. In Athens, she dabbled in production all-while furthering her skills in journalism and building connections.

Throughout her career, sports, specifically women’s sports, have played a heavy role. From basketball to volleyball to flag football, she was constantly involved in athletics and once she received recognition, the interviews began.

“I was the interviewee, obviously, but I enjoyed it. It was a couple radio station interviews, things like that. And I was like, I think I could do this. So that’s probably where I got my start.”

As a high schooler tasked with the daunting job of figuring out a career, the interviewing process stood out to her. The behind-the-scenes and interactions led her to look into pursuing journalism. With her major figured out, the process of making an impact kicked off. Morrison hopes to make a mark within women’s sports and advocate for female athletes.

“Why? One, I think it’s all about equality,” said Morrison. “Representation matters. Obviously, I’m a black woman. So you got to be able to reach back and show little girls, even little boys, because I don’t think gender really matters. But you got to be able to uplift those, show them that it’s possible. I think it’s just really about representation at the end of the day.”

Morrison also took inspiration from her high school days, where she was deeply moved by the injustice she identified as a district-champion.

“So we had a pretty good football team when I was there and they would always get free shirts,” she said. “We were district champs year after year after year. And I’m like, bro, why we don’t get free shirts? What’s going on? So I think that’s one thing that irritated me. And I’m like, what’s happening? You see the disparity.”

Fueled by the injustices she faced herself, Morrison continues to show passion to raise awareness for the adversities that women face in sports regardless of which sport is actually being played. She hopes to represent collegiate athletes as they navigate the diversity they face.

“These are collegiate age women. It doesn’t have to be, but that’s what we are seeing. We don’t see as much local media on big outlets or anything like that. We’re seeing in college sports. We’re seeing in professional sports.”

From an interviewee to an interviewer, Morrison continues to work her way through the field of sports journalism, pushing herself to the frontlines as she interviews Lonnie Alameda, the renowned softball coach at FSU. She also leads summer camps at UGA, where she provides resources she wishes she had as a high schooler.

“If I had the opportunity to go to a camp like this, I would have. So for me it’s about sharing what I know to you guys, because y’all should want to be better than [I am].”

Throughout high school, Karmen Morrison was heavily involved in sports, especially basketball. It was this involvement that led her to where she is today. Helping out at a multimedia journalism camp at the University of Georgia.

” I ended up being female athlete of the year at my city so I did a few interviews for that and I had fun” says Morison. “I was like, I think I can do this”

It turns out that the exposure to being interviewed in multiple enviornments, including radio stations, is what gave Morrison the idea to study multimedia journalism at Florida State University and later at the University of Georgia. Also, as a woman in sports she made a point to advocate for equality for women in sports through interviewing and social media.

This newfound passion allowed Morrison to have an idea of what she wanted to do after high school and get her mom to stop asking so many questions about her future.

Morrison was inspired to continue advocating for women in sports during her time at FSU when she experienced a clear inequality between the men’s and women’s teams.

“We had a pretty good football team when I was there, and they would always get free shirts,” says Morrison. “We were distric champ…athlete of the year and like bro why aren’t we getting free shirts? What’s going on?”

They did eventually get the free t-shirts, however, it is an example of an inequality that women’s sports around the world experience. This was also a motivational source for Morrison to solidify her newfound passion of creating more equality in sports

Morrison’s favorite form of learning information has been through interviewing sources the way she was once interviewed as an athele in high school. One of her favorite interviews was with Lonni Alameda, reknowned softball coach at FSU.

“They had a really late game that I think went to 2 a.m. in the morning.” Morrison said. “She spoke about a lot of things that could change with the Women’s College World Series”

Getting to interview Alameda and talk about unfairness in women’s college softball was an opportunity for Morrison to futher advocate for women’s sports and reach out to a younger audience as well by pointing out equal pay in some sports, such as tennis, and the importance of having representation.

Even though Karmen Morrison may not have seen herself in multimedia journalism, she is glad where she has ended up. Even though she claims she is still a “rookie” in the business she is eager to continue to be able to speak up and advocate for equality and representation in sports through interviews and social media content in order to educate the public.

” I think it’s all about equality.” says Morrison. “Representation matters. Obviosly I’m a black woman so you gotta be able to reach back and show little girls, even little boys… and show them that it’s possible”

From a young age, Karmen Morrison was not set on what she wanted her career to look like. From athletics to advocacy to journalism, and now to a mix of all three, there is a lot to Morrison. Her advocacy for gender equality started in high school when her school’s football team would receive free shirts, but her successful women’s basketball team did not.

