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Copyright 2018-1/2. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 15, No 1/2 2018 15
Xavier Ramon-Vegas
José-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.
Key words: accountability, code, ethics, instruments, sports
journalism
In the current cluttered and ‘increasingly complex digital
media landscape’ (Boyle and Haynes 2014: 85), sport content
is ‘available from a growing range of digital, mobile media and
telecommunications companies and intermediaries’ (Hutchins and
Boyle 2017: 505) as well as from communication departments
at clubs and leagues (Suggs 2016). For legacy media, despite its
‘perennial dismissal as trivial subject matter’ (Weedon et al. 2016:
1), sport remains a pivotal asset to attract advertisers and audiences
(Hutchins and Rowe 2009).
In this context of ‘digital plenitude’ (Hutchins and Rowe 2009),
sports journalists face severe challenges, including ‘commercial and
economic restrictions’ (English 2017: 534), ‘greater demands in
terms of publishing platforms, technology, content and workloads’
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(English 2016: 1002) and ‘growing competition from content
aggregators and “social” news specialists’ (Hutchins and Boyle
2017: 499). Professionals also struggle with the seemingly endless
growth of the PR industry in the world of sport (L’Etang 2013;
Sherwood, Nicholson and Marjoribanks 2017).
However, as Hutchins and Boyle (2017: 497) highlight, ‘the influence
of multiple crosscutting forces does not mean that shared practices
of news work no longer exist, or that journalists have voluntarily
ceded their cultural authority to “the crowd” in determining what
counts as news and how it should be produced and delivered’.
Beyond adapting their skills ‘to meet the demands of a converged
media environment’ (Ketterer, McGuire and Murray 2014: 282),
sports journalists should maintain the essential principles of ethics
at the core of their professional task (Oates and Pauly 2007). Ethics
and accountability should be at the centre stage of the ‘community
of practice’ of sports journalism. This is essential to counteract
the widespread deficiencies that have not only challenged the
normative standards of the profession but have also eroded the
credibility and status of its professionals (Horky and Stelzner 2013).
‘The toy department’: Exploring the ethical shortcomings in
sports journalism
Sports journalism has been labelled as the ‘toy department’ or the
‘sandbox’ of the newsroom (Rowe 2007). Its professionals ‘have
been described as cheerleaders, hero worshippers, fans, homers
and sycophants’ and as ‘biased and responsible for boosterism
of athletes, teams, organisations and the sports industry’ (English
2017: 532). The dissolution of the frontiers between facts and
comments has been commonplace in the field (Boyle 2006).
Rumour and speculation have pervaded the coverage, which has
also been ‘subordinated to entertainment as a way of expression
incorporating sensationalist elements that come from the spectacle
industries’ (Rojas-Torrijos 2011: 18). The use of violence metaphors
and images in sports reporting, connected to ‘commodification of
sport, and its marketing as spectacle’ (Holt 2000: 102) has also
been frequent.
The limited range of sources has been mainly drawn ‘from the
ranks of celebrity athletes, coaches and administrators, thus further
isolating the sports desk from the world beyond sport’ (Rowe 2007:
400-401). Partly because of this interplay between media and the
sport industry, sports journalists have failed to cover properly the
‘problems, issues and topics that permeate the social world to
which sport is intimately connected’ (Rowe 2007: 400). Thus, they
have proved unable to comply with the essential ‘watchdog’ and
investigative functions of journalism in democratic societies. There
are some noteworthy exceptions to this trend, such as the broader
perspective shown by US newspapers in the coming out of Jason
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Collins and Michael Sam (Cassidy 2017); the critical reports in the
Australia–India Test cricket series (English 2017); the exposure of
child abuse in football (Taylor 2017); the investigation of corruption
cases at FIFA (Jennings 2011) or the research on Lance Armstrong,
pursued by David Walsh of The Sunday Times and the blog
NYVelocity (Brock 2013). Yet, the amount of critical interrogation
on the world of sport is scant compared to other genres.
