May 11, 2005
Research: Newspaper Sports Departments
Preach, But Do Not Practice, Ethical Approach

The recent ethics lapse involving sports columnist Mitch Albom and the Detroit Free Press highlights the fact that although most big-name ethics scandals of late have involved the news side of the newsroom, sports departments are just as prone to ethical miscues.

In fact, perhaps more so, according to a recent study.

Research published in the latest Newspaper Research Journal finds that sports departments vary in their use of ethical codes and that sports editors, especially at small-circulation dailies, operate by standards not acceptable in other parts of the newsroom.

“An increasing number of sports departments over the years have adopted ethical codes,” said Marie Hardin, an assistant professor and member of the Center for Sports Journalism within the College of Communications at Penn State. “But some beliefs and practices of sports journalists still seem to defy norms in other parts of the newsroom.”

According to Hardin’s research, more than half the sports editors from the 285 daily newspapers surveyed in the southeastern United States said their staffs follow an ethical code. In addition, 90 percent of the editors said the sports department code should be the same as that followed by the rest of the newspaper.

Still, that theory sometimes fails to materialize on a day-to-day basis. Forty-three percent of editors said they do not believe objectivity is compromised by accepting perks, and 39 percent said sports pages should cheer home teams. Clearly, attitudes toward freebies and “homerism” are a departure from traditional journalistic emphasis on bias-free reporting.

Editors at small-circulation papers reported using an ethical code less often and approved of boosterism and freebies more often than did editors at larger papers. Age and experience, however, did not seem to make a difference. Young editors did not differ from long-time journalists in their approach to ethical issues.

“The study did not reveal younger journalists as different from ‘old-school’ editors,” Hardin said. “These findings highlight the need for increased emphasis on ethics in both sports journalism education and in sports departments.”

Contact information:
Steve Sampsell
Coordinator of College Relations
Phone: (814) 865-8801
Email:sws102@psu.edu