“So we had a pretty good football team when I was there, and they would always get free shirts,” Morrison said. “We were district champs year after year after year, and I’m like, why we don’t get free shirts? What’s going on?” 

Morrison grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. Throughout high school, she played a number of sports. Specifically, she played basketball, volleyball and flag football, but found her passion for journalism through experiences with interviews. She then went to college at FSU where she acquired a bachelor’s in communications and media studies. Later, she came to UGA for her master’s, where she acquired an arts degree in mass communication and journalism. 

Morrison’s time playing high school sports influenced her desire to advocate for women’s sports and today she uses social media as a platform for her advocacy. 

“When I say advocating, that’s what I’m sort of speaking to, collegiate and professional,” Morrison said. “Regardless of gender, there are younger people and obviously you can advocate for them too. I don’t think there’s a difference, really.”

During her time in high school, Morrison was interviewed for her success in athletics, and her enjoyment for these interviews led her to finding the career path of choice. 

“Well, when I was in high school, I was asked to do a lot of interviews about school and sports. I was in an early college program, so people were asking me a lot about that,” Morrison said. “I was the interviewee, obviously, but I enjoyed it. It was a couple radio station interviews, things like that. And I was like, I think I could do this. So that’s probably where I got my start.”

After high school, Morrison went to FSU for her bachelor’s degree. As part of her sports media journey, she interviewed Lonnie Alameda about a late game the team had, which gave her some insight about advocacy.

“I got to talk to Lonnie Alameda. She’s their head softball coach, very, very renowned women’s softball coach, ” Morrison said. “They had a really late game. I think the game ended at like two in the morning or something like that, and she was very open, honest, blunt about it. It’s probably one of my favorite interviews I’ve done, and she spoke about a lot of the things that could change with the Women’s College World Series.”

Morrison explained that this is the route she sees herself going on right now, using her sports media expertise to draw attention to women’s sports at the collegiate and professional level, but also for younger girls. She talked about how tennis was the only sport where both the men’s and women’s divisions get paid the same in Grand Slams like the US Open, so advocating for equal pay is a good starting point. 

In her love for journalism, Morrison highlighted her interest for multimedia journalism because she did not have a specific favorite style in high school.  “I was being asked to do a lot of different interviews for my education and for sports at the time, and some were print, some were video, some were radio. It didn’t matter what it was, I kind of just liked it. I liked the environment, and I just felt like I could do the same thing.”

Morrison liked interviews and video more, compared to her colleague and the other Summer Academy camp instructor, Joe Dennis, who is “a print guy.”

“This is a print guy over here, but I like video. So definitely the interviews,” Morrison said. “I just like talking, like I’m not going to write a story if I’m not interested in it. So I just like talking to whoever it is I’m interviewing at the time.”

Morrison is now back at Grady helping with the Summer Academy, Multimedia Journalism Camp. This is her second year teaching, and she helps out because she wishes she had a camp like this while she was growing up.

“Last year was my first time helping out with this camp, but I think for me, if I had the opportunity to go to a camp like this, I would have. I’m a rookie, but obviously I have a little bit more knowledge than you guys. So for me, it’s just like sharing what I know to you guys, because y’all should want to be better than we are.”

By: Caroline Conner

Karmen Morrison is using her voice and background in sports to make a difference. A Jacksonville, Florida native, Karmen is passionate about women’s sports and advocating for the next generation of female athletes.

“I’m all things women’s sports”

Karmen began her academic and athletic journey at Riverside High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where she completed the school’s “Early College” program. She was a standout athlete, playing basketball, volleyball and flag football. She was her city’s “Female Athlete of the Year” her senior year, which prompted her to be interviewed by several local news outlets. She says she, “liked the environment,” of these interviews and that she “felt like I could do the same thing,” which is how she discovered her passion for media and journalism.

Now, she has earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in media communications and master’s in journalism from UGA. She has built her media/journalism resume throughout her college experience through unique opportunities, such as when she got to interview Florida State’s softball coach, Lonni Alameda, during which they discussed the future of the Women’s College World Series. Karmen said that that interview was, “one of my favorite interviews I’ve done.” Now she says interviews are “for sure” her favorite part of journalism.

