Confessions of a professional journalist

Journalists do not normally confess their sins; they usually get others to do so. This is why veteran sports journalist Jeff Meade’s column in the Monroe (Mich.) Evening News listing some of his journalistic transgressions provides much to consider – courtesy of JimRomenesko.com.

From fudging quotes to asking out an interview subject, the column’s headline “Journalism Students: Don’t Do This” was apropos. The paper’s editor, who was on vacation when the column was written, was not pleased.

This blog post is meant not to castigate or praise Meade. Rather, let us start a dialogue here. First, do we operate under the assumption that journalists never take shortcuts? We have seen what happens when “news” is rushed on the air without verification. Or columns are written well in advance of an event.

Just because some transgressions -- and their negative consequences -- are publicized does not mean many more are not committed. (Before continuing, I would like to say that the hundreds of journalists I have worked with and have competed against take pride in their work and hold their ethical responsibility in the highest regard as most journalists do). Therefore, I posit two questions:

1.) Should news agencies devote some of their precious scarce resources to checking up on their reporters? The public trust should be the most sacred thing to journalists. News organizations have a duty to make sure that the information they give the public is honest and can withstand scrutiny.

2.) Would news agencies be better off if their staffs regularly described some of their ethical lapses? (This would most likely have to be done anonymously.) I personally do not know journalists who make up quotes or break journalistic rules, but often the ethical failings that do occur in the industry have at least some roots in the structures of newsrooms. Problems can be fixed only when they are brought to light. If by making a few adjustments editors can lower the temptation to commit ethical breaches, this can only make journalism better.

Despite the fact newsrooms are shrinking and the pressure of being first on various media platforms grows daily, journalists cannot forget that the news industry is ultimately about benefiting the public. Any ways that can improve the business should be explored.

-- Steve Bien-Aimé

The potential demise of middle-men journalists

Clay Travis, of Outkick the Coverage, recently declared the death of ESPN. While his thesis might be a little melodramatic, Travis poses an important question for the future of sports media: will the journalistic middle men still be relevant in the future or will sports leagues decide en masse to skip the ESPNs of the world and communicate directly with their publics?

Travis cites, as evidence of this trend, the leagues that have already created their own cable networks. MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, the Big Ten, and – perhaps most alarmingly – the Texas Longhorns all have their own cable networks at this point. (Granted, the Longhorn Network is a partnership with ESPN.) Other teams that aren’t directly targeting their fans through traditional cable TV often provide online, subscription-based services to feed their games immediately to their consumers.

This direct targeting of teams’ individual nations – made much simpler through online social networking – could be really positive for the teams, really negative for traditional sports journalists, and potentially disastrous for anybody who cares about ethics in sports.

Traditionally, the middle man function of journalists has not simply been one of direct conduction; instead, journalists have historically acted as watchdogs of news, attempting to keep newsmakers honest. If teams communicate directly with their fans, then that role may no longer be fulfilled.

According to Travis, ESPN has already foregone that responsibility – out of fear of upsetting their important league partners. If he’s right and this is an increasing trend, the sports world could see the return of a brand of irresponsibility and lawlessness that has largely been restrained and chastised in sports for decades.

Even with 24/7 coverage of every Chris Johnson Tweet and Kenny Britt Facebook update, plenty of athletes still find their way into trouble. If they have no fear of exposure by the media, athletes and teams may become even more reckless.

-Brett Sherrick

Curley Center Chat Evaluates Coverage of Youth Sports

Some basic sports rules—including three strikes and you’re out in baseball or 10 yards for a first down in football—apply whether a game is contested among professionals or pre-teens, but accepted and expected conduct of the media when covering those competitions often differs according to the age and experience of participants.

The challenges, ethics and responsibilities for journalists covering youth sports will be discussed at 1 p.m. Monday, March 21, during an online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

"Ethical Issues in the Coverage of Youth Sports" is free, and people may access and participate in the session by visiting http://sportsjourn.psu.edu/live-chats online.

