A homecoming to Gannett
For Heather Burns, being named USA TODAY's first-ever women’s sports editor feels like both a new challenge and a return to her roots. “I do. I spent my first 15 years of my career in Gannett newspapers, started at the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and then made my way through four more papers plus a loanership at USA TODAY,” she recalled. “Really enjoyed my time there. It had always been a dream to be full-time at USA TODAY. And so here we are, doing something that I’m very passionate about.”
Burns has spent decades navigating sports journalism, from her early days covering college teams in Iowa to leading major initiatives at ESPN. “One of the things that I was a really big part of at ESPN was building our NFL Nation group, which is the 32 reporters who are on the ground in the 32 NFL cities and doing that from the ground up,” she said. “But what I think I bring is the idea that I understand a startup, I understand what you need to build something. And while we’ve been here all along at USA TODAY, we’re putting more resources behind it and we’re trying to use all 220 of our newspapers to build our women’s sports brand.”
The Caitlin Clark effect and beyond
When asked about the unprecedented buzz around women’s sports today, Burns pointed to both star power and long-term growth. “So I believe that Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon on her own. Full disclosure, I did go to the University of Iowa,” she said with a smile. “So I’ve been watching Caitlin's career since she was a freshman, but I believe there are also so many other women who have really changed the game."
She stressed that it's not just about one player dominating headlines. “Indianapolis is a very interesting place… how much they really bought into the Fever with Caitlin, with the rest of her teammates. And it’s just a really fun time to be a part of this. To say there was a buzz in the city a couple of weekends ago is an understatement.” Burns added, “It wasn’t just about Caitlin. Obviously, she didn’t even play in the game. It was about Napheesa Collier. It was about Gabby Williams. It was about Nneka Ogwumike.”
Building Studio IX and a new strategy
Central to Burns’ role is USA TODAY’s launch of Studio IX, a holistic approach to building women’s sports coverage into something larger than reporting alone. “Yeah, so it’s about the content, but it’s also a holistic strategy,” she explained. “We want to make sure that we’re building a community and we’re innovating, and we’re doing that through, like I said, not only the content, but holding pop-up events and bringing fans in and letting them be a part of the conversation.”
She described a recent example from the All-Star game. “We also did an event while we were at the All-Star game with the Wasserman Collective and Ally Bank, where we all sort of convalesced around this awesome event and were able to throw a party and talk about women’s empowerment and athletics across the board,” she said. “And it was just an exciting, innovative and fun event. It just has this really interesting vibe that I think only USA TODAY can bring right now in the market.”
Leveraging the USA TODAY Network
Burns sees the vast USA TODAY Network as a key advantage. “I think that’s a great observation and really important. We have a beat writer in South Carolina for the Gamecocks. We have a beat writer in Tennessee for the Lady Vols. We have a beat writer in Iowa for the Hawkeyes,” she said. “LSU, Oklahoma, where the Women’s World Series is — in addition to the staffing that we’re putting behind at USA TODAY.”
She emphasized how collaboration with local reporters will strengthen national coverage. “For example, to go back to the All-Star game, I spent some time with the sports editor from the Indy Times and their Fever reporter, and just talked to them about their strategy, what they’re doing, and how we could pull her into some of the things that we’re thinking about,” Burns explained. “Bringing all of these resources together to do deeply reported stories is what we’d like to do.”
Holding women’s sports to the same standards
Burns believes a critical challenge is making sure women’s sports coverage matches the rigor of men’s. “I mean, I think the biggest thing is making sure that we’re covering women’s sports the way that we’re covering men’s sports,” she said. “Many times in newsrooms, the first thing that got cut was women’s sports. And now we’re at a tipping point where I believe the resources are going to be put behind it.”
For Burns, integrity is non-negotiable. “It can’t always be cheerleading. It’s also got to be good journalism with integrity,” she said. “So we just have to make sure that we’re in front of those kinds of things and that our reporters understand this isn’t rah-rah. This is being honest with our fans about where their teams stand.”
Inspiring the next generation
Burns also hopes her leadership will open doors for the next wave of women in sports media. “When we started NFL Nation, we had one woman doing the reporting in our 32. Now we have seven. I made sure that we created a more diverse group as we went along,” she said. “Women can do all of the things that men can do, and maybe some of the things that they can’t, in terms of getting folks to talk to them about different things they may feel more comfortable with.”
She wants women to claim their place and their voices. “So I think it’s just setting the example, making sure that folks know that you are welcome in the space. Not only are you welcome, but you should take a leadership role in the space. You should speak up, you should make sure that your opinions are known because we offer, I believe, something different,” Burns said. “Storytelling is at the heart of it all.”
Stories still undercovered
Looking ahead, Burns already has ideas about stories she wants to amplify. “One of the things that I really want to get to is around how different all the WNBA franchises are. Like you have the haves and the have-nots,” she explained. “This is the first year that we’ve really seen the teams that are not investing in their facilities, that are not investing in making sure that their players — I mean, down to the littlest things, like being fed on time — those teams, Connecticut, Dallas, LA, and I'm forgetting one, are the have-nots this year.”
The issue, she said, has major implications. “I think it’s a fascinating story to tell that there are varying degrees of passion in the WNBA in terms of ownership and how much money they want to put into it,” Burns said. “Now with the valuations going so high on these teams… look at this, a brand new franchise, and they’re already valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Defining success
Asked about goals for her first year in the role, Burns emphasized building community and trust. “I think really for me, it’s about building the community and the brand around Studio IX and making sure that we’re, again, having integrity in the journalism we’re doing,” she said. “Telling the stories that really matter to a broad audience, bringing people together at these pop-up events and celebrating women’s sports, telling the truth about things that are not equitable in women’s sports.”
Original reporting, she added, will be at the center. “For me, it’s about telling the important stories and doing original reporting, not chasing. We want to make sure that we are leading the way,” Burns said. “So that’s what I want to make sure in a year from now — that is where I want to be.”
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