In addition, as Suggs (2016: 265) highlights, ‘news coverage looks
surprisingly uniform across different publications and different
media’. Moreover, sportswomen, non-white and impaired athletes
have been marginalised in the coverage (O’Neill and Mulready
2015; Tulloch and Ramon-Vegas 2017) and have been often
presented through the lens of stereotypes. To illustrate, in their
recent examination of the US press coverage of Alex Rodriguez,
the baseball player, for his alleged use of performance-enhancing
drugs, Brennen and Brown (2016: 29) found that newspapers
‘dehumanized Rodriguez through repeated use of overtly racist and
animalistic imagery’.
The role of accountability instruments in sports journalism
To mitigate the long-held claims of sports journalism being a
‘bastion of easy living, sloppy journalism and “soft” news’ (Boyle
2006: 1), ‘sports journalists must also be accountable to the
professional norms that advance the entire profession’s credibility’
(Hardin and Zhong 2010: 6). The concept of accountability refers
to ‘the commitment of media organisations and professionals to
be held accountable by society for their practices’ (Rojas-Torrijos
and Ramon-Vegas 2017: 916). According to McQuail (2003: 19),
‘accountable communication exists where authors (originators,
sources, or gatekeepers) take responsibility for the quality and
consequences of their publication, orient themselves to audiences
and others affected, and respond to their expectations and those of
the wider society’. Traditional and innovative media accountability
instruments (Bertrand 2000) – including ethical codes, stylebooks,
recommendations issued by organisations, ombudsmen websites
and scholars’ or citizens’ blogs – can play major roles in offering
guidance and helping journalists and users monitor and assess the
quality of sports content (Ramon-Vegas and Rojas-Torrijos 2017).
Objective and methodology
Taking the aforementioned framework into account, the objective
of this research has been to compile, examine and disseminate the
most relevant accountability instruments in sports journalism. The
first stage of the project involved mapping and analysing the most
relevant instruments in the field. We first monitored the internet
over an 18-month period (October 2015-March 2017) to locate
the most relevant instruments across different countries, media
systems and journalistic cultures. Through snowball sampling, the
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instruments were identified and progressively incorporated into
the sample. Afterwards, the researchers examined each one of
those instruments using the qualitative content analysis technique
(Bryman 2016). The categories of the analysis included the following:
instruments produced inside or outside of media organisations,
description of the specifications for and use of the instruments, and
evaluation of the mechanisms from the accountability perspective
(Ramon-Vegas and Rojas-Torrijos 2017).
The second stage of the research involved the creation, in April
2017, of the platform Accountable Sports Journalism (http://
accountablesportsjournalism.org) to make the instruments readily
accessible to media practitioners, scholars and students. On this
site, users can find access to the instruments produced inside the
media (in-house stylebooks promoted by major sports media,
recommendations for sports journalists in news agencies and
general information outlets, ombudsmen and online chats) and
to tools implemented outside media companies (external codes,
recommendations issued by key stakeholders in the world of sport,
the largest publications related to media criticism, as well as several
scholars’ and citizens’ blogs). The range of resources on the platform
is being enhanced on an on-going basis. Nowadays, Accountable
Sports Journalism brings together 42 resources (n=42) from 15
different countries, along with those produced by international
organisations. Finally, after critically examining all the instruments
available, the investigation has produced a new specialised code
in sports journalism (“Guidelines for covering sports responsibly”).
Results
Accountability instruments on a new platform
So far, 42 accountability instruments have been located and
uploaded on to the Accountable Sports Journalism platform. Those
have been classified, as previously noted, into two categories:
instruments produced within media organisations and those
created outside of them.
Instruments produced inside media companies or media
groups
Stylebooks and guidelines promoted by major sports media
One of the fundamental accountability instruments is in-house
stylebooks which establish an implicit contract between journalists
and citizens. One of the scarce sports outlets that has adapted its
stylebook to the digital environment is Bleacher Report (http://
bleacherreport.com/pages/styleguide). Another American outlet
concerned with accountability is ESPN, which has published its
Editorial guidelines for standards & practices (http://edge-cache.
deadspin.com/deadspin/editorial.pdf). As their authors note, the
purpose of the editorial guidelines ‘is the protection of ESPN’s
journalistic credibility across all platforms’. These recommendations
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tackle a wide range of ethical issues, including: transparency,
commentary, sourcing, attribution, corrections, media criticism,
activity on social networking sites and advertising. Grantland, a
sports and culture website created by Bill Simmons in 2011 and
discontinued in 2015, developed useful terminological glossaries
on sports like tennis, wrestling, basketball, American football and
baseball (http://grantland.com/tags/grantland-dictionary/).
