LA Times Ethics Guidelines, 10/25/05

From their document, under the category of "Financial Investments:"

"The Times, like many newspapers, for years has allowed its sports writers to participate in voting for baseball's Hall of Fame, college football's Heisman Trophy and national rankings in college sports, among other areas. Participation in these polls creates possibilities for conflicts of interest. Similar issues arise in the arts when journalists are invited to vote for awards and prizes in film, literature and other fields.

In general, it is inappropriate for reporters to vote for awards and rankings; doing so could reasonably be seen as compromising their objectivity. For critics, whose job is to express opinions on the merits of creative works, awards voting is less troublesome.

Nevertheless, any staff member invited to vote for an award must first receive the permission of the managing editor. No staff member who votes for an award -- whether in sports, the arts or any other area -- may be part of the paper's news coverage of that award."

• It sounds like they don't want sports reporters writing books about players they cover WHILE COVERING THEM AND VOTING FOR THEM IN THE BBWAA POST SEASON AWARDS:

" Journalists may not work for people or organizations they cover or who are regular subjects of the paper's coverage."