The Media's Role as a Tool for the UFC

by Michael Rome on Dec 23, 2008 8:50 AM EST in News Comment 27 comments

Forgive the rambling nature of this piece, but I have a number of tangentially related thoughts I want to pull together. I warn you ahead of time, this will be a long one.

Tonight on Countdown to UFC 92, Dave Meltzer of Yahoo Sports appeared in the final segment and made comments on the Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson fight. At first glance, there is no problem with it. He is the top journalist in the sport and made educated comments on a historic feud many fans in the United States know little about. On the other hand, his appearance was on a show completely designed to hype UFC storylines and sell pay per view buys. This is not an objective show like MMA Live; it is a show produced by the UFC with the sole purpose of driving a company-approved narrative home to fans in order to get them to purchase a show.

Is it appropriate for a prominent member of the MMA media to appear on such a program? I don't know the answer, but I have a feeling that if Dave raised any questions about the appropriateness of this fight given Rampage's recent history, they would not have made air.

In his interview with David Samuels, Lorenzo Fertitta made an interesting comment about the UFC's relationship with the media. He said:

Beyond that, we have our PR department. And it’s not just about going and hiring a PR firm and saying go do this for us. We have it in-house. We want to build the relationships in-house, we want to know these people. Every other sport just hands everything over to a network and says you guys do whatever you want with it, we’ll have some input or whatever but HBO rolls in and does boxing. Even the NFL.

The major networks roll in and they just do everything for them. We do everything. And one thing about Dana that has made us very successful—he is passionate and meticulous about the product, and he gets how the product should be, and how that needs to resonate with the consumer.

The message is loud and clear: they want to shape the consumer's view of their product. Who doesn't? They have every right to do it, but a robust press would resist that function.

I don't mean to pick on Yahoo sports, but the structure of the bi-weekly articles Kevin Iole writes tell the story better than I could. I am not talking about his ideas about the sport, just the structure of the articles. They are primarily designed to hype upcoming shows and events, rather than to react to, predict, or analyze events. The article on Rachelle Leah is the clearest example of what I am talking about:

Leah, who will return to her old job for one more night when she shared the duty with Arianny Celeste at UFC 90 on October 25 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Ill, is a lot more than another pretty face.

Yeah, she's Playboy's November cover girl, which will hit newsstands on Friday. She was the UFC's most popular octagon girl and she just signed a deal as a spokesmodel with Anheuser-Busch.

While none of those jobs require a degree from Harvard, it’s selling Leah short to believe she’s making a living solely from her looks. She is brash and thoughtful and introspective and witty and plenty crafty.

All of this may be true, but I can't read a column like that without realizing that the only possible reason to write it is to promote sales of Rachelle Leah's playboy issue. I'm sure he believed everything he wrote, but it is still the kind of thing that usually comes out of PR departments, but instead it is coming from independent media sources. It's not just Yahoo either.

The blogs and opinion centers are banned from covering the UFC for a number of reasons, some legitimate, some illegitimate. As a result, it is up to those with access to use that access to bring news and insight to the masses. Steve Cofield routinely does a great job with it, and Dave Meltzer does too. Kevin Iole has done well too by bringing us news on undisclosed bonuses and slamming the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter.

I think the greatest harm from restricted access and the UFC's media strategy is latent bias. Many fans accuse Kevin Iole of being a UFC shill, but I think that characterization is completely wrong. What shill would bash The Ultimate Fighter the way he did on Steve Cofield's show? Instead, it comes off that way because he is new to MMA, and his views of the sport have been influenced in large part by Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta. When he takes their side in a dispute or sounds like he has a pro-UFC bias, it is not as if he is a pravda columnist doing it intentionally. That really is his opinion, it is just shaped by people who are far from objective.

To wrap this up, I don't fault the UFC at all for their strategy, it makes perfect sense from their end. It's up to media members to assert independence and refuse to be used as a free PR department.

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his appearance was on a show completely designed to hype UFC storylines and sell pay per view buys. This is not an objective show like MMA Live; it is a show produced by the UFC with the sole purpose of driving a company-approved narrative home to fans in order to get them to purchase a show.

It’s not a big deal for Iole to appear on a UFC funded program, as he is a well known, and respected MMA journalist. If he decides to be too much of a UFC homer, then he will only risk damaging whatever reputation he may have. If that happens to be the case, hopefully there are lots of dollar signs behind it.

Bottom Line: It’s OK to do UFC hype shows and fluffy Playboy centerfold pieces, as long as he doesn’t ignore the important stories and reports them withot bias.

by nitro on Dec 23, 2008 4:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Fair enough, I’m pretty split in my view of Dave being on the show.

As far as the columns, they are weekly UFC press releases essentially.

by Michael Rome on Dec 23, 2008 4:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did you see the segment of that new Yahoo “show” with Dave and Kevin where they discuss the fighter of the year? Iole comes through and picks Thiago Alves, who is a very legitimate contender. But Meltzer somehow picks GSP, a guy who won two fights he was supposed to win, and they even discuss Anderson Silva, whose only real memorable win was against Henderson. So basically it was UFC-only talk (they even mentioned Lesnar) and they ignored arguably the top two candidates:

Eddie Alvarez, 4-0 for the year with two big wins and the chance to get another one vs. Aoki. Went from not even in the picture at LW to consensus top 3.

