A good shop has editors who are doing their best to make sure the business and editorial firewalls stay strong and that standard passes down to their reporters... but most bloggers and “reporters” don’t have any journalism training to begin with and their outlets recognize they’re not in the journalism game... but I think the real issue is the audience doesn’t give a fuck about media being in bed with the promoters...so if the audience isn’t going to hold you to account, what’s the point from the businesses’ perspective?
"When fewer media outlets, with broader coverage areas and a diverse pool of direct advertisers created certainty of profits clear-cut ethical lines were easier to draw. Media is now a meat grinder. Even if coverage ethics are unchanged, the steps to maintain the unambiguous appearance of propriety are not in budget for most in the space."
Matthew Yglesias has a recurring point that what people referred to as 'media ethics' was actually a business model that could only exist when outlets had power and prestige due to operating little monopolies. Back in ye olden times television, newspapers and magazines not only wanted to project a respectable image but they had large audiences that promotions needed to reach. That gave outlets more power to demand certain priviledges without accepting quid pro quos that would undermine their coverage i.e. you advertise for us because you need our audience, but we get to write what we want or we get our free seat at ringside to cover the sport but we write what we want. The problem with that model is that it rested on the power of the outlets and they just don't have that power nowadays. They no longer have their own little monoplies because the internet encourages every legacy outlet to compete with each other for search traffic and they all have to compete with new amateur sites, but the promotion itself can now reach over their head. Weaker outlets are less able to push back at the promotions, and of course they are less able to bankroll what is an expensive line of work. So the people who want to survive in the combat sports media space as a full-time professional have to do things that 10 to 20 years ago would've been unthinkable - whether it be moonlighting covering other sports because they get attention for your personal brand, working for the promotion in an official capacity, or just taking unseemingly perks because they help the figures add up.
A good shop has editors who are doing their best to make sure the business and editorial firewalls stay strong and that standard passes down to their reporters... but most bloggers and “reporters” don’t have any journalism training to begin with and their outlets recognize they’re not in the journalism game... but I think the real issue is the audience doesn’t give a fuck about media being in bed with the promoters...so if the audience isn’t going to hold you to account, what’s the point from the businesses’ perspective?
I blurbbed your article.
https://www.masonpelt.com/being-broke-is-changing-ethics-in-journalism/
"When fewer media outlets, with broader coverage areas and a diverse pool of direct advertisers created certainty of profits clear-cut ethical lines were easier to draw. Media is now a meat grinder. Even if coverage ethics are unchanged, the steps to maintain the unambiguous appearance of propriety are not in budget for most in the space."
Matthew Yglesias has a recurring point that what people referred to as 'media ethics' was actually a business model that could only exist when outlets had power and prestige due to operating little monopolies. Back in ye olden times television, newspapers and magazines not only wanted to project a respectable image but they had large audiences that promotions needed to reach. That gave outlets more power to demand certain priviledges without accepting quid pro quos that would undermine their coverage i.e. you advertise for us because you need our audience, but we get to write what we want or we get our free seat at ringside to cover the sport but we write what we want. The problem with that model is that it rested on the power of the outlets and they just don't have that power nowadays. They no longer have their own little monoplies because the internet encourages every legacy outlet to compete with each other for search traffic and they all have to compete with new amateur sites, but the promotion itself can now reach over their head. Weaker outlets are less able to push back at the promotions, and of course they are less able to bankroll what is an expensive line of work. So the people who want to survive in the combat sports media space as a full-time professional have to do things that 10 to 20 years ago would've been unthinkable - whether it be moonlighting covering other sports because they get attention for your personal brand, working for the promotion in an official capacity, or just taking unseemingly perks because they help the figures add up.