Trying to be on the Team from the Sidelines

In the sporting world, fans and media members alike tend to get too into the team that they are following and act in a manner that is consistent with a member of the actual team. Getting worked up to the point that biases are created is a terrible form of reporting if you are indeed a member of the media. Not only in sports is this type of behavior exhibited, as shown in an article written by Jeff Cohen on reporting from CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin that shows a bias exhibited towards the United States government.

When discussing tactics that the American government should look to implement, Sorkin uses the phrase "we" which would say that he is a member of the U.S. government and he is just as important in the decision making process as the actual government. As noted by Cohen in his piece, "last time I checked, Sorkin was working for the Times and CNBC, not the CIA or FBI," said Cohen. It is not professional to seemingly get so enamored with a certain organization that your ability to report unbiased content is affected.

Through Sorkin's inappropriate language, it is clear that he is openly trying to associate himself with the U.S. government, which is an example of poor reporting that can be compared to the sporting world. An example of correcting this unprofessional behavior of cheering for an unaffiliated entity is actually found through some of my own personal experience.

When I was a senior in high school, I shadowed a local sports writer. One of the events that we covered on multiple occasions was the local minor league hockey team, which is my favorite hockey team and I have been a fan since boyhood. During a game, the team scored and I openly cheered from my press box location. I was told that was unprofessional behavior and I can't do that again. I was shamed to the point that I have never cheered for something from a press box location ever again, which has now included three years of covering the Cornell men's hockey team. If someone were to ask me about the Cornell team, I would say I am not a fan, but I hope they are successful. At no point would I say the pronoun "we." Hopefully, Sorkin can learn to follow that type of behavior as well in order to increase his credibility.