Recommendations for sports coverage proposed by agencies and
general information outlets
News agencies and general information outlets worldwide have
also proposed recommendations for sports journalists. In Europe,
the Reuters sports style guide (http://handbook.reuters.com/
index.php?title=Sports_Style_Guide) is one of the key documents
available. In Spain, the major public broadcasting corporations have
specific sections devoted to sports in their in-house handbooks:
namely RTVE, the Spanish public broadcasting corporation (http://
manualdeestilo.rtve.es/); CCMA, the Catalan Corporation of
Audiovisual Media (http://www.ccma.cat/llibredestil/) and Canal
Sur, the radio and TV corporation in Andalusia. In complying with
their remit as public service broadcasters (PSBs), these institutions
stress the importance of disseminating the positive values associated
with sport.
Moving on to America, the Ethical journalism handbook from The
New York Times (https://www.nytco.com/wp-content/uploads/
NYT_Ethical_Journalism_0904-1.pdf) outlines three rules (131-
333) addressed to the sports desk. More precisely, it mentions that
journalists should avoid gambling on sports events and serving as
scorers and that they should not ‘accept tickets, travel expenses,
meals, gifts or any other benefit from teams or promoters’. Further
references to conflicts of interest are included in documents issued
by Minnesota Public Radio (http://www.mpr.org/about/news_
ethics) and the Los Angeles Times (http://latimesblogs.latimes.
com/readers/2011/02/la-times-ethics-guidelines.html). Conversely,
other news organisations such as the Columbia Missourian
(http://convergence.journalism.missouri.edu/wp-content/
uploads/2009/04/missourian-stylebook.pdf) focus on providing
guidance on sports language.
Online ombudsmen/ombudswomen
The role of ombudsmen/ombudswomen is nearly non-existent in
sports media outlets. The exception can be found in ESPN’s public
editor, a pioneering post created in 2005 to ensure that the content
of the network complies with its Editorial guidelines. The public
editor (http://espn.go.com/blog/ombudsman) fosters transparency
and helps fans understand ESPN’s journalistic culture and the
editorial criteria behind the content. He writes a monthly column,
reflecting on core aspects such as the loosening of standards
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with the treatment of ESPN Body Issue photographs, the use of
sponsored content, the criteria employed by the company to select
their anchors or the debates about conflict of interest.
Online chats
Online chats, which help foster live interaction between readers,
editorial teams and experts, have expanded in recent years and
have proved to be powerful tools for discussing editorial criteria
and handling errors (Rojas-Torrijos and Ramon-Vegas 2017). ESPN’s
programme Sportsnation has promoted live chats since 2008.
All the live conversations (http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/
archive) can be retrieved at any time from ESPN’s website.
Instruments produced outside media companies or groups
Specialised codes in sports journalism
The range of external codes devoted exclusively to sports
journalism is fairly limited. The most recognised document is the
Ethics guidelines promoted by the Associated Press Sports Editors
(APSE) (http://apsportseditors.com/apse-ethics-guidelines/). The
code, created in 1974 and revised in 1991, is built around seven
cornerstones that urge journalists to safeguard professional
independence, verify information, be attentive to sources and avoid
gender and race discrimination. In 2014, the International Sports
Press Association (AIPS) approved its Code of professional conduct.
The document (http://www.aipsmedia.com/acopcs/AIPS_CODE_
OF_PROFESSIONAL_CONDUCT_STANDARDS.pdf), provides 13
guiding principles, including the need to be knowledgeable about
the law, work with honesty and integrity, provide information about
potential conflicts of interest, correct errors and avoid publishing
false information. In addition, professionals are reminded about
their duty to update their knowledge.
