Ronda media blackout demands new journalism
Since word of Ronda Rousey’s fight week media blackout got out after the UFC announced its heavily reduced schedule of…
Since word of Ronda Rousey’s fight week media blackout got out after the UFC announced its heavily reduced schedule of media events before UFC 207, there’s been lots of private and public grumbling from fans and media members alike. It’s natural for fans to wish for more Ronda during fight week leading up to her return title-challenge against Amanda Nunes.
Members of the media would be well advised to measure their whining, however. Sure, a Ronda appearance at a press conference is good for page views, but great journalists aren’t stymied much at all by a lack of official PR events.
Press conferences and media scrums aren’t quality engagement experiences, and the best stories from them usually come from reading between the lines. So, Ronda Rousey isn’t doing pre-fight interviews with beat media or a press conference…so what?
It matters, sure, but mainly because we’re seeing the major conflict of interest in her talent agents (WME-IMG) also now being her promoter play out in real time. I’m actually in favor of Rousey or any other fighter being able to negotiate terms they feel are better for them, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth remarking that Rousey is being allowed to do something that Nick Diaz got pulled from a title fight for doing.
Heck, Conor McGregor was pulled from UFC 200 after merely asking a media tour get pushed back a few weeks. McGregor is a guy who once flew from Vegas to Connecticut to do an interview for the UFC, while cutting weight during fight week, and that’s how he was repaid.
Beyond pointing out the UFC’s lack of integrity or consistency, and how it highlights a serious conflict of interest with its new ownership, or pointing out that it’s a shame Amanda Nunes is being stripped of publicity opportunities by the UFC, there’s not a whole lot for media members to complain about. I’ve even heard good journalists claim that without Ronda Rousey doing open workouts or a pre-fight press conference, it makes the trip to Vegas pointless.
That’s silly.
A journalist who has followed the sport and Rousey for any length of time should be capable of doing good work with either her presence or her absence. A sudden hard stance against fight week media events from the most overexposed MMA fighter in history is striking and can thoughtfully be put in the context of her overall career to help readers understand where she may be at, psychologically, right now.
It is unlikely that any beat press would have gotten valuable conversation out of Rousey from a stilted press conference with the usual how was your training camp? Tell us about your movies? Why are you so great? Why did you lose? type questions, anyway.
For a resourceful journalist there’s always a story to tell and there’s always a way to tell that story. The modern archetype for crafting an important, insightful feature profile on an inaccessible subject is Gay Talese’s 1966 Esquire Magazine story Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.
Talese had the rug pulled from underneath him after flying from New York to Los Angeles when the singer decided he could no longer meet with him for a sit-down interview at the last minute. Talese still used skilled reporting and source-working to produce a fantastic feature that managed to get readers inside Sinatra’s head and world without even meeting the man.
It’s hard to imagine a journalist like Talese griping on a twitter account after his official PR interview fell through, and flying back home to New York without filing a story. There’s always an angle, if you know what you’re doing.
Take, for example, Ariel Helwani. Amanda Nunes wasn’t scheduled to attend any official media events this week, so Helwani simply caught up with her in a hotel room. The result was perhaps the best on-location interview done this week, with Nunes revealing a great deal and letting fans into her experience, on the eve of her first title-defense.
If interviewing isn’t your thing, quality reporting can still be done. Robin Black took a technical approach in breaking down Amanda Nunes’ keys to victory in yet another of his great videos.
Later, Black also gave a valuable account of a sudden skirmish that broke out this week between UFC 207 opponents Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt. Black does his homework and shows up – so he always produces interesting and useful work for fans.
Some of that is being at the right place at the right time, but not much. What is really necessary is for media members to know what they’re looking at, whether it’s a fight, or an interpersonal interaction.
This brings us to Johny Hendricks. The embattled former welterweight champion missed weight once again this week before his UFC 207 contest against Neil Magny, but before that he spoke with media members at the Ultimate Media Day scrums organized by the UFC.
One particular scrum of Hendricks is probably the most misunderstood interview of this week. Right afterward the headlines abounded, scandalously describing Hendricks as strange-acting, testy and short-tempered.
Yes, Hendricks was irritable. Yes, he once again missed weight.
Yes, the two are likely connected. Why shouldn’t have he been irritable?
Hendricks was at the hardest point of what would be another tough, failed weight-cut, and forced to talk to media for hours on end. The fighter gave good insight into the brutal process for anyone willing to listen – He was plain and pretty clear, if you could see through past his thick beard and Johny-speak. He didn’t want to be there because it’s hard to deal with the same questions over and over, just days before weighing-in. He pleaded for a bit of empathy and rightly pointed out that when it comes to weight-cutting, most journalists are big on opinions and low on first-hand knowledge.
A good writer can do something with that type of honesty from an interview subject, even if they don’t agree with them. Instead, fans mostly got Hendricks was grumpy! leads.
The fact that so many media members and outlets think that a fighter being grumpy during a weight cut is news just illustrates their ignorance and lowers their credibility with athletes.
Hendricks got a tad grumpy but he didn’t close-off. If it were me in his shoes, I probably would have left.
The opening question Hendricks got was basically, Are you washed-up or not? So, while dehydrating severely, with his back against the wall after losing three out of his last four, Hendricks was essentially asked, in public, are you still any good?
The question is fair, I guess, but it isn’t the type that is likely to get any type of thoughtful response. In journalism, especially in public settings like scrums or press conferences, there’s wanting to ask the question, and then there’s wanting to get an answer.
The former type of interviewer is thinking about their asking the question as an end-goal. The latter type of interviewer considers getting a good, interesting, open and honest reflection on a topic from the interview subject the goal.
We all know ways of talking to others that will either prompt them to clam up or open up. For a good interviewer, especially in relatively trivial matters and subjects, getting a subject to open up is more important than the world seeing them ask a tough question.
Scrums generally aren’t good settings for good answers. Talking about sensitive subjects during a period of most intense physical and mental stress isn’t easy, but it’s possible.
Beyond that, the real opportunities for journalists during PR events like scrum media days is talking to fighters, their families, and teams on the way to and from the hot seat, away from cameras. It’s in those moments that we can get valuable insight, perspective, and tidbits to share with readers and viewers later that can help frame stories and fights.
The rules are pretty simple.
Know what you’re watching by knowing the sport. Establish professional contacts so you have good sources for stories which give you good insight into a fighter’s world that you can then relay to the public.
Then, work those sources constantly. Try to keep your word to earn and keep trust.
Sources don’t have to like you to respect you, and you don’t have to like them to listen to their side.
But if you’re doing your homework, make yourself as accountable and accessible as you demand others be to you, and work hard, you’ll probably come up with more good questions than bad, get more open answers than tight-lipped responses, and give your reader or viewer a more full picture of the world they’re trying to learn about.
About the author:
Elias Cepeda has served as a writer and editor covering mixed martial arts and combat sports, as well as public and cultural affairs, since 2005. He began as a staff writer for InsideFighting, and not long thereafter became publisher and editor of the page. Cepeda then went to write for Yahoo! Sports’ boxing and MMA pages, and edited their Cagewriter blog. He was hired away by FOX Sports, but after several years departed over philosophical differences with the executive leadership around important issues of journalism ethics. A student of and sometime competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA since 1999, Elias brings a unique and vibrant presence to reporting, and enjoys trying to highlight shared humanity and connect common experiences from seemingly different worlds.
We are honored to announce that Elias will be writing a weekly column for The UnderGround.
