MMA Bashing: Mainstream Media Fails to Research before Drawing Conclusions

).  If Burwell would like to question our overall sporting culture as dangerous and exploitive, that would be fine.  But his choice to only target MMA demonstrates his choice neither to contextualize sporting violence at a broader level nor to do the research which shows that a multitude of sports have high rates of severe injuries, which can have life-long effects.

Example Three: “Television has always been a business.  It’s been about money from day one and I don’t have any problem at all with that part of it.  So from a business point of view, CBS made a good decision.  They got good numbers with their key demographic – young men.  But there’s a big difference ... between good ratings and good taste ... in the long run, this kind of stuff that cheapens and coarsens and dumbs down the culture is also gonna harm us ... one of these days, somebody is gonna get killed in this sport, and the executives at CBS are gonna hope it happens while they’re broadcasting the match...” – Fox News Analyst Bernard Goldberg (The O’Reilly Factor, discussing EliteXC’s broadcast on CBS). 

Response: Likewise, it is clear the use of extreme hyperbole is a tactic being utilized here by Goldberg, again, based solely on his personal assumptions with no supportive research.  He states that television is a business about money. Seems his own opinions and the way he expresses them are colored by a desire for increased ratings as well. 

It is not difficult for journalists to do a little research or to utilize the resources at their workplaces do some research for them.  Isn't conducting research a prerequisite for professional journalism?  Or do these journalists care more about making off the cuff statements that resonate with a more conservative demographic than they care about reporting accuracy?

A few interviews I have conducted with mixed martial artists present a different perspective:

Antonio McKee (11/21/2006):

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