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We’ve seen a few stories emerge over the last few weeks in the NASCAR world that have made some wonder, including myself, how far is too far?  It seems that some have set aside ethics and the principles of responsible reporting in exchange for page views.  If you follow the sport closely, and are active on social media, you know which stories I’m referring to.  I realize that many writers do so professionally and that page views pay the bills, but at some point a line needs to be drawn.  There is a very clear difference between reporting actual news and pandering to voyeurs.

I know some of you may find this shocking, but as much as you love your favorite drivers, it’s important to remember they are not perfect humans.  Everyone has made mistakes, and everybody has problems.  But just because they are race drivers and somewhat public figures, it shouldn’t automatically mean that what goes on in their personal lives is news.  They have their right to privacy just like you and I do.  Some have shown they’ve forgotten this.

Being a part of the NASCAR press corp means spending a great deal of time at the race track and getting access to a lot of players.  Along the way, these folks will be privy to information and stories that should never see the light of day.  All the talk, gossip, and rumors they hear can be compelling, but they have absolutely no place in print anywhere.  It’s been made clear that some cannot handle the responsibility of their access.

Coming from a communications and journalism background, my partner Journo knows these issues well.  As part of our conversation about me writing this post, Journo shared with me the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.  If you do any writing, it’s a document you should become familiar with.  Under the section entitled “Minimize Harm,” one particular statement stands out to me:   “Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.”  In a few of these recent cases, this absolutely did not happen.  The curiosity that some have was used to shamelessly drive traffic to websites and gain the writers notoriety.  And that’s wrong.

In the position we are in, we’ve often been asked to provide information or comment on situations regarding drivers personal lives and things that happen away from the race track.  In all cases, we’ve politely declined.  Yes, we are connected and yes, we are anonymous.  But what we do is more about giving you an inside look at the sport and providing news and commentary about the competition, than it is about becoming NASCAR’s version of TMZ.  We just flat out won’t do it.

In the end, I’m really disappointed by what we’ve witnessed.  This is one of those cases where the platform that technology affords some people turns ugly.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely lost a great deal of respect for those who chose to report on these items.

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“Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.”

Take that in and think about it. Now do the same with this:

“Abide by the same high standards to which (you) hold others.”

Both of those were pulled from the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. It’s the general rules/guidelines many professional journalists strive to follow (most can recite the core tenets from memory). With the NASCAR press corps though that’s not always the case.

Consider the following: after Trevor Bayne crossed the finishline at Daytona there was celebration in the press box and media center (for obvious reasons I won’t say whether I was in either place at the time). Then following that, there was applause and many handshakes in Trevor Bayne’s post race press conference.

I can’t say I was surprised – especially given the press corps. Apparently others were though as there was some discussion about it last week and a rebuke from the current president of the National Motorsports Press Association, Rea White. I wasn’t planning on weighing in – I figured I do enough pontificating about journalism ethics on this blog.

Then came the news today that Sports Illustrated fired their NASCAR freelancer Tom Bowles. Presumably his celebrating at Daytona played a role. The kvetching of a few has now turned into, as Dave Moody termed it, “ClapGate.”

Now I’m not going to kick Bowles while he’s down. For what it’s worth I haven’t always agreed with him and have been more than a little disappointed by some of the stuff he’s chosen to write about – one of the reason’s behind Eddie Pardue’s job loss last season, for instance – but I’m not going to applaud anyone losing their job.

Bowles went on his website Tuesday to explain his firing and complain about the environment. Amidst the piece, he made some good points. He wrote:

It’s a place where the “official” media claim to follow the rules, then give us their opinion seconds afterwards on verified Twitter accounts while hanging “off the record” with the athletes they cover during the week.

I completely agree there is hypocrisy in condemning someone for expressing emotion at an event, and then going online and expressing the very thing they condemn. One is a physical manifestation of opinion, the other is the written form.

We can’t look at this profession though (and I’m not necessarily saying Bowles did or does) and say, “well others are doing it, so that justifies me doing it.”

Journalists must hold themselves to a higher standard. This is, after all, the fourth estate, even if it’s the fourth estate in NASCAR. And though it’s absolutely true opinion and bias exist in everything we do and in every decision we make, effectively and responsibly tempering that opinion in order to maintain credibility goes with the territory.

Therein lies the problem here. And unfortunately for Tom Bowles, Sports Illustrated has staked out it where it stands.

I’m not really sure what will come of all this. Maybe nothing. I just hope there aren’t any shortsighted, knee-jerk decisions by the powers that be. We’ll see what happens.

If you want to read more about this, check out:

It Started with A Cheer (The Daly Planet)

Ten good reasons for a very good rule (National Sports Journalism Center)

Why I didn’t cheer at the end of the Daytona 500 (JayBusbee.com)

If you’re looking for Ask The Insiders, check back on Thursday.

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