ESPN Public Editor Jim Brady in his most recent filing noted the net has "issued new political and election guidelines for its employees that, while allowing for political discussion on the network’s platforms, recommend connecting those comments to sports whenever possible." The new policies also "provide separate guidelines for ESPN staffers working on news and those engaging in commentary." The timing of the release of the election guidelines is a "bit unusual -- such guidelines are rarely released right after a presidential election." ESPN VP/Global Digital Content Patrick Stiegman said that no single issue or incident "led to the change." He said that the "buzz around the topic of ESPN and politics" and the perceived leftward tilt "didn’t play a significant role in the revision of the guidelines." The two most "notable changes from the Political Advocacy policy are the delineation of guidelines between news and commentary, and allowing for increased political discussion on ESPN platforms, as warranted and connected to sports." Brady: "This isn’t a surprising development, it’s just new." Below are examples of some of the new guidelines being implemented.
- Those directly involved in "hard" news reporting and related coverage "should refrain in any public-facing forum from taking positions on political or social issues." Brady noted this is where the "potential for problem exists." ESPN news reporters "tweeting political opinions from their own social accounts would technically violate this policy." How "effective this policy is will depend on how hard executives choose to look at social media."
- Commentary on "political and social issues is OK" outside of "hard" news reporting. In this sector, Brady noted ESPN seemingly has gone from, "It's dangerous out there, so probably best to stay home" to "It's dangerous out there, so here are some tools to best keep you safe" (ESPN.com, 4/4).
