Sports journalism ethics and quality of information. The ... · Sports journalism ethics and quality of ... British newspapers did a good job of ... • Praise of multiculturalism

Sports journalism ethics and quality of information.

The coverage of the London 2012 Olympics in the

British, North-American and Spanish press

PhD candidate: Xavier Ramon

Supervisor: Dr. Salvador Alsius

Taula de Nova Recerca (TNR). Barcelona, May 14, 2015

Introduction

•  Mass media are essential players in the configuration of the public agenda and the transmission of information and values in

democratic societies (Bernstein, 2002; Hardy, 2008). •  Journalists should have a “moral compass” (Kovach and

Rosenstiel, 2001: 181). They must fulfil crucial duties:

•  Should provide a complete and responsible coverage of all the areas of the news arena, including sports (Boyle, 2006).

•  Should ponder freedom of expression with the preservation of the key principles of journalism ethics: truth, justice and

responsibility (Alsius, 2010; Christians et al, 2009; Frost, 2011).

•  Should be committed to generate quality contents: Ethics is an invitation to excellence and quality of information.

Introduction

•  To pursue the highest standards in terms of ethics and quality of information is particularly relevant in the Olympic Games:

•  most important and prestigious international sporting mega-events (Billings, 2008)

•  receive an intensive media coverage at a global scale (Hutchins and Rowe, 2012; Miah and García, 2012)

•  feature a set of crucial values, such as the respect for human

dignity, justice, multiculturalism, equality, antidiscrimination or peace (Brownell and Parry, 2012; IOC, 2014; Maass, 2007;

McFee, 2012; Moragas, 1996; Naul, 2008; Parry, 2006;

Samaranch, 1995).

Introduction

•  However, sports journalism has been characterized by a series of major drawbacks, such as: boosterism; the dissolution of the

frontiers between information and opinion; rumours; the lack of rigour; sensationalism; the incitation to violence; the inequalities in

the treatment of gender, race and disability; the lack of public-

service mission; or the low quality and variety of sources (Hardin et al, 2009; Oates & Pauly, 2007; Rowe, 2007; Wanta, 2013).

•  “Sports coverage routinely violates the ethical norms by which the profession asks to be judged” (Oates and Pauly, 2007: 333).

•  Notions of “toy department” and “fans with typewriters”.

Research objectives

1.  To elaborate a theoretical framework and review of the literature about journalism ethics and mediasport. Examination

of the normative standards of the profession and the major ethical drawbacks that have occurred in the field.

2.  To examine the coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games

carried out by six quality newspapers of three countries (United Kingdom, United States of America and Spain), analysing the

adequacy of newspapers’ pieces to the fundamental principles of journalism ethics (truth, justice and responsibility).

Research objectives

Research objectives

3. To analyse the media compliance with the prescriptions established in the ethical codes, stylebooks and national and

international recommendations about journalism ethics. •  UNESCO

•  International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

•  Council of Europe •  Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO)

•  National Union of Journalists (NUJ) •  Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)

•  American Society of Newspapers Editors (ASNE)

•  Spanish Journalists’ Associations Federation (FAPE)

Research objectives

•  Principle of truth

Specific considerations Written foundations

1.1. Avoiding conjectures, speculations and rumours

IFJ (Art. 3); Council of Europe (Art. 4); FAPE (Art. 13)

1.2. Quantity and quality of balanced, authoritative and

trustworthy sources

SPJ (Art.1); ASNE (Art. 6); APSE (Art. 6a); FAPE (Art. 13)

1.3. Completeness and richness in the provision of sporting news and

the larger framework

UNESCO (Art. 1-2); IFJ (Art. 1); Council of Europe (Art. 17); SPJ

(Foreword); ASNE (Art. 4)

1.4. Rectifications of content UNESCO (Art. 5); IFJ (Art. 5); Council of Europe (Art. 26); IPSO (Art. 2); NUJ (Art. 3); SPJ (Art. 4);

FAPE (Art. 13)

Research objectives

•  Principle of truth

•  Principle of justice


1.5. Separation between information and opinion

Council of Europe (Art. 3); IPSO (Art. 1); ASNE (Art. 5); FAPE (Art.

