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Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events. Sports journalism has grown in importance as professional and amateur sports have grown in wealth, power and influence as well. Within some newspapers at times, the sports department has been sometimes mockingly called the "toy department," because sports journalists concern themselves with games rather than 'serious' topics like politics, crime, business, etc. Sports journalism still may not be considered the most important product of a news media organization, but it is an essential product, and the sports journalism industry includes organizations devoted entirely to sports reporting — magazines such as Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News, all-sports talk radio stations, and sports television networks like ESPN — as well as many other news media that devote personnel and resources to covering sports. Sports teams are almost always very accommodating to sports journalists, allowing them into locker rooms for interviews and providing extensive information support, even if reporting is unfavorable to them. Major League Baseball still gives many print journalists a special role in its baseball games: They are named official scorers and can make judgment calls about certain aspects of the score that do not affect the final disposition of the game. Sports stories often transcend the games themselves and take on socio-political significance; Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball is an example of this. Modern controversies regarding the compensation of top athletes, the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, and the cost to local and national governments to build sports venues and related infrastructure, especially for the Olympic Games, show that sports still can intrude onto the news pages. Sportswriters face much more deadline pressure than most other reporters, because sporting events tend to occur late in the day and closer to the deadlines many organizations must observe. Yet they are expected to use the same tools as news journalists, and to uphold the same professional and ethical standards. They often must be very careful about showing any bias for or against any home-town team. Sports journalists usually must also gather and use voluminous performance statistics for teams and individual athletes in most sports. Many of the most talented and respected print journalists have been sportswriters. (See List of sports writers.)
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