ABSTRACT

During the past 2 decades, sports organizations have turned their websites into news portals, a transition that has included hiring reporters to produce stories that often look like the daily output of independent sports journalists. The professional status of practitioners of this form of brand content is still an open debate. Using interview data, this article finds most hired into this role view themselves as journalists, justifying this claim by rearticulating the cardinal journalism ethics of independence and seeking truth to argue for their place in the professional community. These claims represent boundary work, as a new occupational group seeks recognition within the profession of journalism. This finding underscores the continuing importance of an ethical orientation in defining media professions even as occupational boundaries become less clear in digital spaces.

摘要

在过去的20年中，体育组织已将其网站转变为新闻门户，这一转变包括雇用记者制作故事，这些故事通常看起来像独立体育记者的每日产出。这种形式的品牌内容的从业者的专业地位仍然是一个公开辩论。通过使用采访数据，本文发现大多数受雇于这种角色的人将自己视为新闻工作者，通过重新阐明基本的新闻业新闻道德独立性并寻求真相来为自己在职业社区中的地位辩护来证明这一主张。这些主张代表着边界工作，因为一个新的职业团体正在新闻界寻求认可。