17) 1.6. Avoiding sensationalism Council of Europe (Art. 30), SPJ

(Art. 2)


2.1. Commitment to justice in the portrayal of gender, race, disability

and nationality

UNESCO (Art. 9); IFJ (Art. 7), Council of Europe (Art. 28); IPSO

(Art. 12); NUJ (Art. 10); SPJ (Art. 1); FAPE (Art. 7)

Research objectives

•  Principle of responsibility


3.1. Respect for the privacy of sportsmen and sportswomen

UNESCO (Art. 6); Council of Europe (Art. 23-24); IPSO (Art. 3); NUJ (Art.

6); SPJ (Art. 2) FAPE (Art. 4)

3.2. Avoiding warlike language that fosters violence and confrontation

Council of Europe (Art. 35)

3.3. Respect for religious beliefs

UNESCO (Art.9); IFJ (Art. 7); FAPE (Art. 7)

Methodology

•  Qualitative content analysis (Altheide, 1996; Bryman, 2012). •  The Guardian/The Observer, The Daily Telegraph/ The Sunday

Telegraph (UK); The New York Times, The Washington Post (USA); El País, La Vanguardia (Spain)

•  Criteria: quality, tone, relevance in their communicative systems,

circulation and capacity to carry out rigorous sports journalism. •  Observation timeframe: 33 days (July 18 - August 19, 2012), 19

days of Games + one week before and after the event. •  Database: Filemaker Pro 12

•  Analysis units (n=6.552)

•  Triangulation (Hesse-Biber, 2010; Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2009) with 41 semi-structured interviews (38 interviewees): scholars and

experts, media professionals, IOC representatives.

Truth. Conjectures, speculations and rumours

•  Portrayal of Ye Shiwen •  Olympic gold medal. 400m individual medley (July 28, 2012)

•  The Guardian was the first media to include on the record the voice of John Leonard (WSCA), who suggested that her

performance was “suspicious”, “unbelievable” and “disturbing”.

He went further, labelling doping with the Chinese nationality. •  Doping controversy translated into the international sphere

•  Consequences over the principles of: •  truth (rumours, sources)

•  justice (amplification of negative stereotypes)

•  responsibility (emphasis on prejudicial rivalries - “Us versus them”).

Truth. Sources

Truth. Completeness and richness


•  Minimization of less prominent disciplines •  7 sports did not reach the 1% of the coverage.

•  Outside the Olympics: •  Sports remain positioned within a hierarchy

•  In the digital age, the multiplicity of media platforms hasn’t

been translated into a broader coverage of sports, but rather into a deeper coverage of the most prominent sports.

•  “We are not a sports NGO or a PSB”. Newspapers: •  Operate in a very competitive marketplace

•  Need to tailor the range of sports to audiences’ interests

•  However, quality newspapers have responsibility to give exposure to non-revenue sports: Diversification is crucial to

quality of information


•  Depth and sophistication in the sporting coverage •  Truth in sports journalism, in a context characterized by the

overload of information and the multiplicity of voices, is providing more than just facts and results.

•  Aspects that played a key role in producing and retaining value

for media organizations in London 2012: •  Background, comment, analysis and interpretation

•  Translating the atmosphere, the colour, vivacity of events and the human stories behind them

•  Exhaustive photographical coverage

•  Infographics: Innovative ways of providing information to increase readers’ knowledge about sports they are not

familiar with.


•  Significant task to critically examine the larger framework (relevant contexts behind the play)


•  The coverage seemed reasonably balanced, as the reports picked up some of the key aspects that went wrong:

•  In security grounds, media scrutinized G4S for their shortfall. •  In ticketing, British newspapers did a good job of raising the

awareness about the hypocrisy involved in the controversy over

empty seats, reserved to members of the ‘Olympic family’. •  In legacy, critical account of the sales of school fields and the

cuts in school sports funding. •  In other areas, the coverage could have been more insightful:

•  Contradictions of the Lower Lea Valley transformation

•  Stories contrary to the ‘party atmosphere’ (including protests to sponsors), were excluded or received scant attention.

Truth. Rectification of content

•  Rectifications of content, due to factual details (times, medals, records, pictures, names, cities, misidentification of flags).

