Interesting leaked e-mail from DeadSpin here: http://deadspin.com/leaked-memo-bleacher-reports-top-eight-ways-to-not-pi-1109282118
A tipster passes along the following email sent around to Bleacher Report's MMA writers last year. It was written by Jeremy Botter, a lead MMA writer for B/R who also covers the fights for the Houston Chronicle. There is some good advice here (don't publish random bullshit!) and some weird advice here (don't ask Dana White about his mom!) but the most interesting advice has to do with all the things you shouldn't cover and the ways you shouldn't cover them if you don't want to get blacklisted by the UFC. (It may be worth noting that the site you're reading has been blacklisted.)
These kinds of understandings drive all sorts of journalism, in sports and elsewhere, but they're especially powerful in the fight game, where promoters are much more aggressive than most about using the threat of denying access to quash stories they don't want covered. You usually don't see them spelled out so explicitly, though...
- Don't delve too deep into Zuffa financials. This goes for fighter pay, revenue, money donated to political campaigns. This is Dana's biggest pet peeve. Because they are a private company, it's almost impossible to verify actual financial numbers for any of these subjects. Even if you have two good sources verifying your information, there are still a lot of things they do behind the scenes that makes it a really tough subject to get right...
-Nothing pisses Dana off more than people talking about Zuffa's financials and getting everything wrong. There is literally no way to grasp everything they do with their money, so there's no point in trying to speculate...
This is a very good way to piss them off and find yourself blacklisted. Stay away from it...
-Don't bust out a question about a controversial topic in the middle of a press event designed to promote a certain fight card...
-Each and every day, the UFC PR team prepares a "morning report" consisting of articles from all major newspapers and MMA websites...
-You're always being watched. I don't say this to scare you...
(Read the rest at DeadSpin here)
Much of this is essentially a guide to professional journalism.
The Piece about Loretta Hunt is on the money. When she wrote about backstage passes turned out to be total fiction. Dana's meltdown and awful choice of words allowed her to escape without too much criticism about her shoddy journalism.
Just for the record, I don't disagree that there are solid points here (ie: not printing unverafied rumors), but other items are questionable.
Are you sure that journalists working for the BBC, CNN or major newspapers don't press political leaders, corporations or other subjects of news on issues? Are you sure that they are instructed/coached on how to avoid controversial subjects (be they unsafe working conditions, bribery scandals, sex scandals, corruption, etc)?
Is Lance Armstrong immune to being asked certain questions because they would upset him? Or Bill Clinton, Don King, Mike Tyson, Anthony Weiner, etc etc etc?
Brian J DSouza -
Just for the record, I don't disagree that there are solid points here (ie: not printing unverafied rumors), but other items are questionable.
Are you sure that journalists working for the BBC, CNN or major newspapers don't press political leaders, corporations or other subjects of news on issues? Are you sure that they are instructed/coached on how to avoid controversial subjects (be they unsafe working conditions, bribery scandals, sex scandals, corruption, etc)?
Is Lance Armstrong immune to being asked certain questions because they would upset him? Or Bill Clinton, Don King, Mike Tyson, Anthony Weiner, etc etc etc?
It does not say to avoid them, it says to not bring them up during a fight press conference and that you should ask afterwards.
Here is the complete point:
"Don't bust out a question about a controversial topic in the middle of a press event designed to promote a certain fight card. Wait until after the press conference ends. Dana usually does a media scrum, and that's the best place to ask those types of questions. Save your questions for the right moment and you'll find that Dana is very accommodating."
That wasn't the point I was addressing. Was referring to this, "Don't delve too deep into Zuffa financials. This goes for fighter pay, revenue, money donated to political campaigns."
Honestly, the only one that sounds iffy is the hands-off policy towards Zuffa's financials.
I guess the one about Dana's mom could be considered iffy, but honestly, why would you ask questions about his mom if you already know they are irrevocably estranged? What more is there to know? Dana's mom thinks he is the devil (literally) and he wants nothing to do with her. End of story.
The rest is just sound journalistic advice.
Brian J DSouza -
That wasn't the point I was addressing. Was referring to this, "Don't delve too deep into Zuffa financials. This goes for fighter pay, revenue, money donated to political campaigns."
That one I will give you.