Conflicts of Interests in Journalism

 Cameron Knupp

ck900019@ohio.edu

One of the most prevalent and most pressing ethical challenges that a journalist can face is a conflict of interest. 

These conflicts can come from any number of places. Politics, family, and economic interests can all be sources of conflicts and make it hard to maintain journalistic independence and avoid bias. 

One glaring example of a conflict of interest is at ESPN. As "the worldwide leader in sports," ESPN pays billions of dollars for big-ticket broadcast rights for the most significant leagues and conferences. 

According to Dean Starkman's article in the Columbia Journalism Review, ESPN pays the NFL $15.2 billion for its broadcast rights. It also pays $7.3 Billion for the rights to broadcast the College Football Playoff. 

On the surface, these big deals may seem like good business, and it is, but ESPN pays for these broadcast rights while at the same time covering the games as news on programs like Sportscenter and First Take. 

It gets even more tricky when you consider that ESPN controls when and how often it broadcasts these games and how much coverage those leagues get on its program, thus contributing to their exposure.

As a lifelong sports fan, I've watched ESPN for as long as I can remember. However, as I got older and understood the business of sports a little more, I began to notice covered sports that they had broadcast rights to slightly more than others. 

I have also noticed that ESPN's hockey coverage has increased slightly since purchasing the broadcast rights to the NHL earlier this year.

It's not just ESPN that has these conflicts of interest. Turner sports pay the NCAA $24 Billion for broadcast rights for its Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, better known as "March Madness," while covering college basketball. (https://www.yahoo.com/video/most-lucrative-deals-sports-history-090213418.html).  

Photo taken by Matt Stone/ Boston Herald

The question is, how do ESPN and other sports media combat these conflicts of interest? For one thing, it makes sure that the business and journalistic sides of its company are kept as separate as possible. So, for example, ESPN's reporters mustn't feel pressure from ownership to publish stories about a particular league or team. 

Furthermore, ESPN can make an effort to cover leagues and conferences that otherwise have trouble getting the casual sports fan's attention. 

One good example is the right broadcast deal with Ohio University's conference, the Mid-American Conference or MAC. (https://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/8/19/6045303/explaining-the-new-mac-espn-tv-deal)

As a part of the deal, ESPN often broadcasts MAC football games on weeknights when many power five conferences are not playing. This series has affectionately been dubbed "MACtion," offering the MAC valuable exposure. 

ESPN also broadcasts MAC basketball and other sports on its ESPN 3 and ESPN+ streaming services, broadcasts which Ohio University Journalism students like myself often work.