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) provides
recommendations in four areas: the search for truth, minimising
harm, professional independence and accountability (http://www.
sportswriters.net/fwaa/about/ethics.html). The ethical code of the
Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) also considers
the avoidance of any conflict of interest a cornerstone (http://www.
ajac.ca/web/about/ethics.asp). The American Auto Racing Writers
& Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) has its own code: The white
paper (http://www.aarwba.org/aarwbawp.htm).
In the European context, we should highlight the Italian media and
sports code (http://ethicnet.uta.fi/italy/media_and_sports_code).
This code is organised in six chapters that seek to promote justice,
dignity and the citizens’ right to receive information. Moreover, the
eight guidelines presented in 2010 by the German association of
sports journalists, the Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten (http://
www.sportjournalist.de/Ueber_uns/Leitlinien/) are noteworthy.
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These recommendations emphasise the public function of sports
journalism and call for non-discrimination. The VDS also highlights
the importance of maintaining independence, respecting
individuals’ privacy and ensuring accuracy (Horky and Stelzer 2013).
In eastern European countries, there’s the Serbian Sports Journalists
Association (USNS) Code and sport journalists’ club ethics (http://
www.usns.rs/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Kodeks-sportskih-
novinara-Srbije.pdf) and the Moral code (http://www.ksn.cz/o-ksn/
eticky-a-moralni-kodex) from the Czech Republic. Both are concise
texts focused on standards such as safeguarding independence and
verifying information.
There are other relevant codes in Latin America: the Sports
Journalists Association ethics code (Puerto Rico) (http://www.
wallice.com/apdpur/reglamento.html), Manual de Conduta Ética
da Associaçao Brasiliense de Cronistas Desportivos (ABCD) (Brazil)
(http://abcdesportes.com.br/abcd/manual-de-conduta-etica-da-
abcd/) and the Argentinian Federation of Sports Journalists (FAPED)
Ethics code (https://web.archive.org/web/20160328143342/http://
faped.org/estatutos.html).
General codes of media ethics
In addition to specialised codes in sports, professionals can consult
the website Accountable Journalism (http://accountablejournalism.
org/) created by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the
University of Missouri. The site contains more than 400 general
and specialised deontological codes from around the world.
Among them, central documents such as UNESCO’s International
principles of professional ethics (http://ethicnet.uta.fi/international/
international_principles_of_professional_ethics_in_journalism), the
International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) Declaration of principles
on the conduct of journalists (http://www.ifj.org/about-ifj/ifj-code-
of-principles/) and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of
ethics (https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) should be highlighted.
Recommendations for sports journalists issued by key stakeholders
Recommendations issued by key stakeholders in the world of sport
should also be taken into account. Among those suggestions, two
relevant ones are accessible online: the Code of sports ethics, from
the Council of Europe (https://rm.coe.int/16805cecaa) and the
Charte d’etique et de déontologie du sport Français (CNOSF 2012).
Both emphasise the media’s responsibility to promote fair play and
set a positive example to children and young people. Moreover, the
Code of sports ethics, devised by the Portuguese Institute for Sport
and Youth (http://www.pned.pt/media/31485/Code-of-Sports-
Ethics.pdf), includes a section on recommendations with regard to
objectivity, truth and privacy.
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In addition, the International Paralympic Committee (2014) created
an 18-page document entitled Guide to reporting on persons with
an impairment. This easy-to-use guide provides journalists with
general rules and a list of preferred terminology and incorrect terms.
Similarly, in 2012 the British Paralympic Association published
Guide to reporting on paralympic sport, (http://paralympics.org.
uk/uploads/documents/ParalympicsGB_Guide_to_Reporting_on_
Paralympic_Sport.pdf). The Special Olympics (2014) Style guide is
also available to practitioners.
