When sports journalism is not so Olympic
By Rosarita Cuccoli, PhD, Professor of Sport Sociology and Sociology of Journalism,
University of Verona, and Member of the Scientific committee of Sport and Citizenship
The Olympics ought to represent the pinnacle of sports journalism, showcasing the profession at its highest level. Well, the otherwise successful Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 did not seem to bring any luck in that regard.
Danika Mason, a prominent Australian sports reporter, appeared on live television on February 19 seemingly drunk as she stumbled over her words while presenting the day’s sports events from Livigno. Social media clips of her report rapidly went viral. The next day, Mason took full responsibility and apologized to viewers, saying she should not have had a drink. She also suggested that the chilly weather, high altitude, and skipping dinner might have contributed to the incident. Reactions on social media were divided. Some viewers questioned why she still had her job while others even found it amusing and definitely not a career-ending episode. In a radio interview with Nova Melbourne, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “pro-Danika”.[1] The debate broadened to encompass the overarching standards of sports journalism, particularly in the context of international events such as the Winter Olympics.
Incidents also occurred involving the Italian state broadcaster, RAI. On February 6, Paolo Petrecca, at the time head of RAI Sport, served as a last-minute commentator of the Opening Ceremony. Auro Bulbarelli, the original commentator, was replaced after disclosing a surprise event involving Italian President Sergio Mattarella during the ceremony. Petrecca’s litany of on-air gaffes during his commentary went viral and caused national embarrassment. At the very beginning of his broadcast, Petrecca welcomed viewers to the Stadio Olimpico – “Buonasera dallo Stadio Olimpico” – while the ceremony was taking place at Milan’s San Siro. Although San Siro was indeed hosting an Olympic event, which may explain the mix-up, the Stadio Olimpico is notably in Rome. He introduced singer Mariah Carey when Italian actress Matilda De Angelis was in fact on stage and after realizing who it was, he called her “Matilde”. Then, when the camera fixed on President Mattarella, Petrecca said the president’s daughter Laura was applauding beside him while the woman in the frame was Kirsty Coventry, the president of the International Olympic Committee. Petrecca also faced criticism for employing national stereotypes in his descriptions of certain teams. Petrecca handed in his resignation as head of RAI Sport and the commentary of the Closing Ceremony was given back to Bulbarelli.
A new gaffe at RAI involved the presentation of the Israeli bobsleigh team on February 21. Before coverage of a bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics, viewers heard an off‑air remark advising producers to avoid the Israeli crew – “Evitiamo l’equipaggio numero 21, che è quello dell’israeliano” (Let’s avoid crew 21, which is the Israeli one) – before the sound was cut off. Israel’s ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, firmly condemned the statements and RAI was forced to apologize.
Before this series of incidents involving sports reporters from different countries, we were fresh off the announcement in early February that the Washington Post would eliminate its sports desk in its current form as part of mass layoffs involving around one-third of its staff. Matt Murray, the newspaper’s executive editor, reportedly said the Post intends to cover sports as a cultural phenomenon. The fact that sport is indeed a cultural phenomenon does not soften the impact of the decision: it probably makes it worse. The Post’s sports section, which had been in place for over 100 years, was widely regarded as one of the nation’s finest, hosting famous sportswriters like Shirley Povich, John Feinstein, and Sally Jenkins, to name but a few. The Washington Post is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who acquired it from the Graham family for $250 million in 2013. George Solomon, the longtime Washington Post sports editor (1975-2003) and Red Smith Award winner, called the end of the Post’s sports desk a disaster.[2] Just before the start of Milano Cortina 2026, the journalists who had already booked the trip were informed by email that the newspaper would not send a contingent to Italy, breaking a long-standing tradition of on-site Olympic coverage. The Washington Post eventually reversed the decision and sent a small team of journalists to the Winter Games.
Not too long ago, in July 2023, the New York Times announced that the newspaper would no longer have a stand-alone sports desk. The daily sports coverage of games, leagues and players was now to come primarily from The Athletic, a subscription-based online sports news outlet acquired by the New York Times in 2022.
The question arises: what is happening to sports journalism? This question is ever more relevant as sport now holds unprecedented economic, financial, political, and media influence. It is also an era in which sports teams are increasingly controlling their own narratives through in-house reporting and websites.[3] Under the current circumstances, one would logically anticipate an upgrade, certainly not a decline of sports journalism.
The blanket to legitimate all sorts of content restructuring, or restructuring tout court in media outlets, is the rapid evolution of the media ecosystem. The digital disruption had undoubtedly posed major challenges to the existing media, forcing to reimagine traditional business models. However, the media’s societal function has not changed and whether for private or public media, civic responsibility is intrinsically part of the media product itself. This primarily applies to legacy media, since the new platforms evidently have other priorities.[4] The killing of contents, whether through poor quality or the dismantling of popular newsroom departments, often leads to the killing of “the brand value” of the journalistic product altogether. To quote Steve Sachs, managing director, U.S. at the Guardian, which has just expanded its sports desk with new permanent roles: “Sports is one of the strongest drivers of habit and loyalty”.[5]
[1] Radio interview transcript, February 19, 2026: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/radio-interview-nova-melbourne-2
[2] Barrett, Paul. «George Solomon on Washington Post layoffs: A triumph for the bad guys». APSE, February 5, 2026. https://apsportseditors.com/george-solomon-on-washington-post-layoffs-a-triumph-for-the-bad-guys/
[3] On the rise in in-house sports teams and its implications for sports journalism, see: Buzzelli, Nicholas R. 2025. Normalizing the Sports Journalism Niche: Coexisting in a Modern News Landscape. Communication, Sport, and Society, Vol. 12. Peter Lang; and Cuccoli, Rosarita. 2025. «The multiple and coexisting lives of sports journalism». Review of Normalizing the Sports Journalism Niche: Coexisting in a Modern News Landscape, by Nicholas R. Buzzelli. Oxford, Oxon: Peter Lang Publishing, 2025. 200 pages, paperback. (https://idrottsforum.org/cucros_buzzelli251216)
[4] On the civic responsibility of the media in a changing media ecosystem, see Syvertsen, Trine, Karen Donders, Gunn Enli, and Tim Raats. 2019. « Media Disruption and the Public Interest: How Private Media Managers Talk about Responsibility to Society in an Era of Turmoil ». Nordic Journal of Media Studies 1 (1): 11‑28. https://doi.org/10.2478/njms-2019-0002
[5] « The Guardian expands its sports desk with key hires before 2026 World Cup in North America». January 23, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-us-press-office/2026/jan/23/the-guardian-sports-desk-key-hires-2026-world-cup