Participants include:
--Steve Barr, director of media relations for Little League Baseball and Softball;
--George Dohrmann, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who writes for Sports Illustrated and authored “Play Their Hearts Out,” which examines grassroots basketball, in 2010;
--Tracy Greer, online editor of the North County Times in Escondido, Calif.; and
--Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hour-long session, which will focus on journalism coverage of youth sports and how the age of the participants can and should shape how media outlets cover those activities.

The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- Curley Center for Sports Journalism

Curley Center chat to address issues in covering recruiting

Sports fans across the country often follow the recruiting of potential college student-athletes as closely as any on-field action, and that coverage of high school students about to make major life decisions comes with many challenges for sports journalists.

The competing agendas, ethics, influences and impact of recruiting coverage will be discussed at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, during an online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

"Issues in Covering Recruiting" is free, and people may access and participate in the session by visiting http://sportsjourn.psu.edu/live-chats online.

Participants include:

-- Sean Fitz, a recruiting expert who focuses on Penn State for 247sports.com, which operates program-specific web sites for major college athletic programs across the nation;

-- Rachel George, who covers college sports and recruiting for the Orlando Sentinel; and

-- Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Spoors Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hourlong session, which will also include a coach or recruiting coordinator from a Division I-A football program. Because coaches and recruiting coordinators are finalizing their classes of incoming student-athletes in advance of national signing day this week, the participation of a specific coach or coordinator will not been determined until later.

The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- Curley Center for Sports Journalism

New study focuses on ethics, sports coverage

A new survey of more than 100 sports media professionals, conducted by Marc Rosenweig at Montclair State University, has found that sports communication professionals have a variety of ethical concerns about the industry and news gathering practices. For instance, 43 percent said ethics are weaker than 5 years ago. More than half said they thought social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook were important for journalists. For instance, one respondent wrote, "Contacts can be found and stories broke just by keeping up with college athletes who use the site religiously.” Pressure to be first with breaking stories was a top concern for respondents. For more about sports coverage and social media, join our "hot topics" chat this Thursday. Visit here for more details.

ESPN dishes out big assist to LeBron James

In devoting one hour of prime-time coverage to LeBron James Thursday night in its “The Decision” special, ESPN further blurred the lines between entertainment and sports journalism. The network effectively ran a 60-minute ad for the LeBron James brand that was less journalism and more production – despite that at its core, this was about a huge story in the sports media world.

ESPN reporter Jim Gray appeared to read off a script of questions, failing to follow up on key points, which protected James from addressing difficult issues. At one point James said “I never wanted to leave Cleveland,” but Gray never pressed James to reconcile that statement with his decision to leave. Later, during Michael Wilbon’s Q&A with the basketball star, James said his decision was not about money, something Wilbon accepted at face value. Yet arguably, moving to a bigger media market where he will have better opportunity to bring visibility to his personal brand will earn him much more money in the long run, issues that were not discussed either. Further, the “special” was sponsored by Vitamin Water, one of James’ major personal sponsors. Each commercial break featured ads starring James resulting in one straight hour of devotion to the player.

Still, by leaving his hometown and disappointing several other major cities (notably Chicago and New York), LeBron James finished the “special” not necessarily in the best graces outside of Miami. ESPN helped out once again, dishing out another assist by allowing James to promote a large donation to the Boys & Girls Club. Certainly this donation is a wonderful gift, but in the context of the announcement, and at a time where James will feel some immediate “heat” from Cleveland fans, the additional airtime arguably helped him do some initial “damage control” in this emotional moment, capping off one of the longest sports advertorials we’ve ever seen.

--Erin Whiteside

Preps sports reporters beat differ in values

A recently published survey by the Curley Center has found that sports reporters differ on the way they see the role of sports coverage and on their views of ethical norms on the job -- based on beat. Although reporters who cover high school sports are more likely to report friendships with sources and a preference for "homerism" on the sports pages, they are also more likely than their counterparts on the pro beat to say they believe coverage should be in the public interest and involve an investigative element.

Ethical issues in sports reporting: A primer

Penn State honors student Ryan Wood has launched a blog about ethical issues in sports journalism. Available at the Web site is a radio documentary he produced that includes interviews with sports journalists and academics. It's a great overview of the topic.