Other external recommendations
Recommendations also come from institutions that promote
the appropriate use of language, such as Fundación del Español
Urgente (Fundéu), created in 2005 by the news agency EFE and
BBVA with the support of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). In
2013, Fundéu created a specific section on the language of
football, entitled ‘Liga BBVA del Español Urgente’ (http://www.
fundeu.es/especiales/liga-del-espanol-urgente/). Recommendations
for the whole sports community are included in Violence in sport
(http://www.consejoaudiovisualdeandalucia.es/sites/default/files/
recomendaciones/Recomendaciones_2009_01_Violencia%20
deporte.pdf), a document jointly produced in 2009 by the
Andalusian Audiovisual Council and the regional Federation of
Sports Journalists (FPDA).
Media observatories and specialised publications in media criticism
Although there is a lack of observatories exclusively devoted to
sports journalism, the largest publications related to media criticism
around the world examine the good and bad practices of sports
media. A relevant example here is Ética Segura, a site created by
Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (Colombia), which
regularly promotes debates about ethical issues in the sports field
(http://www.fnpi.org/es/keywords/prensa-deportiva).
Scholars’ and citizens’ blogs
Finally, other innovative instruments such as scholars’ and
citizens’ blogs also promote reflection on news quality. In
Spain, we highlight La Buena Prensa (http://labuenaprensa.
blogspot.com.es/) and Periodismo Deportivo de Calidad (http://
periodismodeportivodecalidad.blogspot.com.es/). In the United
States, two key examples should be considered: the blogs from
the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University (http://
sportsjournalism.org/) and the Center for Journalism Ethics at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison (http://ethics.journalism.wisc.
edu/).
Creating a new specialised code in the field
Bearing in mind that ‘sports journalism should not be exempt from
scrutiny regarding conventional professional criteria within the news
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arena’ (Rowe 2007: 386), researchers examined all the materials
included in Accountable Sports Journalism to produce a new
ethical code, named ‘Guidelines for covering sports responsibly’
(https://accountablesportsjournalism.org/code/). In order to
bridge the gap between the ideal and professional practice and
to encourage journalists to use such guidelines, these have been
kept as short and operational as possible. The Decalogue, which
was first presented in October 2017 at the annual conference of
the Institute of Communication Ethics (‘Sports journalism: Ethical
vacuum or ethical minefield?’), in London, presents the following
points:
1. Public function and right to sports information
Sports journalists should report on all areas of sport. As an
essential part of their public-service approach, they should not
only concentrate on mainstream disciplines but also give exposure
to underrepresented sports that generate news and have a large
number of practitioners. This can help to broaden the coverage and
expand citizens’ sporting culture. Media professionals should not
report on the private lives of sports people unless the information is
relevant to understanding the athletes’ performance.
2. Conflict of interest
Sports journalists should avoid taking part in activities that lie
outside of their professional realm or in employment that may
create conflict of interest. This includes working in the field of public
relations (PR) and as advisors for a sports person, club or federation,
and writing for a team or league publication. Editors and reporters
cannot be sources who are assigned to themselves. Behaving
professionally entails remaining loyal to the news organisation for
which one works.
3. Hospitality from sources and independence
Sports journalists should reject invitations and gifts from teams
or promoters that could call into question their working as
independent eyewitnesses. Likewise, they should not use their
position as journalists to obtain free tickets for any sports event
from sources other than those which customarily make passes or
tickets available when a performance has a clear bearing on the
journalist’s job.
4. Newsgathering and impartiality
Sports journalists should avoid developing a close relationship with
sports sources and maintain a critical distance by seeking and using
a varied and representative number of arguments and facts on any
issue, and presenting them appropriately without bias towards their
audiences. They should also avoid misconduct such as ‘boosterism’
and nationalistic or chauvinistic approaches. Impartiality entails
being professional rather than behaving like fans.
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5. Factual reporting
Sports journalists are committed to truthful and factual reporting.
They should establish a clear distinction between facts and
their personal opinions about them, as well as between news
and advertising or sponsored content. Reinforcing methods
of verification is essential to the fight against fake news, the
pervasiveness of speculation and rumour in sports content, and to
discarding sensationalism and trivialisation in news reporting.
