Reuters has deleted two stories about the World Anti-Doping Agency after learning the reporter helped a WADA official get Reuters media credentials for The Masters.
In a statement to Front Office Sports, Reuters said the reporter is no longer employed by the agency. FOS reported that one of the articles was written by Steve Keating, who also filed reports from The Masters.
“A journalist who no longer works for Reuters has acknowledged that they helped a representative of WADA obtain a Reuters press credential for the 2024 Masters Tournament, a violation of our journalistic standards,” a Reuters spokesperson told FOS. “Consequently, we have withdrawn the stories ‘Athletes Undercover? Global and U.S Anti-Doping Agencies Clash Over Tactics’ and ‘WADA renews call for USADA to get tougher on testing.’
“While we stand by the accuracy of the reporting, Reuters standards for newsgathering were not met, specifically as they pertain to avoiding the appearance of bias in our sourcing.”
The Times of London reported the WADA’s director of communications, James Fitzgerald, received free passes for the tournament. He was still employed by the agency as of Thursday morning.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has been at odds with the WADA over enforcement issues, praised Reuters’ decision specifically to delete the “Athletes Undercover?” from August, which alleged the USADA had used undercover informants. The USADA had requested Reuters not publish the story, citing “biased sourcing.”
“We are thankful Reuters has withdrawn its story from August 2024 regarding USADA’s use of informants after investigating the sourcing of its information and finding that it did not adhere to the company’s ethical principles against bias,” the USADA said in a statement. “This is the first time in USADA’s 24 years of existence that we’ve seen a major news outlet withdraw an entire anti-doping story based on biased sourcing.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.