Business & MarketsFeatureUpdated 4 days ago

Former ESPN producer Nicole Noren says she left the network over gambling partnerships

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

5 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via The Daily CallerHow images are chosen Report this image

The New York Post, Breitbart News, The Western Journal and The Daily Caller report that Nicole Noren, a longtime ESPN producer, quit the network over its gambling partnerships. Noren is quoted as saying she did not want “blood on my hands” and that she knew she was out when ESPN entered the gambling space in 2023. The Guardian reports that Noren says ESPN sidelined investigations into sports betting companies and that her pitches about gambling firms and addiction were not greenlit. These accounts come from Noren’s own statements, including an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, and the outlets attribute them to her.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

New to Mantle? It shows who is covering each story across the political spectrum, and highlights loaded words. How to read a storyHide the guide

The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

Nicole Noren, a longtime ESPN producer, says she quit the network in protest.
Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian
Right
New York Post
Far Right
Breitbart News, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller
Noren says she left after ESPN partnered with or moved into sports gambling.
Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian
Right
New York Post
Far Right
Breitbart News, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller
Noren is quoted as saying she did not want “blood on my hands.”
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
New York Post
Far Right
Breitbart News
Noren told the Guardian that her pitches on gambling companies and addiction were not greenlit.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
Noren says ESPN sidelined investigations into sports betting companies as gambling partnerships reshaped its priorities.
One outletThe Guardian· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that Nicole Noren, a longtime ESPN producer, left the network over its gambling partnerships. The right’s headlines lead with her quotes and the network’s betting ties, while the left’s piece centers on stories she says ESPN did not pursue.

the left
1 outlet
The Guardian’s headline and standfirst frame the story as an investigative-journalism question about stories Noren says went untold, and its excerpt says gambling partnerships are “warping” coverage.
The ESPN producer who quit over gambling – and the stories she says went untold
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
3 outlets · 1 opinion
Headlines lead with Noren’s quotes and the network’s betting ties; the far-right outlets go further, saying ESPN “embraced” or “partnered” with betting firms, while the Post frames it as a protest.
Longtime ESPN Producer Nicole Noren Quit After Network Partnered with Gambling App: 'I'm Not Going to Have Blood on My Hands'
Breitbart NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left1
warping
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right4
bombardedEmbraced Sports Bettingembrace of sports gamblingKeep Gamblers Hooked

In the outlets’ own words

Loaded verb
bombardedMore neutral: seen many
The verb describes ads as an overwhelming assault, which adds drama to a matter of ad exposure.
If you’re a sports fan in 2026, you’ve undoubtedly been bombarded with all manner of gambling ads.
Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)
Loaded verb
Embraced Sports BettingMore neutral: Partnered With Sports Betting Companies
The verb suggests enthusiasm for betting rather than a business partnership with betting companies.
Veteran ESPN Producer Quits After Network Embraced Sports Betting: 'Not Going to Work for a Gambling Company'
Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)
Loaded verb
embrace of sports gamblingMore neutral: partnerships with sports betting companies
The word embrace suggests enthusiasm for gambling rather than a business decision to partner with gambling companies.
A former ESPN producer said Wednesday she quit in protest of the network’s embrace of sports gambling.
Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)
Sensational language
Keep Gamblers HookedMore neutral: Industry insiders discuss gambling customers
The phrase asserts a deliberate intent to addict customers, a claim the excerpt does not establish.
(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Audio Reveals How Industry Insiders Keep Gamblers Hooked) “I was out,” she told CRJ.
Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

Loaded verb
warpingMore neutral: changing
The excerpt describes partnerships as damaging coverage (“warping”) rather than changing it, a judgement the reporting it summarizes does not establish.
…used her own experience to shed light on the way sports betting partnerships are warping sports media coverage.
Used byThe Guardian (Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

stories Noren says went untold
ESPN sidelining gambling investigations
partnerships reshaping coverage priorities

Leaves out

Noren’s “blood on my hands” remark

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

The GuardianLeft
The ESPN producer who quit over gambling – and the stories she says went untold
Nicole Noren says ESPN sidelined investigations into sports betting companies as gambling partnerships reshaped the network’s priorities Earlier this week, investigative journalist Nicole Noren did something almost impossible for someone who has spent her career behind the …
4 days agoRead at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

her “blood on my hands” quote
ESPN’s gambling partnerships
network embraced sports betting

See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

The Daily CallerFar Right
Former ESPN Producer Says She Resigned Over Sports Gambling
“My brothers were pretty much destroyed by sports gambling addiction”
6 days agoRead at The Daily Caller (opens in a new tab)
Breitbart NewsFar Right
Longtime ESPN Producer Nicole Noren Quit After Network Partnered with Gambling App: 'I'm Not Going to Have Blood on My Hands'
Nicole Noren, an award-winning longtime ESPN producer, revealed that she quit the network when it partnered with a sports gambling app.
6 days agoRead at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
New York PostRight
Why longtime ESPN producer quit in protest: Didn’t want ‘blood on my hands’
Nicole Noren, a former ESPN producer of 24 years, explained that she knew she "was out" when the Worldwide Leader entered the gambling space in 2023.
Oct 14, 2026Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
The Western JournalFar RightOpinion
Veteran ESPN Producer Quits After Network Loaded verb“Embraced Sports Betting”The verb suggests enthusiasm for betting rather than a business partnership with betting companies.More neutral: Partnered With Sports Betting CompaniesDisagree with this highlight?: 'Not Going to Work for a Gambling Company'
If you’re a sports fan in 2026, you’ve undoubtedly been bombarded with all manner of gambling ads. It is, for better or most likely for worse, an inextricable part of
6 days agoRead at The Western Journal (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
2 days 11 hr later
Its first report, Oct 17, 4:00 AM EDT
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
First to report
New York Post, Oct 14, 5:00 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

New York PostRightOct 14, 5:00 PM EDT
Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 14, 11:13 PM EDT
The Daily CallerFar RightOct 15, 2:59 PM EDT
The GuardianLeftOct 17, 4:00 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Former ESPN producer Nicole Noren says she left the network over gambling partnerships

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

The ESPN producer who quit over gambling – and the stories she says went untold

From the center

From the right

Former ESPN Producer Says She Resigned Over Sports Gambling

Longtime ESPN Producer Nicole Noren Quit After Network Partnered with Gambling App: 'I'm Not Going to Have Blood on My Hands'

Why longtime ESPN producer quit in protest: Didn’t want ‘blood on my hands’

How the coverage built up

Read next

Zuckerberg considered leaving California over a proposed billionaire tax

Australian data center operator NextDC shares fall after cutting earnings forecast

Witkoff meets Putin in St. Petersburg; Kremlin says it is ready for three-way talks

Officials warn of critical PHP flaws, prompting some websites to go offline

Polling firm Wedgewood admits its midterm polls were fabricated