6. Journalistic quality and use of language
Sports journalists are committed to journalistic quality and must,
therefore, rely on a correct use of language as their main working
tool by which to enhance their stories. Acquiring a vast vocabulary
and developing the ability to use suitable words and phrases in
referring to any sportsperson are valuable assets towards improving
content quality within the field.
7. Promotion of positive sports values
Sports journalists should contribute to the promotion of positive
values, such as fair play, non-discrimination and international peace
and understanding through their coverage of sports events among
citizens, with special attention for youth and children.
8. Violence in sports
Sports journalists must avoid using warlike language, as well as
disseminating expressions and images that emphasise or legitimate
any form of violence towards individuals or groups of people within
or outside sports venues. Sport is not a substitute for war. Thus,
journalists must minimise confrontational narratives and warlike
imagery.
9. Gender perspective
To counteract the long-standing under-representation of
sportswomen, sports journalists should work with greater
dedication to promote equality in their reporting by giving female
athletes more exposure when their results deserve it. More women
should be incorporated as expert sources into the news agenda.
Sexist comments and stereotypes should be avoided when referring
to them.
10. Sports beyond sports
Sports journalists should go beyond the dramatic action on the
field and raise public awareness about relevant contexts that exist
behind the play. Sports should be thoroughly explained from their
social, financial, cultural and political dimensions.
This text is not intended to be read in isolation. Sports journalists
should also observe the general principles of trustfulness, fairness,
social responsibility and respect for the universal values and
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diversity of cultures that are included in the baseline codes of the
profession. These codes are the UNESCO’s International principles
of professional ethics in journalism, the International Federation of
Journalists’ (IFJ) Declaration of principles on the conduct of journalists
and further documents available on https://accountablejournalism.
org/ethics-codes. Beyond these general and specific codes, as well
as their organisations’ in-house guidelines, sports journalists must
seek ethical guidance from within themselves, by placing emphasis
on their individual conscience.
Conclusion
As outlined at the beginning of this paper, many interlinked factors,
constraints, debates and tensions contribute to the quality of the
media’s output in the contemporary ‘fluid and commercially volatile
context’ (Hutchins and Boyle 2017: 496). That being said, sports
journalism is a very important commercial engine for newspapers
and, therefore, its task should be guided by the same professional
values, ethical standards and demands for quality that apply to
all journalism. The escalating pressures, orientation towards the
market and the tensions of immediacy in this high-speed media
landscape should not deter journalists from pursuing the goal of an
ethical and comprehensive treatment of sports that ultimately links
to media’s public service mission in democratic societies.
Weedon and Wilson (2017: 22) pose the following question:
‘Could sports journalism (and its educative forms) in the future
inherit more from the idealist’s vision of journalism as a democratic
project intended for the betterment of society, than from the allure
and prestige of covering sports?’ In the light of this question, we
contend that all the actors involved in the communicative process
(media organisations, citizens and researchers) are responsible in
promoting accountability in sports journalism. With the aim of
contributing to this task, this investigation has located, examined
and made available to professionals, scholars and citizens the most
relevant accountability instruments in this field, stemming from
different countries and journalistic cultures around the world.
Even though there are differences in the ethical practices of sports
journalists ‘based at least partly on the expectations and cultures
within their beats’ (Hardin and Zhong 2010: 9), the resources
available in the Accountable Sports Journalism platform, as well
as the ‘Guidelines for covering sports responsibly’ code, can help
current and future practitioners around the globe to be better
equipped to develop their task.
To capture an even greater idea of accountability in sports
journalism, further work should be carried out. Following the
international approach employed so far, future research must track
and thoroughly examine the new accountability instruments that
emerge in the field. Drawing on these new contributions, which will
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be progressively incorporated into Accountable Sports Journalism,
the proposed guidelines will be updated to point journalists
in the right direction with regard to language and the highest
reporting standards. To maximise the transference of knowledge
of the project, the authors will also present the platform and its
code to professional associations, media organisations and higher
education institutions in different countries.
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Note on the contributors
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
PAPER
28 Copyright 2018-1/2. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 15, No 1/2 2018
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
Xavier
Ramon-Vegas
José-Luis
Rojas-Torrijos
