Sports journalism between doping allegations and doping evidence. The coverage of Lance Armstrong in Italian newspapers

The use of performance-enhancing drugs, or doping, is an issue that goes a long way back in the history of sport, and its debate is of paramount importance in sports journalism, especially in cycling journalism. This article aims to analyse the way in which Italian sports journalists deal with the problems raised by the issue of doping in their work. Presented here are the results of a qualitative research study on two daily newspapers (the Corriere della Sera and la Repubblica) concerning their coverage of Lance Armstrong, probably the most controversial cyclist of the last twenty years, because of his talent, success and involvement in doping. The research shows that the issue of doping illustrates perfectly the need for a balance between strict and rigorous reporting of events, and the passionate dimension of sports reporting, which is one of the main challenges that sports journalists face every day.