She just graduated from UGA in May and is currently serving as an assistant teacher at their journalism/multimedia summer academy for high school students. “I think for me, if I had had the opportunity to go to a camp like this, I would’ve.” She also explains that her purpose revolves around, “sharing what I know with you guys [summer academy campers].” Her passion for journalism/media has helped her on her journey to advocate for women’s sports.

“I think it’s all about equality,” she said. “For me, representation matters.”

She explained how her experience on her high school’s women’s basketball team helped inspire her passion for this issue, when she saw favoritism being given to the football players.

“They were always getting free shirts, and we were district champs year after year after year, and I’m like, ‘why don’t we get any free shirts?’ “You see the disparity.”

Now, she works hard to support and advocate for women’s sports, citing an important need for “equality” and “representation.” She speaks out via her social media platforms and stories she has written. She explained how important representation of minorities is in sports, which she says hits close to home given she is an African American.

Her discovery of journalism and media has helped her speak out on issues she cares about, and she hopes to be a strong force for change in the world of female athletics.

With every person comes a unique story behind them which brings their individuality into the spotlight. Joe Dennis seeks out and helps these stories flourish. As a result of seeing so many special lives, he acknowledges how important it is to cover even the smallest of stories.

Joe interviewed a local judge who needed a liver transplant. He published multiple stories on the topic, bringing the community to see the judge’s decline of health. He would include the judge’s place on the waitlist for a liver. Even though he slowly moved up the waitlist, he was never able to get the liver he needed. The judge passed and the same day Joe agreed to become an organ donor. When he was covering the story, the judge and his family agreed that the coverage of the story would help spread awareness of the issue of a lack of organ donors. Journalists like Joe notice the importance in seemingly minor issues and put them into the spotlight.

Even though he has interviewed many, he cares beyond his typed words. He teaches college journalism classes at the University of Georgia and his students vary widely. He’s open to support them no matter what, even though they’re so different. For example, after the presidential election, some of his students came to him with concerns. They were very different kids with different sexualities, races and disabilities. They were all worried and felt like they could come to Joe with these concerns about their future.

“They just needed someone to talk to, they just needed someone to vent to, you know?” Joe said in an interview. “When my students are struggling, I hope they know that I’m here for them.”

“But I do think that I have written stuff in the past in the perspective of growing up as someone who is different.” He stated upon being asked on his childhood growing up Filipino. He related to his students troubles and made them feel comfortable enough to talk to him.

Joe cares about more than just the writing of the story; he cares about the people who make the stories.

Former high school basketball star Karmen Morrison is now an active advocate for the rights of women in sports. With a background in athletics and a master’s degree in mass communication and journalism, Morrison has used her experiences to elevate the issues she is passionate about.

“We had a pretty good football team when I was [in high school] and they would always get free shirts… [Girls’ basketball was] district champs year after year after year. And I’m like, ‘why aren’t we getting free shirts? What’s going on?’,” Morrison said. “So I think that’s one thing that irritated me and… you see the disparity.”

Morrison’s advocacy covers a wide range of equality-based topics, including the gender wage gap in professional sports.

“Tennis is one of the only sports that the men and women’s professional players get equal payments, at least in the majors… they get paid the same amount of money. So I think that’s important for starters,” Morrison said.

In recent years, social media has emerged as a primary source of information, expression and advocacy. Morrison is among the many to create a loud presence within this virtual world.

“I’m on social media, so I share my opinions,” Morrison said. 

Other impacts on Morrison have come from the very women that she is advocating for.

“I went to Florida State, and I did this one story, it was about women in coaching, and I got to talk to Lonni Alameda. She’s their head softball coach, very, very renowned women’s softball coach,” Morrison said. “And she was very open and honest, blunt about it. It’s probably one of my favorite interviews I’ve done, and she spoke about a lot of the things that could change with the Women’s College World Series… so I think that that’s the kind of route that I’ve been going so far.”

As gender discrepancies continue to decrease little by little in most professions, professional sports leagues are following along. It is with the advocacy of people like Morrison that gender equality in sports may eventually be fully achieved.

“I think it’s all about equality… and then I think for me, representation matters,” Morrison said. “Obviously I’m a Black woman, so you got to be able to reach back and show little girls… that it’s possible. I think it’s just really about representation at the end of the day.”