•  Good practice: The Washington Post’s letters to the editor as a key space for accountability •  Discussion about the coverage of the Olympics (violent

vocabulary, photographical representation of African Americans, pieces that went beyond the American focus, athletes’ portrayal,

among others).

•  Common dissolution of frontiers between information and opinion (subjective expressions, evaluative adjectives and adverbs, first-

person approach and inclusion of journalists). •  “Dressing up fandom in fancy words”: Expressions to praise

the performance of domestic athletes

•  “Wonderfully dominant”, “scintillating shooting performance”, “gloriously fulfilled”, hard-working patriots”, “epic blowout”,

“wondrous completion”, etc. •  In reporting cases of loss or underperformance, subjectivity

also arises: “miserable McKenzie”, “disastrous performance”,

“frustratingly inconsistent”, “stunning fall”, “deshonra en el 1.500”, “rematadamente mal”, etc.

Truth. Separation between information and opinion

•  El País after the defeat of the Spanish football team •  “Una soberana derrota”, “rematadamente mal”, “espantosos

ridículos”, “chasco monumental”, “decepcionante debut”, “descalabro futbolero”, “lamentable imagen”

•  “Un empalagoso equipo vestido de azul celeste, desconocido,

muy desnaturalizado” •  “Mucho ombligo, poco cerebro”

Truth. Separation between information and opinion

Truth. Sensationalism

•  Cases of sensationalism •  Reports about sex and partying at the Olympics

•  Other examples of soft news – infotainment •  Fundamental factors to consider:

•  Tabloidization (Skovsgaard, 2014), which generates tensions

between the market forces and the ethics and quality. •  The erosion of the public-private distinction. The duality

between the ‘public interest’ and the ‘human interest’ in contemporary journalism (Knoppers & Elling, 2004).

•  The preponderance of celebrity news within the current

cultural and communicative landscape. •  The celebrity culture is having particularly a significant

impact in the world of sport (Boyle, 2013; Conboy, 2014; ).

Justice. Portrayal of gender

Same number of pieces Gender gap: 4%


Gender gap: 10% Gender gap: 15%


Gender gap: 28.71% Gender gap: 22.14%


•  Qualitative dimension: ambivalence in the coverage •  Raising sportswomen’s profile

•  Media showcased sportswomen’s achievements through a balanced and fair vocabulary.

•  Meaningful task to shed light on the increase in sportswomen’s participation and the inclusion of women from Muslim countries that had never sent female athletes to the Games (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brunei).

•  Media fostered a larger conversation about the pending challenges to achieve equality.

•  Persistence on covert and overt forms of gender stereotypes •  Emotionality, infantilising, out-of-context elements and

sportswomen’s private lives, relationships and marital status, sexism and mentions to physical attributes and attire.

Justice. Portrayal of race

•  Information about race was only provided in exceptional cases, such as with the US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas.

•  Journalists cannot always be colour-blind v Douglas was casted in the ‘other’ spotlight because of her race.

•  Certain covert stereotypes were fostered throughout the coverage

•  On a broader level, newspapers took the opportunity to raise the public awareness of racism within sport and society:

•  Condemned two discriminatory tweets contrary to the values and ideals of the Olympic Movement.

•  Praise of multiculturalism and opposition to discrimination: The

Guardian and The Telegraph criticized Daily Mail’s attempts to convey damaging expressions such as ‘Plastic Brits’ to refer to

athletes that were non-white or non-British born.

•  Newspapers placed a great deal of attention to Oscar Pistorius and the significance of his inclusion was well delivered. However:

•  He was portrayed in many occasions as an object of curiosity •  Nickname blade runner without commas.

•  He could not scape the controversy around the unfair advantage

that his prosthetics could provide him. Why did media continue focusing on what had already been litigated?

•  The portrayal of the South Korean archer Im Dong-Hyun revealed certain misleading perceptions about disability within journalists

•  Although he had a limited sight, he was inaccurately described in

several media reports as “blind”, “registered as blind” or “legally blind”. Since disability is confined to Paralympics, journalists had

difficulty dealing with disability issues and nuances.

