Xavier Ramon-Vegas, Jose-Luis Rojas-Torrijos







Accountable sports journalism. Building up a platform and a new specialised code in the field

Far from its traditional consideration as the 'little brother' of the profession, sports journalism plays a key role in the new information ecosystem and has a huge impact in society. Therefore, sports journalists must gain awareness of their accountability in order to counteract the widespread deficiencies that have not only challenged the normative standards of the profession but have also eroded their credibility. With the aim of helping journalists address these shortcomings, this investigation: (1) has compiled and examined the most relevant ethical codes, stylebooks and other accountability instruments in sports journalism; (2) has created the online platform Accountable Sports Journalism (http://accountablesportsjournalism.org); and (3) has produced a new specialised code aimed at covering sports responsibly.

Keywords: accountability, code, ethics, instruments, sports journalism


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Note on the contributor

Xavier Ramon-Vegas is a lecturer in the Department of Communication of Pompeu Fabra University. He holds a PhD in Communication from the UPF. He is also affiliated to the Olympic Studies Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (CEO-UAB). His research focuses on media ethics and accountability and sports journalism. He has been a visiting researcher at the University of Stirling, the University of Glasgow, the University of Alabama and the IOC Olympic Studies Centre. Contact details: Xavier Ramon-Vegas, Pompeu Fabra University, Roc Boronat 138. 08018 Barcelona, Spain. Email: xavier.ramon@upf.edu
José-Luis Rojas-Torrijos is a lecturer in journalism at the University of Seville and EUSA Business University. He also participates in the MA programmes in journalism and sports communication of the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Pompeu Fabra University, European University in Madrid, San Antonio Catholic University in Murcia and Marca-CEU University. He holds a PhD in Journalism (2010) and a BA in Information Sciences (1994) from the University of Seville. His research focuses on sports journalism, ethics and stylebooks. Contact details: José-Luis Rojas-Torrijos, University of Seville, Avda. Américo Vespucio, s/n. 41092 Sevilla, Spain. Email: jlrojas@us.es