Hype is (mostly) pointless

I was reading one of the major MMA news websites the other day. It was prior to a fairly large event taking place, and a certain ‘news’ item concerned something relating to the event that could have been perceived as negative if judged on the facts alone.

What happened was the website published a fluff story that tried to sell the event on other factors while brushing off the story as something unfortunate. I can only assume this is because:

A) They have a close working relationship with the promotion and did not want to harm this, so wanted to put a positive spin on an otherwise negative story.

B) The ‘news’ site (or maybe just the writer of said piece) does not know the difference between news and a sales pitch.

I’ve been accused of being partisan in the past. When you work closely with certain organisations, individuals or entities, it’s impossible not to draw these criticisms. Any time you align yourself with something or someone, you draw heat from the opposing side.

But there is always one thing that is sacrosanct. We don’t sell someone else’s product for them unless they pay us to do so, and when they do, we make it clear it is advertising and not editorial.

If something is worth buying, you don’t need to hype it, It should be also to hype itself based on the facts alone. If it can’t, then don’t bother trying. The chances are no-one would care about it anyway.

Report facts as facts, and don’t do someone else’s job for them.