Is it time to form a Sports Journalist Association?

Jun 28, 2009 Sports

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Asks Michael Benjamin

“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
This popular quote uttered by Voltaire, probably resounds in the ears of every journalist as he/she pens a story for public consumption.
During my initial years at the University of Guyana, while reading for a Diploma in Public Communication, I have had reason to question one of my lecturers, Karen David, on an issue of journalistic prudence and ethics. It was around that time when the Jason Blair issue hit the airwaves and the whole question of journalistic ethics was once again brought to the fore.
Karen’s posed a thought provoking question; “if you are a journalist and were asked by a judge to divulge sensitive information received from source to which you had sworn secrecy, with the possibility of a jail sentence, what would you do?”
The class gave varied answers, all totally irrelevant to this discussion. The point that is being extrapolated is that there are certain principles and ethics that go with the noble trade of journalism that if flouted, may have demeaning or even deadly results.
A journalist undoubtedly commands a privileged position that if misused can create mayhem, distrust and may even result in death. The Rwanda debacle is solid proof of this sordid reality.
People purchase newspapers, regardless of whether it is the Kaieteur News, Chronicle, Stabroek News or any other, to be informed of the occurrences in the country and the world at large. Any misconstruction of the news can create unpalatable situations as the one witnessed in Rwanda.
While reportage of hard news demands a great degree of meticulousness, sports reporting takes special talent because apart from an impeccable knowledge of the discipline being reported, the reporter must be updated on the rules and regulations of a plethora of other disciplines. This is especially more valid when the reporter in question chooses to voice personal opinions on certain sports issues.
From basketball to baseball to the boxing ring or the tennis courts, reporters are expected to research the intricacies of these disciplines, since their views are consumed by a wide cross section of the public. It is for this reason that sports editors reiterate the importance of double checks and even checks after the double checks, even if to ensure that the product that is printed for public consumption is accurate.
Apart from accuracy, the journalist must be skillful in the use of words so as to subtly upbraid, warn, cajole or any of the other functions that he wishes his message to serve. The end result naturally, is to provoke the right responses and/or action to agitate for a better sports fraternity.
In Guyana, the systematic involvement of politicians in the hierarchy of the executive bodies of sport disciplines has provoked the belief that politics have crept into, and tainted sports disciplines. There is also the belief that every decision made in the boardrooms is riddled with political intervention. Even though these presumptions are yet to find unanimous agreement, the perception, unfortunately remains.
Journalists are basically drawn from the very society to whom they report but one must also take into consideration that with the recent phenomenon of globalization and the concomitant spin-offs, copies of local newspapers may very well end up in the hands of readers in Czechoslovakia. It, therefore, behooves journalists to be very meticulous in their research and the quality of reports they place in the public domain which brings me to the issue in question.
The recent brouhaha between a journalist of this newspapers, a writer of the Stabroek News newspapers and an executive of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has, to my mind, reached alarming proportions that if not shackled, can compromise the journalistic efforts of the journalists in the sports department of every local newspaper and create disharmonious relations that we can very well do without.
Since the issue in question has been in the public domain for quite sometime, it would border on redundancy to regurgitate the details. Suffice to say, the situation has transgressed to alarming proportions when the table tennis executive decided to pen a letter in Thursday’s edition of the Stabroek News headlined, “What was named is a squad, not a team.”
The accusations and counter accusations have now reached to a stage where a mediator seems to be the best tact to take. That is why I believe that there is need for a Sports Journalist Association, as distinct from a Journalists Association. Yes, journalists are operating out of different entities that ascribe to different policies. However, the noble profession of journalism operates under certain ethical considerations that cannot (or should not) be compromised.
A Sports Journalist association ought not to be regarded as an entity where journalists from rival media organisations piggyback on their colleagues or steal their scoops. There must be clear cut ethical rules to guide journalists in their work. The principles of journalistic prudence are larger than any journalist and regardless of journalists’ allegiance to their organisation, must not be sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity.
Even though, like Voltaire, I choose to defend to the death what journalists say (or write), I would certainly hold that journalist to responsible and sensible views. A Sports Journalist Association can enforce such principles.

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