Gegard Mousasi, 6-0 for the year, all via submission or stoppage, another guy who came out of relative obscurity to become one of the elite.

by smoogy on Dec 23, 2008 5:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

To be fair they both picked non-UFC fights for match of the year. I think GSP is a fair pick, he won his belt back and then utterly dominated the number 2 fighter. I know Dave does his year December to December so he is also counting the Hughes domination.

by Michael Rome on Dec 23, 2008 5:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah

And the UFC’s high level of autonomy when it comes to production, branding etc. is just another of the many cues they have taken from McMahon and the WWE… but when you look at how well UFC does on PPV when they get it right, you have to think ultimately thats a limiting factor. They want to sell their product on their terms, and that doesn’t mesh with the idea of a network or premium channel like HBO, outlets which are in the business of covering sports. On Spike it works because UFC is wears the pants in the relationship.

by smoogy on Dec 23, 2008 5:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

PPS

Its always fun to watch Dana White roll through Toronto and do all the Canadian sports networks before a big PPV. They all line up eager to fluff him, especially Sportsnet and The Score.

by smoogy on Dec 23, 2008 5:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If Meltzer thought his remarks were being mishandled in someway, I might have an opinion. Iole used to have a more prominent showcase on these countdowns if I remember correctly. When it is just Dana, Rogan, and Iole separation between promoter and media can be lost. With the show’s focus on more of the fighters’ lives including more imput from trainers and family, however, little time is left for framing into any Zuffa narrative by the media sources they bring in.

I felt it was largely inconsequential.

Did you know we are in high demand, Laura?

by Eugene Schelfaut on Dec 23, 2008 5:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yahoo! is also the online PPV provider for the UFC, so Yahoo! has a stake in selling the show as well.

Did you know we are in high demand, Laura?

by Eugene Schelfaut on Dec 23, 2008 5:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That’s a good point. It wouldn’t even be a big deal except that they basically have a monopoly on UFC media access.

by Michael Rome on Dec 23, 2008 6:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/2/21/143224/320

by Luke Thomas on Dec 23, 2008 10:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it’s thought provoking articles like this that keeps BE at the front of the field in the MMA blogging world. keep the great work up, Rome.

by Ronnie Liddle on Dec 23, 2008 6:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hope I'm folling the topic correctly...

Here in AUS there has been a trend in the media this year to create news articles and stories funded by interested parties: A mortgage firm funding a story about how it’s a great time to buy real estate. A Brokerage firm encouraging a story on ‘Now is the time to buy shares’ etc etc.

The worst part is these ‘news stories’ are buried right alongside legitimate current affairs and only someone with a critical eye would ever notice they are actually just advertisements parading as news articles.

It seems the media is happy to prostitute themselves with no ethical issues anymore.

by Benicio on Dec 23, 2008 6:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Generally speaking, the media writes articles in to hype releases, events and whatnot.

Ever notice the local paper containing an article about a band the week they play the town?

Most magazines are full of peices that serve only to raise the profile of folks so they can sell their latest book, film, CD, television show, play…you get the idea.

Athletes don’t pop up just to bs, they appear to promote.

I respect the MMA journalistic community, but it is hardly unbiased. There are quite a few folks whose slate I can predict before reading a word of the peice.

by Lynchman on Dec 23, 2008 7:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

All of this may be true, but I can't read a column like that without realizing that the only possible reason to write it is to promote sales of Rachelle Leah's playboy issue

Maybe he is “hittin that” and that is the reason for the story?

by dnevil001 on Dec 23, 2008 7:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Media and PR

Industry as a whole has been using media for years to bring attention to “their” product weather it is an automobile review by a large newspaper or a IT rag performing a laptop computer review. Large companies use PR firms to obtain these placements and reviews. I do not see why MMA or the UFC would be any different? By the way great article!

by Rxcrider on Dec 23, 2008 8:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

"It's up to media members to assert independence and refuse to be used as a free PR department."

I do not really see this issue as media members being used as a free PR dept. Each one of these guys gains large notoriety because of these stories given to them by the UFC. So they seem to benefit plenty as well. Like Rxcrider said above, this happens in every industry in the business world. Of course, we would all love for BE and other sites to get unlimited access so we can have more info but that rarely happens.

by dnevil001 on Dec 23, 2008 8:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Meltzer being on the show is a non-issue…

Have you seen countdown shows for boxing?

Should Sugar retire from journalism?

Every sport and business on earth has control over media protocol…

Someone should start a blog on Football and then try to get credentialed with the NFL.

UFC wasnt started on tax payer money or via votes by citizens. Even the white house controls media access.

Next start a blog on politcs and then try to get credentialed…

by mmalogic on Dec 23, 2008 8:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The White House does not have nearly the same amount of control over the narrative of what’s reported that the UFC does over their product. The two are universes apart.

