Poll finds 40 percent of sports reporters gamble on sports

[As The Crow Flies]

Hmmmm. Interesting.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004008552

 

[kleeda]

Hmmmm. Interesting.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004008552

More like ... disgusting.

 

[As The Crow Flies]

Yeah. That's probably a better word. There's levels to this, though. A prep writer betting some money on the NFL isn't that big of a deal, at least to me. Betting on the sport you cover obviously is.

 

[Drip]

Nothing new here.

 

[Twoback]

Forty percent of sports reporters admitted in a recent survey to gambling on sports, while 5% said they had bet on sports they had covered.
----

This is where the old headline tense thing can be a little misleading.
How is the question phrased?
"Have you ever gambled on sports?" is different than "Do you actively gamble on sports?"
I know a guy who has placed some NFL bets in Vegas, but that person doesn't cover the NFL, and his activitily would consist of fewer than four bets in the past decade. Would that person be included in the 40 percent?

 

[Walter_Sobchak]

A few things:

1. I'm not sure what to think of the survey's title: "Sports Coverage: Toy Department or Public-Service Journalism."
2. If you're a beat writer for the Lions, is it unequivocally wrong to place a bet on the Super Bowl?
3. Is it wrong for NFL/MLB writers to participate in fantasy football/baseball leagues for money?

 

[imjustagirl]

1. Does this include horse racing?
2. Does this include pools in the press boxes/media centers?
3. Does this include NCAA tournament pools?

I mean, there's all kinds of gray area here.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

That number is incredibly low.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

most sports writers who bet on sports they cover, if not the teams, probably lose a lot more than they win. dr. z put this in perspective a few years back.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/dr_z/10/13/betting/index.html

 

[BTExpress]

It's good that sports journalists are highly compensated so that throwing money down the toilet doesn't really matter.

 

[beardpuller]

I'm surprised and not too sure I believe this, depending on, as others have said, how the question was worded.

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

Other findings: 53% had considered quitting the sports beat at one time; 93% were satisfied with their job; and 74% believed they had a good job future.

I don't think they surveyed anyone on here. And I would love to know the papers they took this poll from.

 

[clutchcargo]

I'd bet 10 bucks that 40% figure is a tad high.

 

[Rockbottom]

Can I tease it down a couple points?

RB

 

[playthrough]

I'm not convinced the gambling numbers of the sports reporter population are greater than Joe Sixpack sports fans. No way. Many more fans think it's a beatable game than reporters, who see crazy sh*t week after week and know better. Or they learn to know better after a dalliance with gambling in their young'un days, when they didn't have a mortgage and a kid and figured sports betting was a good 401(k). Not that I knew anyone like that.

 

[JackReacher]

Can I tease it down a couple points?

RB

NICE!

God, I love football season, mainly for fantasy football and gambling purposes. Always have. Always will.

 

[rpmmutant]

93% were satisfied with their job; and 74% believed they had a good job future.
I'd bet $100 these two stats are incredibly inaccurate and destroy any credibility the polls might have.

 

[slappy4428]

1. Does this include horse racing?
2. Does this include pools in the press boxes/media centers?
3. Does this include NCAA tournament pools?

I mean, there's all kinds of gray area here.

4) Does this include fill in the grid and be assigned random squares?

I mean, technically, I gamble. I play squares, I have, on occasion, run press pools -- including a pick-team and spread, one-person per number pool one year for a Michigan-Duke game in the Fab Five era that had people picking Duke by 22 just so they could get in on action. And I run an NCAA tourney pool that people here have participated in.
So yeah, in that aspect I gamble.
Do I use a bookie? I can count the number of times on one hand... with fingers left over.

 

[imjustagirl]

That's my point, slappy. I've never placed a bet with a bookie, never bet on an NFL game, etc. I've played media center pools on NASCAR (pick the top 3 racers, lowest total points wins) and played NCAA pools and bet on horse races. Don't know if that's what they're talking about or not.

 

[rpmmutant]

I used to go to Las Vegas three times a year: New Year's (for bowl games), Super Bowl and Final Four weekend, which happened to coincide most years with opening day of baseball. The primary reason for going to Vegas was to bet on games. I don't see what the big deal is. Gambling's legal in Vegas, I'm of legal age to gamble; what's the big deal.