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Photo by James Brosher

Athletics Department communications director J.D. Campbell (left) listened to Herald-Times reporter Chris Korman during a panel discussion, "Covering IU Sports."

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Journalists want to cover IU sports to serve to their readers’ demands. While answering to their fans’ and alumni demands, IU Athletics must adhere to NCAA rules as well as protect its players’ privacy. Sometimes, the two factions clash as they try to cater to their audiences.

The School of Journalism hosted a panel discussion Thursday, “Covering IU Sports,” to address the working relationship between athletics department officials and area sportswriters.

Among the panelists in the Indiana Memorial Union Maple Room were Bruce Jaffee, IU Faculty Athletics representative; Tim Fitzpatrick, IU deputy athletic director; J.D. Campbell, IU director of Athletics Communications; Chris Korman, Herald-Times sportswriter; Michael Sanserino, Indiana Daily Student managing editor; and journalism associate professor Owen Johnson, a member of the IU Faculty Athletics committee.

Panelists addressed how they could best work together and on whom the responsibility of accurate coverage should fall. An audience of area journalists, writers, students, and School of Journalism staff and instructors included Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg; Bob Hammel, who covered IU sports at the H-T for three decades; Bonnie Brownlee, associate dean for undergraduate studies at the School of Journalism; and several IDS reporters.

The panelists agreed that new forms of media such as blogs and chat rooms have moved sports reporting into a new phase. Fitzpatrick said that it is a difficult time for the athletic department’s communications officers.

Photo by James Brosher

Panelists J.D. Campbell, IU athletics communication director; Chris Korman of the Herald-Times; and Michael Sanserino of the IDS listened to comments from the audience.

“Blogs and chat rooms have accelerated the pace of responding to stories,” Fitzpatrick said. “As stories are now expected to be more newsworthy and to be churned out more quickly, it means depriving reporters of quality research time. We need to ask ourselves, ‘Where does this information come from? Is it valid?’”

Blogs such as Peegs.com often break stories or report information that appears to be unsubstantiated. This pressures sportswriters to address this information, either by checking it out or discounting it, and they often seek corroboration from the athletics department.

“When stories are not based on research but anonymous sources, is that journalism?” asked J.D. Campbell. He described the challenges of handling the media and protecting student athletes’ privacy. Blogs may announce information or rumors about players, but Campbell’s office can’t correct the information or comment on the rumor because of players’ privacy.

“Parents do expect us to protect the privacy of their kids,” Campbell said. “When private information gets leaked out, it may lead to NCAA regulations violations. The NCAA regulations are quite complex matters, and we would try our best to abide to them.” Campbell said those leaks may come from the department’s own staff, during casual chats with friends or as deliberate tips to bloggers.

Photo by James Brosher

Tim Fitzpatrick, IU deputy athletic director, expressed his concern about bloggers and leaks.

Johnson said while uncontrollable forms of media such as blogs and chat rooms can help to generate more publicity, they can pose problems in sports coverage due to the complex regulations governing sports.

Campbell agreed with Johnson and cited an example of how the department does not allow media to have any contact with student athletes during the recruitment process due to NCAA rules. During last month’s Hoosier Hysteria scrimmage games, some high school students involved in the recruitment process attended the game, and the department asked that no one interview the players because of those NCAA rules.

Korman said that it is the media’s job to report on what’s happening, and that the department cannot expect reporters not to talk to student recruits. Journalists’ obligations are to their audiences, not the NCAA, several reporters in the audience and on the panel said. This puts them at cross-purposes with the athletics department, which often cannot share information because of NCAA rules.

The NCAA has imposed recruiting restrictions from the violations during former men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson’s tenure.

“The NCAA is going to be much more vigilant,” Campbell said. “The department has to do its part to be NCAA compliant.”

From the audience, Laura Lane, Herald-Times reporter and adjunct lecturer teaching J341 Newspaper Reporting, disagreed with Campbell.

“Is that not your job to ensure that accurate information comes from your department, so that the media can deliver accurate and timely stories?” she asked.

Photo by James Brosher

IDS managing editor Michael Sanserino (left) listened to journalism associate professor Owen Johnson, who talked about the complexities of NCAA rules and media access to athletes.

Campbell replied that problems usually arise due to reporters’ trying to get information the department is not supposed to reveal, such as student athletes’ injuries. He cited a case where the father of a student athlete called him and demanded that the department not mention that his son’s broken bones. Campbell said that sometimes sports coverage puts his department in a difficult position.

Gena Asher, School of Journalism Web editor and adjunct lecturer at IU, asked Campbell how student writers who do not represent any organizations can get access to athletes for their class reporting, how they could build relationships with the department. Campbell replied that students are most welcome to contact the department to get information or to attend their press conferences.

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