And while some blogs don’t get to be assigned to the White House or credentialed there, there are political blogs and bloggers who do get credentialed.

by Luke Thomas on Dec 23, 2008 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Most of that is due to the massively higher public scrutiny people in the white house are under. A certain lessening of the control of information is worth the public image.

by iiowyn on Dec 23, 2008 11:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The White house is paid for by the people for the people and responsible to the people…

And they still control who gets credentialed/access which was my point

by mmalogic on Dec 23, 2008 5:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, while I agree the broad question you ask has a lot of merit. I’ve seen bias in every media outlet at one point or another. Even at this very site. Everyone has some kind of agenda. Even so called unbiased journalists. It’s just human nature.

Dana will freeze anyone out if they’re not “following the program.”

Concerning the particular point of the Countdown show, even HBO’s 24/7 uses respected journalist’s opinions if those opinions happen to mesh with the feel of the show.

by iki on Dec 23, 2008 9:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I have a problem...

I only have a problem with Meltzer or Iole appearing on the show if they are spitting a bunch of stuff that’s completely and utterly subjective. It’s their job to remain objective in their views, and for the most part, they’ve been perfectluy capable of bashing the UFC on issues they deemed ridiculous, i.e. Fitch fiasco, Ultimate Fighter ridiculousness.

If Meltzer wants to talk about the rivalry between the two fighters, give a historical background on the fight, that’s fine and if the UFC wants to show that, okay. If Meltzer was on their basically giving me a “QVC” pitch to buy the card, I’d have a problem.

Rome points out a big point that a lot of fans have argued in the past. Articles having things stuffed in between the real meat of the article that promote the UFC or UFC brands. The Playboy issue insert is a bit ridiculous. Why have it? That’s the reason why many fans consider Iole a shill.

But I want to point out one thing…. Iole does scream shill at times. But what journalist who covers the UFC can honestly sit there and write PRO-UFC stuff all day long. You can’t because all promotions within this business do questionable things to remain popular or remain profitable.

Sure, TUF is a joke to most hardcore fans and Iole was critical of the show. Fact is, you can hate it all you freaking want. It produces some ratings and some stars regardless of the ridiculous shit they do on the show. Iole and anyone who actually loves this sport are going to object. Does this make Iole not a shill? I don’t think so.

Do I think Iole is a shill? No, but I do believe he sways toward a pro-UFC view at times when there is obviously something that has upset a vast majority of the MMA community. That’s when he gets labeled the shill.

I’m all for opinions, but sometimes I question whether the UFC has him on speeddial to throw their damage control into the fire.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Dec 23, 2008 11:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

In fairness to Iole, when was working for the Review-Journal in 06, he wrote an article
covering the UFC vs Boxing pay structure and wondered why some of the UFC fighters were receiving the short end of the stick vs boxers if the UFC were bringing in nearly the same amount of revenue if not more than boxing. This article didn’t go to well with Dana, and went on a tirade with Iole after reading the article. Lot of “F” bombs were dropped during conversation and Dana ended up explaining to Iole that the fighters make more than what was listed on the commission sheets

by The Bronzeville Bully on Dec 23, 2008 11:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I understand that Iole does have a sense of objectivity when it comes to the UFC, but he’s also happy to toot the pro-UFC view more times than not.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Dec 23, 2008 11:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Here’s to hoping for a more objective MMA media. The more fact based it is, the better the UFC looks.

by subo on Dec 23, 2008 12:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Is it appropriate for a prominent member of the MMA media to appear on such a program?

In this case, I think so because this is an outside company producing the countdown shows The producers, maybe, wanted some who can give an objective and historical analysis on the Rampage-Silva feud. Out all the MMA media, Meltzer is the most credible one for to speak on this

by The Bronzeville Bully on Dec 23, 2008 12:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I Agree, Yahoo does give UFC favorable PR

I noticed months ago Yahoo has taken a very friendly stance with UFC. Being a PPV provider is one reason, another reason is Yahoo has put a lot resources into their sports department to find revenue they desperately need. Yahoo’s biggest advantage over all other major news and sports providers is they have embraced MMA, done so early and worked to keep it prominent in their sport section. Staying in the good graces of UFC is a move to keep them ahead of the competition.

I don’t think any journalist on Yahoo is a shill but you do see editorial intervention by that department controlling talking points. If Dana White has a criticism about another promotion it’s usually included in Yahoo’s write up piece for that event. However, you look at the build up between Couture vs Lesnar and Yahoo published several, several articles discussing and building that fight. What was not mentioned in those pieces was the loud criticism debating whether Brock Lesnar had paid his dues to earn that title fight . . . at least it should have been mentioned that gripes existed in the MMA community. Obviously, that footnote goes into hurting sales and not building but was a big enough issue to at least earn a brief mention.

UFC has found the perfect partner in Yahoo. The company has major media leverage but is also cash strapped with limited avenues to generate revenue. The fact that they draw a paycheck from UFC makes them a special client.

by bignerd on Dec 23, 2008 5:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs