slides: Does Sports Journalism Have Any Standards? This Week’s Patriots’ Coverage Says No

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Analysis

When news journalists make errors it haunts them for decades. "Dewey Defeats Truman” is still an embarrassment for the Chicago Tribune more than 50 years later. But, the reporting this week by the dozens of sports journalists on the Chandler Jones incident and Rob Gronkowski’s health unveiled the growing new standard that absolutely anything goes.

Certainly, news organizations make errors and hopefully they are corrected quickly and clearly, but the new standard in sports journalism in America played out in New England.

Below are a series of claims by leading sports journalists that simply cannot be all true. What is worse is that the reporting is not a situation of advancing or developing a story - in both of these examples some or all of the reports must simply be incorrect and sourced poorly at best, and at worst, potentially fictitious.

According to Forbes, pro sports are a $60 plus billion industry in the United States and for Boston media like ESPN/Boston, the Globe, the Herald, NESN, NECN, four local TV affiliates, and dozens more in New England all fighting to break or steal the story, the competition is fierce. But, the reporting on these two cases shows the competition is fierce the commitment as journalists to the truth may be more amorphous.

Photo: Wikipedia

Rob Gronkowski may or may not have had a knee injury and treatment, and he may or may not have had a back injury and he may or may not have had both a knee and back injury, but what was reported by some of the best known and most respected journalists were in clear conflict with one another. Simply put, a number of reporters simply did not have any facts behind their stories and should not have reported those claims.

The question remains, did anyone get this story right? Does the public have a clear picture of either Jones' Saturday night or Gronkowski's health?

Former Patriot Teddy Bruschi says Chandler Jones has to sit.

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Chandler Jones

On Friday, ESPN analyst Cris Carter said Jones was smoking marijuana laced with PCP

Cris Carter speculating on Chandler Jones "I think he was smoking marijuana laced with PCP" pic.twitter.com/2rMXIdRdUU
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 15, 2016