Sports podcast wins award for transgender athlete reporting

Pablo Torre’s investigative prowess has blossomed at Meadowlark Media.

Given the platform by Dan Le Batard and Co., he’s been able to unearth hidden narratives and uncover the untold truths behind pressing issues.

Hence the name: Pablo Torre Finds Out .

Torre’s video podcast was announced as being awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting. The honor is for his episode titled “The Teenage Athlete at the Heart of America’s Culture War… Isn’t Very Good at Sports,” which was recognized for its outstanding reporting and contribution to sports journalism.

Here’s the podcast description for that September 2023 episode:

Politicians don’t want transgender people dominating girls’ sports. But Ember Zelch just wanted to play softball, and nobody else seemed to mind. She was, after all, the ONLY trans girl officially even PLAYING girls’ varsity sports in her ENTIRE state. Pablo travels to Ohio to learn why Ember fought for her right to love sports anyway.

Here’s more from Meadowlark Media’s press release:

This September 2023 report sent Torre to Ohio, where lawmakers had attempted to pass legislation banning trans female students from playing against girls. But across the entire state, it turned out, there was only one trans girl even competing in varsity sports: a backup softball catcher named Ember Zelch (career home runs: zero).

“Rigorous reporting with a sense of humor is the most underrated commodity in sports media,” Torre said. “I believe it is also the antidote to America’s lazily predictable culture war.”

“From its inception, Pablo Torre Finds Out has delivered a consistent level of quality journalism, which is what this prestigious award honors,” said Meadowlark Media CEO John Skipper. “We are proud of Pablo and his outstanding team.”

Torre’s win underscores the significance of investigative journalism in sports media, especially when more and more culture wars are prevalent. Sometimes, it can get lost when hot-take culture has become the norm, but there’s still outstanding investigative journalism being done in this industry.

Torre’s win for this type of reporting comes at a time when the discussion of transgender athletes has sensationalized the viewing experience for many. We aren’t too far removed from Algerian boxer Imane Khelif being labeled as transgender by many bad-faith actors despite being a biological woman. She is now suing and filing a moral harassment claim against X and others , but it just goes to show how important having all the necessary facts for what’s become a right-wing culture war phenomenon. And Torre’s reporting, in conjunction with a dash of humor, has carved the way for a niche in sports media that’s needed at a time where people will claim that someone is transgender just because it appears that way to them.

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