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Did you recognize this block's celebrity video appearance? You probably should recognize Christine Brennan if you're a hardcore journalism student - she earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Medill. Don't stress if you didn't. Here are five facts about Christine Brennan.
- She's a sports journalist for USA Today. She's also a commentator for NPR, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and she's a professor of practice at Medill.
- She was the first winner of the Billie Award for Journalism. The award honors journalists who have aired, broadcast or published stories that feature women in sports. The Women's Sports Foundation gave her the award in 2006.
- She's covered 18 Olympic Games. Her first was the 1984 Summer Olympics in LA, and she's been at every Summer and Winter Games since. In 2o14, Brennan broke the story of the Sochi Russian judging scandal, when the U.S. Figure Skating team made claims of a biased judging panel toward gold medalist Adelina Sotnikova (OAR).
- She's written seven books. Her most popular book, Inside Edge, was named one of the top 100 sports books of all-time by Sports Illustrated. In her novel, Brennan documents a season within the competitive figure skating circuit and portrays the challenges that ambitious skaters face, on and off the ice.
- She was the first president of the AWSM. The Association of Women in Sports Media aims to support the advancement of women in sports media, both professionally and as students. In 1990, she started a scholarship-internship program that helps female college students interested in pursuing sports media as a career land paid summer internships.