Justice. Portrayal of disability

•  Polish table tennis Natalia Partyka: illustrates the minimization that non-prominent disabled athletes face in media

•  The Guardian, El País and La Vanguardia did not mention her •  The Washington Post: only newspaper to include at least a little

photograph in its print edition

•  Disability sport found a remarkable space to be showcased in the London 2012 Paralympics, but their exposure outside it continues to

be minimal or inexistent.

Justice. Portrayal of disability

•  Nation remains prominent: newspapers amplified the coverage of their domestic athletes.

•  British newspapers devoted ¾ of the coverage to Team GB: The Guardian (74.10%); The Telegraph (74.94%)

•  El País (72.03%)

•  Cases that showed the importance of a global approach •  NYT devoted 43.93% of its pieces to foreign athletes

•  TWP devoted daily a page with brief pieces on foreign athletes

Justice. Portrayal of nationality

•  It is not unethical to report more on the home team, but there was a recurrent use of mechanisms that at times may had compromised

the standards of fairness and accuracy: •  Use of evaluative adjectives and adverbs •  Pieces that do not pay attention to foreign competitors

•  Use of patriotic quotes by athletes •  Overemphasis on medal tables and national achievements

•  Diminishment of other countries’ abilities to compete in sport •  Certain human stories with a nationalistic purpose

•  Repeated use of photographs with national flags

Justice. Portrayal of nationality

Responsibility. Respect for privacy

•  News provided elements to build the human-interest dimension of stories, but they did it from respect, without representing an invasion

of privacy •  Plenty of stories about overcoming adversities. Examples: Kayla

Harrison (U.S., Judo), Anthony Ogogo (G.B., Boxing)

•  Nevertheless, The Daily Telegraph’s published a report on the drinking problems and violent death of Bradley Wiggins’ father

(25/07/2012). Was it public interest? Which benefit represented its publication?

Responsibility. Warlike language

•  Widespread use of warlike expressions and analogies:

•  “Journalists should to be reminded that sport is not war […] quality

newspapers should take their responsibility of setting the tone of the

coverage. If they use war-like expressions, it is more likely that people will adopt those expressions, because of their power to

represent sport” (David Rowe, interview, March 2015).

‘smacked in the face’

‘pugnacious fighter’

‘bazooka shots’ ‘make a killing’

‘rough clash’ ‘missile’ ‘revenge’ ‘lethal weapon’

‘battle’ ‘annihilation’ ‘victim’ ‘to rocket down’

‘combat’ ‘shootout’ ‘troops’ ‘deathly duel’

‘to bludgeon’ ‘assassin’ ‘onslaught’ ‘barrage’

Responsibility. Respect for religious beliefs

•  “Revealing in shared faith” (Omar Sacirbey, The Washington Post, 04/08/2012). Well-documented article, which delves into the

reasons why members of minority faiths follow U.S. Olympians and athletes from other countries who share the same religion.

•  However, other articles primarily drawn on curiosity, superficial coverage and clichés: Spanish hockey player Carlos Ballbé •  “La fe del hockey mueve medallas. España, con el seminarista

Litus Ballbé en sus filas, inicia su ascensión a la gloria”.

Preliminary conclusions

Strengths Weaknesses •  Wide range of sources •  Completeness (sports information +

larger framework) •  Corrections + accountability •  Coverage of sportswomen •  Raising awareness on racism and

gender inequalities within society •  Respect for privacy and religious

beliefs

•  Minimization of certain sports •  Blurring between genres •  Sensationalism •  Covert and overt gender, race and

disability stereotypes •  Use of nationality mechanisms •  Warlike language

Opportunities Threats •  Education within newsrooms, HEIs

and the public •  Increasing diversity in the

newsrooms •  Reinforce the use of ethical codes

and new media accountability systems (MAS)

•  Multiplicity of competing voices •  24/7 news cycle •  Orientation towards market forces •  Commercial influences between

sporting mega-events and media •  Tabloidization, erosion public-private,

celebrity culture

Forthcoming steps and future challenges

•  Writing and finishing the doctoral dissertation (expected public defence: Spring 2016)

•  To submit journal articles in order to maximize the impact of the chapters of the doctoral dissertation

•  Transference of knowledge into the educational and professional

fields (specific case studies + set of guidelines) •  To continue monitoring ethics and quality of information in the

forthcoming Olympic events (Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020).

