Formula One: Female Presenter for the first time in its history- Lee McKenzie
Formula One is a male dominated sport, most motorsports are. Looking at the example of Moto GP, the only time we see women are the pretty models that hold up the umbrellas to protect the riders and their bikes from the sun. Motorsport journalism is notoriously difficult to get into and it is especially hard for a woman to do so. With such odds stacked against her, Lee McKenzie has made a name for herself and is now poised to become the first female presenter of the sport in its 60 year history. This is the story of an incredible woman and sports journalist.
Lee McKenzie started out in journalism at the tender age of 15, when she wrote her first article. After graduating from university, she got into motorsport journalism by joining Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management. However, her career really took off when she joined ITV in 1999 to present a show called Speed Sunday. From that initial learning experience, she kept growing in confidence to go to bigger and better stations and slowly started moving upwards until she finally managed to get into Formula One. She is currently working with the BBC and is one of their main Formula One trackside reporters.
McKenzie is all set to get the biggest break of her career, when she will anchor the BBC’s Formula One show in place of regular presenter Jake Humphrey. Humphrey will be in Delhi at the Commonwealth Games and McKenzie is all set to host it in his place. If she is able to do a good job, as she is expected to, it might bring more anchor roles for her in the future. She is one Formula One presenter who takes her job extremely seriously. Over the years, she has maintained an extremely professional attitude to her presenting. She refuses to go clubbing with the drivers because as she says, she might have to grill them with questioning later on at the track. She also refuses to pose for lads mags in order to maintain her decorum and be as professional as she can, in the eyes of her employers and the drivers of the sport she covers.
It is difficult being a woman in a completely male oriented sport but she manages to conduct herself with dignity and poise. Her biggest issue is in the fact that women are often objectified in the sport and tries to distance herself from those female reporters, who are in the field just to meet celebrities and attend parties. Her aim is different; she wants to be the best motorsports journalist in the world.
A lot of people are envious of the 32 year old presenter and think she has the perfect job. It looks as if she is always jet setting to exotic locations, rubbing shoulders with stars, gets to interview Formula One drivers and attends parties all the time. However, the reality is slightly different from people’s fantasies. Her job is not easy, the travel is nothing but tiring, and she usually flies so much, that she has perpetual jet lag. Her desire to conduct herself with professionalism at all times means she cannot let her hair down and relax while she is on the job. The job itself is very stressful as well because she has to fight for every nugget of golden information with other Formula One journalists and bring the news to her viewers faster than anyone else. She often misses her friends and family as well because of the large amount of time she spends on the road travelling to every race in the Formula One calendar.
However, not an easy job, Lee McKenzie loves every minute of it. She is an avid racing fan and is even a certified rally car driver as well. With this current promotion to an anchor role, we will be seeing a lot more of the lady in the years to come. With her hard hitting interview questions and her professionalism, she is all set to become the premier female motorsports journalist in the UK today.
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