Why New York Matters
by Zak Woods on Dec 1, 2008 3:39 PM EST
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The real reason why legalizing mixed martial arts in New York is so important is not due to increased revenue or Madison Square Garden, it is media exposure. New York is the capital of U.S. media with the four media outlets -- CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC -- all centered there as well as four of the largest 10 newspapers in the country. Without mixed-martial arts in New York the famous 'east-coast bias' isn't working on the big MMA stories. That is why having strong MMA cards in New York is so important. The presence of so much media advancing stories, both positive and negative, will continue the thrust of MMA into our popular culture beyond merely Kimbo Slice.
Don't believe me?
Let's pause for a second and examine the media coverage of two distinct events that happened this year. Plaxico Burress being arrested on criminal gun charges and Matt Jones being arrested on felony cocaine charges. Which story got more play? Matt Jones is just a white wide receiver who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Plaxico Burress though, he plays for the New York Giants. While the gun charge is serious (as well as accidently shooting himself) it doesn't compare to a cocaine felony charge nor does the coverage correspond correctly.
Another example would be that of LeBron James. The New York media have been going insane forecasting his eventual arrival in 2010. LeBron hasn't even declared if he will go into free agency. Yet the offloading of cap space by the Knicks has caused a firestorm of NBA coverage in all media focused on New York and LeBron, call it Lebron-stakes 2010. The speculation got so bad Peter King wrote about it in a football column!
Here's another example Eliot Spitzer Governor of New York has sex with prostitute media feeding frenzy ensues forced and he is forced to resign. Compare that to David Vetter, a senator from Louisiana, who solicited a D.C. madam no resignation there. Or Larry Craig, a senator from Idaho who solicited a male police officer for sex in airport batahroom, again brief media coverage then all but forgotten as Craig continues to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Media coverage can be compared to a drum beat. A few media outlets create a small rhythm on a few stories, the major outlets can create a deafening sound that blocks out everything else. Different organizations have different interests and put out press releases in order to create their own beat that advances those interests. Media outlets filter these statements in favor of their perception of what the story(beat) should sound like. But right now there is no music in New York save the occasional expose, like the one in the New York Times a few weeks ago.
Dana White often talks of getting to the next level of popularity, where everyone knows the big UFC stars. Achieving that level will depend on that first fight in Madison Square Garden, with hundreds of press members, both national and international, instead of a few dozen in Houston Texas or Cincinnati Ohio. All of them pumping out the beat of the UFC and MMA to the entire United States.
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