Investigative Reporting in Sports...

I was told in one of my Media Law classes that the art of investigative reporting is slowly dying because of the fact that it is becoming hard to do. The reporters have to fight lawsuits from those they are investigating if what they are investigating is negative. It also involves a lot of time and effort and anonymous sources that reporters have to protect and sometimes go to jail for.

Well in the sports world, investigative journalism is a breath of fresh air and something that ESPN has capitalized on with its shows "Outside the Lines" and its newest one, "E:60".

In "Outside the Lines" they investigate things that happen in sports on a local, regional, and national level. Their topics sometimes include controversies in sports, deaths, new rules that people may not agree with, and recently the presidential candidates appeared on this show talking about their love for their particular sports.

They also take the major sports headlines of the day and cover it with more depth than other shows have done.

In "E:60" they also do investigative reporting but they take it a step further and actually show a round table discussion between the editor and the reporters on why the reporters topic is relevant and why the reporter thinks he/she should cover it. Below is a video where they discuss the controversy over a 13-year-old girl and basketball.



This takes you inside of ESPN's newsroom and also improves the stories that follow the discussion. Below is the actual story called "League of Her Own" about a 13-year-old girl who is the only girl on a all boys basketball team and the controversy that surrounds it.



I think shows like these two add to the overall value of ESPN. Not only can you catch the latest highlights, commentary and opinions on sports related topics but you can also learn about new topics that affect sports on local and national levels.