If you’ve been following Olympics coverage, or know someone who is, you’ve likely heard about Algeria’s Imane Khelif. The bronze medalist in women’s boxing’s name — and biology — were the subject of a flurry of headlines after she defeated Italy’s Angela Carini last week. The Trans Journalists Association compiled a few: The Daily Mail described Khelif as “biologically male” in its headline. The Boston Globe headlined its story, “Transgender boxer advances.” The Telegraph’s chief sports writer said that Carini was “sent into harm’s way.” Reuters wrote that female athletes who go through “male puberty” have a “clear advantage” that can present “a serious safety issue.”

But, as TJA pointed out in a recent critique, Khelif isn't, to public knowledge, either transgender or intersex. Khelif herself hasn't commented on the challenges to her eligibility.

The omission of this context — along with the fact that the International Olympics Committee has already certified Khelif can take part in women’s boxing — is another failure of mainstream media to report critically on gender in sports, as newsrooms prioritized speed over accuracy. 

In a new essay published Monday and republished by The Objective, members of TJA urge this moment to be a lesson for journalists — to think through the implied biases that accompany assumptions around “fairness” associated with some genetic advantages, and how and when the playing field should be leveled. 

There’s a long history of female athletes deemed “too masculine,” with a racial component to the scrutiny: Like Khelif, many are Black or brown women from the Global South. And similarly, it’s unclear what modern sex testing in sports actually aims to measure, as the book The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness and the Making of Modern Sport points out.

“What rules do we want to govern sports, and what outcomes are we trying to encourage?” TJA members write. “These aren't journalism's questions to answer — but they should be ours to ask.”

Read the republished piece written by members of the Trans Journalists Association on The Objective.

— James Salanga

Wall Street Journal still can’t confirm claim it made about Palestinian relief organization: In January, the WSJ used reports from Israeli military officials to allege that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East had 10% of its staff linked to militant Palestinian organizations. That reporting resulted in the U.S. and over a dozen countries freezing a total of $450 million meant for UNRWA. But WSJ reporters have since then tried and failed to corroborate that claim, Semafor’s Max Tani reports. Read the story in Semafor.

Fallout over Bloomberg breaking embargo on Evan Gershkovich release: After over a year, Gershkovich, a WSJ reporter detained in Russia for espionage charges in March 2023, returned to the United States in a prisoner swap. But it wasn’t his newsroom that broke the story first — it was Bloomberg, which broke an embargo to do so. Despite an editorial process involving multiple people, the organization chose to lay the blame at reporter Jennifer Jacob’s feet, firing her. Further accountability processes for other people involved in the story have yet to be announced. Read the story in New York Magazine and Jennifer Jacob’s statement here.

Crooked Media staff stage one-day walkout after over a year of failed negotiations: More than 95% of the 61-member bargaining unit pledged to walk out, and are asking for competitive salary minimums, annual cost-of-living adjustments and protections against layoffs. The walkout came less than a week after a Bloomberg feature story examining the fissures in the media company that oversees Pod Save America, among other products. Their goal was to reach a contract by August 8. Read the story in The Hollywood Reporter.

Game Informer, longest-running U.S. gaming magazine, shutters: The magazine’s staff were all laid off August 2, and online archives from the magazine — which first began publishing in 1991 — now redirect to an official company statement about the shutdown not written by anyone on the magazine’s team. The magazine, a property of GameStop, is the latest casualty in video game journalism and job-cutting measures meant to reduce costs. Read the story in Kotaku.

Asian American Journalists Association releases update to style guide: The affinity organization said the guide update has been two years in the making. Special Initiatives and Communications Manager Yi-Shen Loo says the update — and guide in general — is not meant to be static, “because how we describe and define our communities evolves over time.” The guide is dedicated to the late Henry Fuhrmann, a longtime editor and AAJA member. Read the announcement on AAJA’s site and find the style guide here. 

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