Sources and Sports Journalism By Daniel Breslauer

What is a source? Source: (From Merriam-Webster Dictionary)—“a point of origin or procurement; one that initiates; one that supplies information; a firsthand document or primary reference work”

Definition applied to a sports example Hypothetical– A college basketball coach is fired from his school. When a journalist wants to break this sports story, how does each element of the definition of “source” come into play?

Sports Journalism David Rowe (University of Western Sydney, Australia) “Sports journalism is an increasingly significant feature of the press yet is subject to considerable criticism, as summarized by the familiar jibe that it is the `toy department of the news media'. While there is an element of cultural snobbery and prejudice in this charge, sports journalism should not be exempted from scrutiny regarding conventional professional criteria within the news arena.”

Corey Chandler Saga

Zagsblog.com -- Alif Muhammed -- Daily Targum Follow-Up -- Sources and College Athletes -- How has the AAU basketball scene changed the way sports journalists approach sources?

Bruce Johnson “I’m a religious reader of blogs,” Johnson said. “For people who stay on top of things in sports, blogs have been a godsend. As a professional, it’s concerning that they don’t have a filter, especially since you have to be skeptical of who that ‘unnamed source’ is.”

Mike Vorkunov “I learned a lot from that day,” Vorkunov said. “I think people still want to respond to conventional journalism but it seemed like a race to determine who could trust sources more when it came to breaking the story on little information. In the end, the Star-Ledger’s Tom Luicci broke it, then five minutes later someone else runs with it and it was like a chain reaction.”

Jeff Weber “The old guard can still do their brand of journalism,” Weber said. “In the sports world, there are still investigative pieces large enough where that kind of reporting is not only necessary but of utmost importance. But for the day-to-day things like transfers and injuries, it’s all about time to some and getting the information out.”

Questions How do you think sources are treated and/or used differently when it comes to writing a news piece versus a sports one? Should journalists be any more sympathetic in their reporting when dealing with college athletes? Why or why not? Do all the same sourcing rules apply? Have sports blogs greatly affected the way you have seen sources used in stories? Is the perception of sports journalism slimy because of recent events with sources in sports (such as the ones covered in the Privacy and Diversity presentations)? Hypothetical—you are reporting on the March 2009 Chandler story. What do you do with a source like the one described?