No cheering for the press box: The stereotypes of sports journalists in film

Narrative analysis of ten films shows that sports journalists are shown mostly in a negative light. While many sports journalists in film simply do their jobs, most films observed in this study portray sports journalists as unethical and immoral. Criteria for this study were based on guidelines of ethical behavior established by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. These negative stereotypes of sports journalists in film include journalists eager to take quotations out of context; those who are arrogant, insensitive, and uncompassionate invaders of privacy; and people openly rooting in the press box. Above all, this negative stereotype of sports journalists in film is that of a freeloader. Films provide these images in a time when journalists are suffering from a lack of credibility and honesty in the public's mind. These negative stereotypes help undermine ethical advancements made by sports journalists and the public's trust in journalism.