Even after her third newspaper staff tenure surpassed its two predecessors, Marisa Ingemi thinks outside the cubicle. The mode she dubs “freelance brain” has served her well through her young career’s rough stretches and brought her to her current role.
As the roving women’s sports reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, she rewards sports editor Christina Kahrl’s vision, especially during a time when Stanford women’s basketball garnered more interest among Chronicle readers than the former Oakland Athletics. Given the market’s size, it was only a matter of time before a WNBA or NWSL team emerged in the Bay Area.
Kahrl noted, “I’d noticed Marisa as a writer with a breadth of interests and a natural curiosity. Those were exactly the qualities we needed to cobble together a beat dedicated to women’s sports across the entire calendar year.” To close her second full calendar year at the Chronicle, Ingemi received a title marking the future’s arrival. On January 7, the National Sports Media Association declared her and veteran columnist Scott Ostler as co-honorees for California’s top sportswriter for 2024.
That makes 15 times for Ostler, whom Ingemi calls “a legend and an icon.” She remarked, “This represents more than anything that women’s sports are mainstream, and any newspapers not covering them are missing out on audience opportunities, whether it’s growing it or serving their current audience.” Her recognition by the NSMA emphasizes the way Ingemi’s accolades are accumulating. In 2023, she was a finalist for the AP Sports Editors’ inaugural Billie Jean King Award for outstanding women’s sports coverage. The same year, she wrote a feature (“Bay Area Derby, where queer skaters are ‘fiercely welcome,’ fights to survive”) that earned her the 2024 National Gay and Lesbian Journalism Association’s award for best sports story.
In a city known for its fog, Ingemi uncovers narratives by spotting hidden appeal in seemingly obscure entities. “I view my job as an opportunity to reach larger audiences with stories they hadn’t considered before,” she explained, referencing her pieces about how pole dancing has been excluded from the mainstream sports conversation and the lack of study on CTE in women’s sports.
Kahrl sought to make this hire to stay ahead of local and national trends. Although Ingemi was only five years out of college, her diverse background and connections made her a suitable choice. Ingemi emphasizes the endurance required in this industry, asserting that “in this industry, we can all lose our jobs at any point.” Previously an NHL reporter at the Boston Herald and Seattle Times, her passion for women’s sports grew alongside her coverage of women’s hockey, figure skating, sitting volleyball, and University of Washington athletics.
However, she faced challenges when, just a year and a half into her job at the Boston Herald, pandemic layoffs took her position in April 2020. After covering the Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season in 2021-22, she was abruptly let go. This decision was criticized by various commentators, including AA’s Andrew Bucholtz, who highlighted the Times’ increasing readership despite the team’s struggles on the ice.
Despite petitions for her reinstatement, the Times management remained uninterested. In contrast, Kahrl was not deterred by the negative comments circulating on social media, asserting, “Believe in the talent you see and the people you meet, not what gets slung around in social media.”
In a similar vein to her earlier freelancing, Ingemi’s nomadic experiences in early 2022 brought forth evergreen narratives. She identified her 2021 New York Times article about backup college lacrosse goalies and her 2022 FiveThirtyEight story on colorblind NHL players as personal highlights.
Kahrl recognized Ingemi’s impressive contributions to FiveThirtyEight and the Los Angeles Times, which inspired her to think about practical possibilities for coverage in women’s sports. With her past experience at ESPN, where she witnessed the rise of espnW, she knew the Chronicle needed a similar commitment. “Marisa was exactly the right person to step into it, considering her energy and inquisitiveness,” Kahrl commented.
One of the primary achievements in Kahrl’s view was Ingemi’s coverage of San Jose State volleyball’s transgender player storyline. National platforms like ESPN and the New York Times, previously accepting Ingemi’s freelance work, followed her lead when this narrative gained national attention.
While managing to gather Ingemi’s diverse interests and talents under one role proved straightforward, configuring the budget with her supervisors was the only challenge. The prospect of WNBA expansion made the position even more appealing. “In the back of my mind, I was like, ‘Just wait for the WNBA to come, and it’s all going to explode so much more,’” she expressed.
This winter, Ingemi has already observed a surge in her profile. Sharing the NSMA’s California sportswriter accolade with Ostler, she and her colleague surpassed their peers in the 10th-largest media market in America (according to My Media Jobs’s 2022-23 rankings), outperforming coverage in Greater Los Angeles (No. 2 market), Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (No. 20), and San Diego (No. 30).
“It is really nice that women’s sports are being considered in the scope of this state,” Ingemi said. She hopes to inspire more publications across the country to recognize that covering women’s and queer athletes is worthwhile and beneficial. While many newspapers still rely on stringers or staffers from other specialties languishing during slow news periods, Ingemi highlighted the successful media outlets in Hartford, Minnesota, and Tennessee that reflect a strong commitment to women’s sports.
In Hartford-New Haven (MMJ’s No. 34 market), the Hartford Courant’s Emily Adams covers UConn’s women’s hoops and the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, while Knoxville News Sentinel writer Cora Hall upholds the celebrated legacy of the late Pat Summitt. In the Twin Cities (No. 15), the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Kent Youngblood scrutinizes the Lynx, the WNBA’s model franchise, alongside Golden Gophers women’s basketball.
In contrast, the Bay Area has struggled to establish its presence in women’s sports media. While Ingemi has covered various Stanford and Cal-Berkeley teams, professional presence was noticeably absent until the NWSL awarded Bay FC last season. Ingemi started at the Chronicle in May 2022, just one month prior to the launch of the “NWSL to the Bay” campaign by Brandi Chastain and others.
The following year captured the anticipation of the group’s efforts to bring a team to the league. When they succeeded in spring 2023, it paved the way for the opening kick at PayPal Park in San Jose. 2024 will continue with traditional game, practice, and transaction-based coverage alongside the excitement of the Golden State Valkyries, the new local WNBA team starting in May.
Kahrl’s vision for an all-encompassing women’s sports beat, equipped with major franchises, has come to fruition. “We built it, and then they came,” she said. “That’s the best kind of kismet.” Ingemi is committed to ensuring coverage for all women athletes in the Bay Area. “I want to make sure all the women’s athletes in the Bay get coverage, and I don’t neglect anything,” she affirmed, emphasizing her focus on the WNBA as “the most fascinating league to cover” and expressing her excitement for her career ahead.
