Sports Journalists' Use of Social Media and Its Effects on Professionalism

Abstract

The rise of social media gives sports writers new avenues for gathering information. This usage raises ethical issues that challenge an already-technologically morphing industry. In this pilot study, Minnesota-based sports journalists were interviewed about their use of social media, the effects Facebook and Twitter have on their news gathering practices, the ethics of pulling direct quotes from social mediums, and how these mediums have blurred traditional lines between sports writers' professional and personal relationships.

He Said, She Said: An Exploration of Male and Female Print Sports Journalist Tweets, Sports Coverage, and Language Style

“…Laucella (2014) indicates that sports journalists are now working in a digital age with the greatest focus being on interactive media. In particular, Twitter has emerged as the preferred social media site for the journalistic elite in American society (Klein, 2013; Reed, 2011). For sports journalists, Twitter has overtaken and replaced traditional print and broadcast media as a primary source for communicating about sports (Hull & Lewis, 2014; Whiteside, Yu, & Hardin, 2012).…”

“…This new environment for sports has also changed the way in which sports are covered and reported on by journalists (Li, Stokowski, Dittmore, & Scott, 2017; Reed, 2011). Unlike traditional sports media that make use of editors to select content and enforce the rigid rules of objectivity in reporting (Shoemaker & Reese, 2013), social media allows for a freer and laxer style of communicating by journalists (Santana & Hopp, 2016).…”

Twitter and sports journalism in Germany: Application and networks during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

“…Social media have accelerated the process of rolling news and make scoops immediately a common good (Boyle and Haynes, 2014;Haynes 2013). Reed (2011) examined in a pilot study the ways of news gathering and the impact of social media on the professionalism of sports journalists by surveying three print media journalists. In particular, Twitter seemed to change the way of working of these sports journalists.…”

Tensions in the Press Box

“…Salwen and Garrison (1998) found that sports journalists struggled with professional standards, being slow to adopt codes of ethics and being more tolerant of questionable ethics, although the 1990s saw progress on this front as the need to appear unbiased and willing to investigate supplanted previously cushy relationships with sources (Reed, 2011). M.…”