CBS Sports is a network that exclusively covers– you guessed it– sports. It’s relatively rare for a CBS Sports article to venture into the intersection of sports and politics, current events, or social issues. Yet this phenomenon does occur from time to time, so it’s important to evaluate the reliability of CBS Sports when such topics are discussed.
Does Reliability Matter?
Reliability, in general, refers to how trustworthy or accurate information, or in this case, a news source is. If we consider this definition, it quickly becomes clear why reliability is important in media sources. If we can’t trust the things we read then there isn’t much of a point in continuing to consume content from that source, after all. So how exactly can we gauge the reliability of a news source anyway?
There are several potential measures of reliability to look out for when trying to determine whether a media source is reliable or not. Red flags for an unreliable article can include wild unsubstantiated claims, facts dependent on other unreliable sources, heavy use of opinionated language, and more. Some indicators of a reliable news source, on the other hand, include things like:
- Absence of subjective/opinionated language in articles
- Credible sources cited (e.g., neutral sources, .gov, .edu websites)
- Facts and statistics backed by multiple relevant outside sources
- Use of primary sources when possible (e.g., interviews, quotes)
- Information that remains consistent across news sources
So How Does CBS Sports Fare in its Reliability?
According to Biasly, CBS Sports has a Source Analysis Score of “Fair.” This means that CBS Sports can typically be trusted, but caution should still be exercised when reading. There’s no way for us to know the extent to which this rating applies to topics of political and social issues, versus sports-related topics alone. Nonetheless, a deeper examination of the network’s coverage is necessary to understand this rating, how it was calculated, and why it’s accurate.
The reliability index developed by Biasly objectively assesses an outlet’s trustworthiness and determines how factual they are. The provided rating is calculated using the weighted average of two different scores: the Fact Analysis Score and the Source Analysis Score, each evaluating separate aspects of CBS Sports’ reliability. Unfortunately, Biasly has not yet calculated a Fact Analysis Score for this network.
Generally, the Fact Analysis Score is more heavily weighted than the Source Analysis Score when calculating the Average Reliability of an article. In this case, however, it won’t be considered because it simply doesn’t exist. Below is an explanation of the Source Analysis Score.
CBS Sports’ Source Analysis Score is ‘Fair,’ indicating that only some of the sources they use in their articles are trustworthy (a majority, but not a very convincing majority). This category is less about CBS Sports’ direct claims and more about the supporting external information they use to back up such claims. This score is based on A.I. and focuses on assessing the quality of sources and quotes used in CBS Sports articles.
It’s important to keep in mind that the previously explained averages are just that– averages. This means that one article could be completely trustworthy while another could be very untrustworthy. The general reliability of CBS Sports varies on an article-by-article basis, as it would for any outlet. Averages are supplied to gauge a broader sense of a network’s trustworthiness.
CBS Sports Accuracy and Reliability
News organizations are often accused of being either left-leaning or right-leaning, and biases like this often dictate the credibility of a source. Fortunately for CBS Sports, they tend to steer clear of such accusations by dissociating with political discourse and focusing on what they initially set out to cover– sports.
With that being said, there are a few articles that deal with the intersection of sports and politics. They will be evaluated in our analysis below. What we already know is that CBS Sports has earned a ‘Fair’ reliability rating, which isn’t necessarily as high as other mainstream networks that cover news and current events, but seems to be consistent with that of other sports-exclusive networks like Fox Sports.
To determine if the reliability rating of CBS Sports is justified, we can evaluate how well the publication supports its assertions with evidence on an article-to-article basis. It’s important to look for any potential selection and omission bias as we assess the articles’ overall factuality.
Selection bias is when stories and facts are selected or deselected, often on ideological grounds, to create a narrative in support of the new sources’ ideology. Omission bias, on the other hand, is when different opinions and political views regarding a situation are left out so that the reader is only exposed to the ideological perspective supported by the author. It’s important to keep in mind these two types of biases when trying to assess an article’s level of accuracy. These concepts will be elaborated upon later in one of the preceding sections.
Biasly rates a variety of different articles from every outlet that they’ve analyzed, looking into the author bias and overall accuracy of each piece. Each article has a reliability score calculated, and in the case of CBS Sports and most other networks, scores vary from article to article. Variations in reliability usually stem from bias, most notably omission and selection bias. Take a look at an example of such variations between articles from one outlet.
One article, titled “Federal Appeals Court Overturns West Virginia Ban on Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports,” was given an overall reliability score of ‘Poor’ by Biasly. Another article, which was published a few months before this one, earned a much higher rating. The piece– titled “Chiefs’ Travis Kelce wishes he could go to the Grammys with Taylor Swift, ‘watch her win every single award‘”– has a reliability score of ‘Fair.’
Clearly, ratings can fluctuate on an article-to-article basis. Admittedly, “Good” isn’t perfect, but it’s a huge jump from “Poor.” The fact that CBS Sports’ average Source Analysis Score is “Fair” indicates that the “Poor” article is more of an outlier than anything else, and shows that the quality of sources, quotes, and link diversity may simply be weaker in these articles, which usually indicate a higher reliable article. Let’s take a moment to consider what fuels these differences in reliability ratings from article to article.
Analysis of Reliability in Coverage From CBS Sports
There are a few different ways to analyze the overall reliability of a network. It’s important to look at the quality of the sources a network chooses to use, the accuracy of the facts they report, and the degree to which they show selection/omission bias. These are all important factors to consider when determining a network’s reliability– let’s expand on each one.
