Professional Basketball Writers Association creates WNBA chapter

April 5, 2021 — The Professional Basketball Writers Association has created a chapter for journalists who cover the WNBA. For the first time, the PBWA now represents and serves journalists whose work focuses on the WNBA. 

All PBWA members who cover the WNBA and encounter access problems will receive the PBWA’s full support.

In addition, all members who cover either league are encouraged to participate in the Blumenthal Memorial Writing Contest, take part in the PBWA mentoring program and participate in all of the organization’s meetings, including career-development opportunities.

The PBWA will create WNBA-specific awards along the lines of the PBWA’s existing NBA-specific honors: the Magic Johnson Award, Rudy Tomjanovich Award and Brian McIntyre Award. Members who cover the WNBA will vote on those honors.

Howard Megdal, a longtime PBWA member with extensive experience covering both leagues, will work as the chair of our WNBA chapter. PBWA members Madeline Kenney of the Chicago Sun-Times and Sabreena Merchant of SB Nation will work as the vice chairs.

To become a PBWA member, all journalists, regardless of the league they cover, must meet the qualifications the PBWA organization has required in recent years, in accordance with the PBWA’s bylaws and sound journalistic principles. At the minimum, prospective members must be professional journalists who work for independent, accredited news outlets and regularly receive credentials to cover practices and games. In the vast majority of circumstances, writers who contribute to fan sites are not eligible for membership.