Thank you for your attention @xramonv

linkedin.com/in/xavierramon/en

[email protected]

https://twitter.com/xramonv

https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavierramon/en

References

•  Alsius, S. (Ed.) (2010). The Ethical Values of Journalists. Field research among media professionals in Catalonia. Barcelona:

Generalitat de Catalunya. •  Altheide, D.L. (1996). Qualitative media analysis. Thousand Oaks,

California: Sage.

•  Bernstein, A. (2002) “Is It Time for a Victory Lap?”. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 37(3-4): 415-428.

•  Billings, A. C. (2008). Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television. London: Routledge.

•  Boyle, R. (2006). Sports Journalism: Context and Issues. London:

Sage.

References

•  Boyle, R. (2013). “Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Journalism and Digital Culture”. Communication & Sport, 1 (1-2):

88-99. •  Brownell, S.; Parry, J. (2012). Olympic values and ethics in

contemporary society. Ghent: Ghent University.

•  Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods (4th Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

•  Christians, C.; Glasser, T.; McQuail, D.; Norderstreng, K.; White, R. (2009). Normative Theories of the Media. Journalism in Democratic

Societies. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

•  Conboy, M. (2014). “Celebrity journalism – An oxymoron? Forms and functions of a genre”. Journalism, 15(2): 171-185.

References

•  Frost, C. (2011). Journalism Ethics and Regulation (3rd Edition). London: Longman.

•  Hardin, M.; Zhong, B.; Whiteside, E. (2009). “Sports Coverage: “Toy Department” or Public-Service Journalism? The Relationship

Between Reporters’ Ethics and Attitudes Toward the Profession”.

International journal of sport communication (IJSC), 2(3): 319-339. •  Hardy, J. (2008). Western Media Systems. Abingdon, Oxon:

Routledge. •  Hesse, Biber, S.N. (2010). Mixed methods research: merging theory

with practice. New York: The Guilford Press.

•  Hutchins, B.; Rowe, D. (2012). Sport Beyond Television. The Internet, Digital Media and the Rise of Networked Media Sport. New

York: Routledge.

References

•  IOC (2014). “Olympic Charter”. Lausanne: International Olympic Committee.

•  Knoppers, A. & Elling, A. (2004). “‘We Do Not Engage in Promotional Journalism’: Discursive Strategies used by Sports

Journalists to Describe the Selection Process”. International Review

for the Sociology of Sport, 39(1), 57-73. •  Kovach, B.; Rosenstiel, T. (2001). The Elements of Journalism.

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•  Maas, S. (2007). “The Olympic values”. Olympic Review, 63: 28-33.

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References

•  Miah, A.; García, B. (2012). The Olympics: The Basics. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

•  Moragas, M. de (1996). “The new role of the mass media in the construction of sport and Olympic values” [online article]. Barcelona:

Centre d’Estudis Olímpics UAB. http://olympicstudies.uab.es/pdf/

wp051_eng.pdf •  Naul, R. (2008). Olympic Education. Oxford: Meyer & Meyer.

•  Oates, T.P.; Pauly, J. (2007). “Sports Journalism as Moral and Ethical Discourse”. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 22 (4): 332-347.

•  Parry, J. (2006). “Sport and Olympism: Universals and

Multiculturalism”. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 33(2): 188-204. •  Rowe, D. (2007). “Sports journalism: Still the 'toy department' of the

news media?” Journalism, 8(4): 385-405.

References

•  Samaranch, J.A. (1995). “Editorial: Olympic Ethics”. Olympic Review. February-March, Vol. 25(1).

•  Skovsgaard, M. (2014). “A tabloid mind? Professional values and organizational pressures as explanations of tabloid journalism”.

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•  Tashakkori, A.; Teddlie, C. (2009). Foundations of mixed methods research: integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the

social and behavioral sciences. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. •  Wanta, W. (2013). “Reflections on Communication and Sport: On

Reporting and Journalists”. Communication & Sport, 1(1-2): 76-87.

Documents

Sports journalism ethics and quality of information. The ... · Sports journalism ethics and quality of ... British newspapers did a good job of ... • Praise of multiculturalism