Quality of Sources and Facts Used
Observe the following excerpt from the previously-referenced article on transgender athletes in the state of West Virginia:
“The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a West Virginia transgender sports ban, according to the Associated Press. The federal appeals court ruled that the law violated Title IX, which prevents sex-based discrimination in schools.”
One big takeaway here is the reference to a source. That source is the Associated Press. According to Biasly, AP News is considered to have an overall ‘Center’ bias that leans slightly to the left. AP News’ overall reliability is quite high, but its Source Analysis Score is only “Fair”. In general, they might not be the most trustworthy source. CBS Sports’ inclusion of AP News as a source could be a potential red flag that helped earn the article a “Poor” reliability score.
In addition to AP, the author referenced a few other sources, but didn’t necessarily indicate that he was getting information directly from them:
- West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (Republican)
- The American Civil Liberties Union
- Various policies from other states were referenced as well
One potential red flag could be the overall lack of source citation, beyond the examples previously shown. For example, when the author referenced policies from other states, he failed to cite his sources or include where exactly he was getting this information from. Pay attention to the following quote:
“Over the last few years, nearly half the states in the United States have passed some sort of ban on transgender athletes participating in women’s sports competitions.”
To boost the reliability of this article, the author could’ve included a source for this information, attaching a hyperlink at the very least. Steps like this can be taken to limit questions of unreliability within a network’s content. By not including a source for the information being provided, the author is potentially damaging the reliability of their article. This notion is especially applicable when the network at hand primarily covers sports and rarely addresses politics.
Overall, the number of sources used in this piece is less than ideal and suggests limited reliability.
The facts used in this article appear to be factually correct but mostly lack source citations of any kind. This also contributes to limited reliability. Fortunately for the author and the readers, no misinformation is found in this writing, so while the information provided is correct, its delivery can be improved upon.
In a broader context beyond this particular article, it’s worth considering the potentially biased nature of sources that are included in CBS Sports content. In one of their articles, titled “Ravens vs. 49ers score, takeaways: Baltimore throttles Brock Purdy, San Fran as Lamar Jackson makes MVP case” CBS Sports cited ESPN multiple times as a source. Biasly has given ESPN a ‘Somewhat Liberal’ A.I. score for bias. On the other hand, CBS Sports has also used more conservative sources at times. Another article, titled “Real Madrid overtake Manchester United as the most valuable soccer club in the world, according to Forbes,” featured a citation from Forbes, a source that operates on a slight conservative lean, according to Biasly. Clearly, CBS Sports incorporates sources from both sides of the political spectrum, albeit not frequently enough (for source citation in general).
Selection and Omission Bias
Let’s shift our focus to a different piece. In June of 2023, CBS News published an article discussing the Oakland Athletics’ new advancements toward an eventual relocation to Las Vegas.
The author discusses Nevada politics, putting the rare intersection of sports and politics on full display. It’s important to consider the sources that are being used in this piece, as selection and omission biases are determined by evaluating an author’s choice of sources.
It’s always worth looking into the quotes and statistics that are used in an article, and when you do this for the article referenced above, you may notice some bias. The author, Max Axisa, only includes quotes from those who support this relocation effort. There are two quotes from people aiding the relocation, and no quotes from those who oppose it or tried to resist it. This is a disservice to readers, who aren’t necessarily getting the full picture when it comes to this issue.
“Today is a significant step forward in securing a new home for the Athletics. We thank Nevada Governor Lombardo, Legislative leaders, and Clark County Commissioners and staff for their hard work, support, and partnership. We will now begin the process with MLB to apply for relocation to Las Vegas.
“We are excited about Southern Nevada’s dynamic and vibrant professional sports scene, and we look forward to becoming a valued community member through jobs, economic development, and the quality of life and civic pride of a Major League Baseball team.”
The fact that these two quotes are accompanied by that of resistors– who make up a large chunk of the folks involved with the Oakland Athletics– is a sign of limitation in storytelling. The author fails to tell the full story by primarily focusing on one side of it.
This is an example of both selection and omission bias from CBS News because the author selected sources that reinforce a specific message while omitting those that might conflict with it. Selection and omission bias play a big role in rating a network’s reliability, and with CBS Sports’ reliability rated at just 51%, via its Source Analysis Score, this specific type of bias might be a reason why.
Overall, there are a few different things that we could point to as explanations for CBS Sports’ underwhelming Source Analysis Score. Firstly, there are the sources that they use in their writing. As explained earlier, incorporating sources that have questionable reliability ratings can drag down your own reliability.
When CBS Sports used AP News as a reference– a network that has just a 50% Source Analysis Score– it’s possible that they compromised their reliability to a certain extent. Additionally, any time a source notably omits an important perspective, statistic, or fact, it weakens its reliability. The same logic applies to selecting a disproportionate amount of information from one source or choosing sources that are designed to prop up one perspective over the other. Nonetheless, AP is reputable in many other ways, specifically due to their lack of political lean towards one side or another. They are a news organization, rather than an opinion outlet. There are various perspectives to consider when evaluating the citation of AP News in pieces from CBS Sports.
So, is CBS Sports Reliable?
In theory, because CBS Sports primarily covers sports, implications of unreliability are less severe than if they were a politically relevant network. Additionally, the fact that CBS Sports rarely covers politics makes it harder to give a definite answer on their reliability. It would appear as though their reliability rating is good, but not great. It could certainly be improved upon.
As previously stated, Biasly gave them a rating of “Fair.” CBS Sports is something of an oddity for this type of analysis, due to their overall lack of participation in political discourse. Nonetheless, Biasly’s A.I. technology was still able to rate them. The ‘Fair’ rating is accurate and should always be considered when consuming information from CBS Sports. In general, readers can trust CBS Sports– but only to a certain extent.