Reuters withdraws two articles on anti-doping agency after arranging Masters pass for source
Reuters has retracted two doping-related news reports after learning that one of the news organization’s employees helped arrange for an official to receive a media credential to attend the Master’s golf tournament last spring.
The news organization said it stands by its reporting on the stories, but says they violated its standards “as they relate to avoiding the appearance of bias in our purchasing.”
The Times of London, which first reported the story, said a Reuters journalist helped ensure James Fitzgerald, media representative of the World Anti-Doping Agency, could attend the Masters on a media certificate. Reuters said the journalist who admitted helping Fitzgerald left the company before it was informed of the situation when contacted by the newspaper.
“We have no evidence that the tickets were a reward for tips and remain confident in the accuracy of our stories,” Reuters said.
The appearances are damaging enough, says Kathleen Bartzen Culver, an expert in media ethics and director of the journalism school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“You’ve given the source a very strong incentive to give you not just information, but whatever information you want,” she said. “There is a very good reason why we don’t pay sources for information. The reason is that the source would feel like they have to please us somehow.”
The stories, one originally published via Reuters on August 8 and the other on September 13, focused on the rivalry between WADA and one of its fiercest critics, the US Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA said it was grateful that Reuters had retracted its August story, saying it had complained to the news outlet about inaccuracies in the story about the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s use of informants before it was published.
In response to an email sent by the Associated Press to Fitzgerald, WADA’s general media relations department and WADA director general Olivier Niggli, Fitzgerald said WADA did not have a “quid pro quo” arrangement with Reuters to provide story tips in exchange for favors, such as the Masters tickets.
He said that although the Reuters stories were retracted, it was notable that the news outlet stood by its reporting.
“My attendance at that event in April was separate from my role with WADA and was a personal matter,” Fitzgerald said. “All associated costs were fully paid by me and I was there on my own time.”
Reached by the AP, Augusta National – which runs the Masters – said it had no comment on the matter.
Tickets to attend the Masters as a spectator generally cost about $140 a day, but they are among the hardest to get in the sport. Many are allocated through a lottery, with approximately a 200-1 chance of not being chosen. Some ‘selected badge customers’ can purchase tickets for life.
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AP Sports Writers Doug Ferguson and Eddie Pells contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him up http://x.com/dbauder.