I can't speak for ESPN or the broascast media. I can tell you the rules under which I play when I write.
If I'm there in a professional capacity, everything said is on the record unless we mutually agree beforehand that it is not. If I hear it, see it or learn it, it's up to me and my superiors whether or not to write it. If is has news value, meaning we think folks need to or will want to read about it, we're writing it.
If I'm there in a personal capacity, as I am when I watch my children, everything is off the record, regardless of what I hear, see or learn. And I will not allow myself to be a source for any story in this way. In fact, this year I asked that a booster club meeting I attended go to executive session just so I could ask a question that came from a media mind, but a parent's heart. I did it so the answer was off the record not only for me, but everyone else.
I'm not saying this to do advocate any chest-beating morality. And I know some folks will disagree with my rules. But I write this to give folks a sense of what is at play in this discussion about my profession.
If you come away with the belief that a journalist's job often stinks, you're right.