KEN FAUGHT'S BIG ADVENTURE, SOUTHWICK, 60 MINUTES II AND LETTERMAN
After the Southwick AMA 125/250cc National MX we decided to stay on the East Coast and do a little bit of riding at Englishtown. We ended up with an extra day before we needed to head to New Jersey, so Sean Finley, our publisher, and I decided to hit the Big Apple. We wanted to hook up with Chris Martin and Amiel Weisfogel, the guys responsible for producing the 60 Minutes II piece that aired last week on CBS, and thank them for a job well done. Despite a heavy defensive front put on by the industry, the pair managed to put together a great 12-minute segment that showed outsiders a glimpse into our fast-paced world.
This has been a real interesting week for me because of my interview and the magnitude of network television. I want to thank those of you who sent e-mails voicing support for me and for Dirt Rider. It's been overwhelming to be part of this big process; one that might end up being one of the most-talked about mainstream news stories our sport has seen in the past 10 years. As a journalist, I have a lot of respect for the amount of homework they did before they aired the piece even though there was a lot of resistance. They were turned down by Travis Pastrana's agent (Kenny Bartram won out there), hassled by the AMA (while doing research, and then in a unnecessary press release days before the show aired), and all around faced a lot of resentment for investigating a story based off a New York Times report on supercross injuries.
I also found one of his comments in particular very interesting. He said that if our sport ever wants to grow, we need to look for ways to help mainstream media, not run and hide from it. That's why I respect the people that own Dirt Rider for letting me do the interview alongside supercross greats Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael and Rick Johnson. We all felt like we had a good opportunity to explain why we ride and race despite the risks.
I did find it a little bit awkward and embarrassed when Martin brought up the AMA press release that ran on several websites. Rightfully so, he seemed frustrated that they would put out a release based on rumors and hearsay. To set the record straight, Martin called the American Motorcyclist Association last week to letthem know of the planned airing, and the AMA didn't even ask about the show'scontent. Instead, they assumed it would be negative. Much like the AMA'shandling of the proposed changes to the 2004 U.S. Motocross Championship schedule, it was handled extremely poorly.
After lunch Martin took us to the studio where we got to see Dan Rather in an editorial meeting. It's pretty impressive watching one of the most-credible journalists in the world at work during these interesting times. The behind-the-scenes tour was unbelievable, and the day continued to get better. A few hours later we ended up with second row seats to The Late Show with David Letterman, and 20 feet from the newly crowned Miss Universe. Once again, thanks Chris and Amiel.
And for those of you who didn't see the story on supercross and freestyle competition, CBS 60 Minutes II says it plans to re-run the story in the future. We'll keep you posted on our website for dates and times.