Sports Illustrated tackles drugs in sports: examining the influence of a seminal magazine series

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1969, author Bil Gilbert wrote a three-part series on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) for Sports Illustrated. Garry Valk, publisher of the magazine, characterised the series as ‘the first comprehensive and authoritative study of a vastly complicated problem.’ This study examined the influence of the Gilbert series on newspaper coverage of PEDs and the reactions of policymakers to both the magazine investigation and subsequent newspaper reporting. Coverage of amphetamines and anabolic steroids increased significantly in the three years following the series, while references to anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers decreased. These patterns reflected an apparent shift from restorative aids to additive substances following the magazine investigation. Additionally, one in three sources cited in Sports Illustrated served as a news source in subsequent press coverage, and some of those sources then testified at government hearings held at the state and national levels. Government hearings on PEDs appeared to function more symbolically than substantively, as did anti-drug campaigns and resolutions in sporting organisations. The study considers implications for sport history and the regulation of performance-enhancing drugs.