Yesterday, MMA Opinion posted the seventh part of their ten part MMA Journalism roundtable that I was lucky enough to be a part of. In today's segment we talk about bias in the media specifically regarding conflict of interests. 

A lot of MMA websites sponsor fighters, and a lot of the writers have trained in high-profile gyms or know a lot of the fighters. In an industry where the majority of people write for love and not for profit, is it even possible to assure that there isn't bias in the media?    

...

Zak Woods:

Online media is a new beast and no one is quite sure what the business model is going to look like. Many sites are trying to provide as many services as possible in order to generate revenue. Personally I am not ready to garner judgment on those that are pioneering business models with the new medium. But I will say that it is important to disclose any information that pertains to a potential bias.

My response may just be a cop-out but I believe that online media is currently wandering through the proverbial business wilderness and there will be a lot of experimentation on how to get out and create a viable business model.

Thus, I am not prepared to make a moral judgement but that doesn't change the fact that any business relationship must be disclosed when reporting on that business. For instance let's say Electronic Arts is a sponsor for WKR, anytime anyone on WKR writes about a video game there needs to be a prominent disclaimer saying, "WKR is sponsored by EA MMA 20??" To not do so would be disingenuous and WKR would sacrifice our credibility. 

Check out the rest of the responses and join the discussion at MMA Opinion.