Reuters withdraws two articles on anti-doping agency after arranging Masters pass for source

Reuters has withdrawn two doping-related news stories after learning that one of the news organization's employees helped arrange for an official to get a media credential to see the Masters golf tournament this past spring.

The news organization said that it stands by its reporting on the stories, but said they violated standards “as they pertain to avoiding the appearance of bias in our sourcing.”

The Times of London, which first reported the story, said a Reuters journalist helped arrange for James Fitzgerald, media representative for the World Anti-Doping Agency, to attend the Masters on a media credential. Reuters said the journalist who admitted to helping Fitzgerald had left the company before it was made aware of the situation when contacted by the newspaper.

“We have no evidence that the tickets were rewards for tips and remain confident of the accuracy of our stories,” Reuters said.

The appearance is damaging enough, said Kathleen Bartzen Culver, a media ethics expert and director of the journalism school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

“You've given the source a really strong incentive to give you not just information but whatever kind of information you want,” she said. “There is a very good reason we don't pay sources for information. The reason is the source would feel they have to please us in some way.”

The stories, one that originally moved on the Reuters wire on Aug. 8 and the other on Sept. 13, touched upon a rivalry between WADA and one of its fiercest critics, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

USADA said it was thankful that Reuters had withdrawn its August story, and said it had complained to the news outlet of inaccuracies in the story about the U.S. anti-doping agency's use of informants before it had been published.

Responding to an email The Associated Press sent to Fitzgerald, the general WADA media relations department and WADA director general Olivier Niggli, Fitzgerald said WADA had no “quid pro quo” arrangement with Reuters to provide story tips in exchange for favors, like the Masters tickets.

He said that although the Reuters stories were withdrawn, it was noteworthy that the news outlet stands by its reporting.

“My attendance at that event in April was unconnected to my role at WADA and was a personal matter,” Fitzgerald said. “All related costs were paid for entirely by me and I was there on my own time.”

Reached by the AP, Augusta National — which runs the Masters — said it had no comment on the matter.

Tickets to attend the Masters as a spectator generally cost around $140 a day, but they're among the toughest in sports to get. Many are allotted through a lottery where odds are roughly 200-1 against getting chosen. Some “select badge patrons” are able to purchase tickets for life.