ABSTRACT
The increasing commercialisation of sport means investigative and watchdog-style sports reporting remain critical elements in the field. In an environment now dominated by ‘big sport’ business, there is a need for transgressions to be exposed, including highlighting how both public and non-public finance are being utilised. While sports newsrooms have reduced in many Western nations due to digitalisation over the past decade, pockets of investigative journalism – and general day-to-day watchdog reporting – remain despite the difficulty of long-term projects that take reporters away from their daily focus of breaking news, previews and match reports. However, sports journalists still speak about the importance of critical watchdog reporting that holds sports, clubs and athletes to account for their decisions.
There are many examples of sports journalists exposing corruption at the highest levels, such as in FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, or revealing match-fixing scandals, as well as consistent chronicling of drugs and doping across sports from cycling to Australian rules football. Sports organisations and newsrooms have often worked together, including in a promotional role, but throughout the history of sport, investigative reporting has been an often-neglected but essential feature. This chapter will provide an overview of the importance of investigative reporting in sports journalism, with a focus on Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
