Sports journalism in br ethics oadsheet new spaper org in anisation lish India, s Eng Austral er e ia a et idat nd P and the the D C of UK Ph rsity st, ive Coa Un ine nsh Su ia tral Aus The study
0 Six media outlets: the Guardian, The Daily Telegraph; The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald; The Hindu, The Times of India. 0 36 in-depth interviews with journalists (six from each sports department), and a content analysis of 4103 articles over three months in 2012. 0 Ethical issues Commercial influences Attribution Anonymous sources Ethics and commercial
0 Australia – journalistsmentions do not allow “advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence” (MEAA 2013) 0 India – advertisements “must be clearly distinguishable from editorial matters” (Press Council of India 2010). 0 The UK – do not endorse advertisements or commercial products (NUJ 2013) 0 Picard states promotion of commercial aspects is not “immoral” or harmful to journalism”. But newspapers traditionally “placed greater emphasis on their roles as promoters of public interests and on becoming a trusted institution of society that represented the people” (Picard 2004: 54). Journalists against commercial influences
0 “It seems a shame that you have to mention an isotonic drink to have a really boring interview with someone” – The Telegraph, online staff member 0 “We’re not geared to promoting products” – The Australian, reporter 0 “It’s very sad. It’s hijacking a news person’s right. You’re not being honest to the reader” – TOI, reporter 0 “You’ve got to have complete editorial freedom” – the Guardian, subeditor Journalists accepting of commercial influences 0 “Five years ago I never even wanted to meet an advertising client. I would now regularly meet advertising clients” –SMH, sports manager 0 “It’s almost impossible to get a proper interview without some kind of commercial tie-in ... So much of it now comes through sponsors, either personal or competition sponsors. It would just be irrationally pure-minded to say you wouldn’t do it” – the Guardian, sports manager 0 “It’s a necessary evil” – The Telegraph, sports manager Types of commercial mentions 0 1195 articles out of 4103 had commercial mentions 0 Solicited mentions of sponsors; products; businesses; sponsored columns; “this interview provided by ...” 0 Unsolicited stadium names; series/match titles; team names 0 The most used unsolicited types Australia – stadiums UK – series or tournament names India – team names Types of commercial mentions in articles Total Unsolicited Solicited Both mentions The Sydney Morning 84 48 5 137 Herald 61.3% 35.0% 3.6% 100.0% 101 41 8 150 The Australian 67.3% 27.3% 5.3% 100.0% 118 70 15 203 The Guardian 58.1% 34.5% 7.4% 100.0% 167 88 35 290 The Daily Telegraph 57.6% 30.3% 12.1% 100.0% 135 61 27 223 The Hindu 60.5% 27.4% 12.1% 100.0% 118 64 10 192 The Times of India 61.5% 33.3% 5.2% 100.0% 723 372 100 1195 Total 60.5% 31.1% 8.4% 100.0% Attribution
0 Ethical requirement to avoid plagiarism 0 Three approaches 1) Credit explicitly “The Herald won’t pinch a story” – SMH, reporter 2) Obscure the source He/she told a newspaper 3) Do not credit “We don’t. The rivalry is very bad” – TOI, senior writer Attributing rival media sources for quotes
Articles % of Total Overall with overall articles articles in credited articles in with sample quotes sample quotes The Sydney Morning 30 6.1% 390 490 Herald The Australian 53 12.6% 358 422 The Guardian 63 10.0% 484 633 The Daily Telegraph 57 6.9% 584 825 The Hindu 20 2.1% 349 945 The Times of India 36 4.6% 458 788 Total 259 6.3% 2623 4103 Anonymous sources
0 Not a universal ethical guideline
0 Australia – “Aim to attribute information to its source”
0 “We don’t do un-named sources at all” – The Hindu, sports manager 0 “A lot of stories get printed as source-less, which I don’t think is fair to the reader” – TOI, senior writer Articles with un-named sources
Articles Total % of Overall with articles overall articles in un-named with articles sample sources quotes The Sydney Morning 9 1.8% 390 490 Herald The Australian 4 0.9% 358 422 The Guardian 4 0.6% 484 633 The Daily Telegraph 8 1.0% 584 825 The Hindu 3 0.3% 349 945 The Times of India 21 2.7% 458 788 Total 49 1.2% 2623 4103 Conclusions
0 Most sports journalists want to be ethical. But there is not always strict adherence to the guidelines 0 Commercial influences form a significant aspect behind the production of the sports pages 0 Unclear if all items are attributed. Small amounts of stories are, but journalists admit to relying heavily on competitors 0 The financial climate in the West – falling circulation, advertising, and fewer jobs – can create extra pressure, possibly leading to ethical breaches