Is Journalism Without Bias a Dying Breed in the Sporting World?

ESPN has been the master of sporting news and anything pertaining to sports since it debuted on September 7, 1979. Its magazine and web site are breeding grounds for a plethora or articles all pertaining to sports and the athletes and people who are involved in them. It employs many journalists who cover either their specific sport of interest, and even some journalists who are willing to write on a variety of sports. But what was once a field with little bias is changing. The stories and the way they are covered are now riddled with journalists who are lest interested in facts and more interested in giving their opinion.

One example of this is ESPN's Senior National Columnist Gene Wojciechowski's article about former Tennessee and now USC head coach Lane Kiffin. Wojciechowski was openly critical about Kiffin, and not just about his coaching statistics, but about his personality and character. Saying things like, " If there were a stock car race between all the frauds, egomaniacs and two-faced weasels I've ever covered, Lane Kiffin would have the pole position all to himself." and "Kiffin is and used car salesman with a whistle." Wojciechowski takes issue with Kiffin on a moral level and bashes him throughout the article because he feels Kiffin is morally flawed. He goes past the statistical analysis and published his feelings on the subject.

The same as Wojciechowski, University of Tennessee student Erin Exum wrote an article for ESPN.com titled "Students: Good riddance, Lane Kiffin." She also takes issue with Kiffin's character and attacks how he handled the situation from a biased point of view. In the article Exum calls Kiffin "about as faithful as Tiger Woods." She writes a side of the story that is clearly from her point of view and therefore biased.

Skimming through ESPN magazines and getting on the web site these days one cannot help but discover that a sports world for journalism without bias is becoming non-existent. It is happening in the biggest sporting news medium in the world. ESPN is the standard by which sports reporting and journalism is held to, and if ESPN is leaning towards bias then it is becoming a trend that may be killing old fashioned statistical analysis without bias.