What is our responsibility as sports writers?

I have been thinking about the concept of responsibility that was brought up in one of our classes. It is obvious that the sports writer's job is to report what happened in the game and behind the scenes. We all agree that this is a fun job. The question is: what responsibilities come with the fun?

As in all reporting one responsibility is to report accurate information. This responsibility in sports writing applies to both the athletes and the fans. It also applies to your reputation as a sports writer. Along with reporting accurate information, it is our responsiblity to listen carefully and to double check our information. Sometimes there isn't a lot of time before the deadline to do this, how can we maneuvor around this barrier? Maybe keeping up with information and doing our homework (as Prof. always says) will help us to get past this.

Another responsibility as a sports reporter is to take care of the athletes. By this I mean that it is our ethical duty to report the truth and only the truth. I also think that it is our duty to only report the information that is pertinent to our story. In other words, I think that it goes against our ethics to report gossip (even if we know it to be true) unless it will make our story better.

I think that it is our responsibility to increase awareness and promote teams. This can help spark fan participation. I think that part of this is our job - we are a media that spreads the word and sometimes people listen. I think that we need to try as hard as we can to make it sound interesting enough for people to want to take part in. (And you can disagree with me here, this is just my personal opinion)

I think that many responsibilities go along with reporting what happens on the sidelines and behind the scenes. I think that how we handle these responsibilities will effect our relationshops with athletes and coaches. I know that it is important to have a good relationship and a level of respect with these people. Because of this, I believe that it is in our best interest to take on our responsibilities and handle them in the best way possible.