By Mike Sando
The News Tribune
Published: 12/14/2006
Excerpt:
... The three-year-old NFL Network, owned by the league, bills itself as the fastest-growing cable channel with 41 million subscribers.
The network offers football 24/7, from highlights, news and analysis to coverage of the scouting combine, draft, Super Bowl week, college all-star games, press conferences and more.
NFL Network began carrying live games last month as part of a six-year arrangement featuring eight regular-season games per season. ...
... The NFL Network's game schedule is the latest step in the league's push to cover itself. Teams are hiring current and former journalists to provide content for their Web sites. ...
... "We don't have editorial police at the league," [Kim Williams, chief operating officer for NFL Network] said. "We don't have an editorial-review process at the league; we have an editorial-review process within the network. …
"Our philosophy is rooted in credibility."
Is that possible when the reporters draw their salaries from their subjects? Media ethicist Bob Steele expressed concerns.
"It is problematic for the league to be covering itself," said Steele, who serves as Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. "One of the core principles in journalism is independence. Ideally, the journalists covering a story are not connected to the story in a direct way."
More of this article...
Search Google News for more quotes by Bob Steele...
