El Rigor de la informació esportiva. El tractament de vuit esportistes musulmanes als Jocs Olímpics de Londres 2012 des de la perspectiva de l'ètica periodística

Abstract

London 2012 marked a milestone in the inclusion of sportswomen from Muslim countries which had never before sent female athletes to the Olympic Games, the most prestigious international mega sports event. The participation of these women opens up new possibilities for evaluating the quality, accuracy and completeness of their coverage in the international press. By applying qualitative content analysis to a sample of three quality newspapers The Guardian/The Observer (UK), The New York Times (USA) and El País (Spain) this paper examines the treatment of eight Muslim sportswomen, finding that compliance was made with the basic principles set out in the professional ethical codes. In particular, rigour and depth of coverage were observed in contextual aspects of their participation, including the political, social and economic situations of their respective countries. It was also found, however, that mechanisms such as sensationalism, stereotypes and trivialisation of sporting qualities still persist.