Football wars

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

You're a precious little paranoid, aren't you?

The pretention certain people have around sports journalism is hilarious. Sports are in newspapers because they sell newspapers. The back page is not the front page.

[Nines]

The pretention certain people have around sports journalism is hilarious. Sports are in newspapers because they sell newspapers. The back page is not the front page.

Firstly , newspapers are supposed to be objective and relay the news as it happens . Sports is news .

Secondly , newspapers don't sell newspapers because of what they do or do not print. That's why we have sports magazines to supplement general sports news .

Buying a newspaper in Sydney to follow the AFL is generally a waste of time .So the specialist prints take up the slack or more commonly fans address the online sports pages of other newspapers .
I know , I do .

.

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

Firstly , newspapers are supposed to be objective and relay the news as it happens .

Bullshit. Do you not understand the concept of "freedom of press"? Newspapers are supposed to be whatever the f**k the owner of the newspaper wants it to be.

Sports is news .

Barely. The relative prominence of sports in newspapers is grossly in excess of its actual news value.

Secondly , newspapers don't sell newspapers because of what they do or do not print. That's why we have sports magazines to supplement general sports news .

So you're saying the content of newspapers is not what people buy newspapers for?

Buying a newspaper in Sydney to follow the AFL is generally a waste of time .So the specialist prints take up the slack or more commonly fans address the online sports pages of other newspapers .

Buying a newspaper in Shanghai to follow the marriage of the future Prince of Wales is probably a waste of time too. Are you trying to prove my point here?

I know , I do .

Bully for you.

[Adelaide_United_Red]

You're a precious little paranoid, aren't you?

The pretention certain people have around sports journalism is hilarious. Sports are in newspapers because they sell newspapers. The back page is not the front page.

Yes, I MUST be Paranoid:(

Simple question: Do YOU believe that football gets a fair go in the main stream media?

I don't believe in coincidences and for mine, the frequent attacks on football happen just too often and at too regular an opportunity(usually near what fans would call 'good news events for football') to just be a random event. I see people protecting their turf by pushing agendas in columns that too often stray from reporting the facts and into opinion masquerading as fact. Afraid that if they don't go on the front foot to preserve the status quo, they'll be found to be redundant as the world/sports landscape evolves. That's not paranoid, that's an observation based on knowledge of human behavior. Humans seek the familiar and it is a natural fight or flight response when faced with a perceived threat. We all know that sports can be analogous to religion. a fundamentalist Christian is less likely(despite the teachings of the bible regarding tolerance) to be tolerant of a Muslim(and vice versa) in the same way that a fundamentalist footy-head is less likely to be tolerant of a soccer zealot. I firmly believe that all soccer fans(the ones I know in the southern states) want is to be tolerated and dealt with on a similar level to say Rugby League or Union; i.e. given the respect due a code that can unite the populace behind one team(the Socceroos - and has Australian history back to 1800's) if not the blanket coverage of the AFL in the southern States. its a simple matter of respect. Football fans feel we don't get it so forgive us if we feel like someone is out to get us and keep us down. That is a natural assumption to make given the way the code is written about frequently by those who openly despise the game**. that's my personal opinion and I feel that it is the last I should write about it in this thread. I'm not here to make friends or change people allegiances to football, just to offer an alternate POV.

**Names of people who openly despise football yet have felt the need to write about it in an effort to discredit the game(or just generally treat football fans as 2nd class sports fans):
Mike Sheehan
Graham Cornes
Rebecca Wilson
Phil Rothfield
Roy Masters
.
.
Peter FitzSimmons

[Rob]

Firstly , newspapers are supposed to be objective and relay the news as it happens .

Since when?

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

You're a precious little paranoid, aren't you?

The pretention certain people have around sports journalism is hilarious. Sports are in newspapers because they sell newspapers. The back page is not the front page.

Yes, I MUST be Paranoid:(

Simple question: Do YOU believe that football gets a fair go in the main stream media?

I don't believe in coincidences and for mine, the frequent attacks on football happen just too often and at too regular an opportunity(usually near what fans would call 'good news events for football') to just be a random event. I see people protecting their turf by pushing agendas in columns that too often stray from reporting the facts and into opinion masquerading as fact. Afraid that if they don't go on the front foot to preserve the status quo, they'll be found to be redundant as the world/sports landscape evolves. That's not paranoid, that's an observation based on knowledge of human behavior. Humans seek the familiar and it is a natural fight or flight response when faced with a perceived threat. We all know that sports can be analogous to religion. a fundamentalist Christian is less likely(despite the teachings of the bible regarding tolerance) to be tolerant of a Muslim(and vice versa) in the same way that a fundamentalist footy-head is less likely to be tolerant of a soccer zealot. I firmly believe that all soccer fans(the ones I know in the southern states) want is to be tolerated and dealt with on a similar level to say Rugby League or Union; i.e. given the respect due a code that can unite the populace behind one team(the Socceroos - and has Australian history back to 1800's) if not the blanket coverage of the AFL in the southern States. its a simple matter of respect. Football fans feel we don't get it so forgive us if we feel like someone is out to get us and keep us down. That is a natural assumption to make given the way the code is written about frequently by those who openly despise the game**. that's my personal opinion and I feel that it is the last I should write about it in this thread. I'm not here to make friends or change people allegiances to football, just to offer an alternate POV.

**Names of people who openly despise football yet have felt the need to write about it in an effort to discredit the game(or just generally treat football fans as 2nd class sports fans):
Mike Sheehan
Graham Cornes
Rebecca Wilson
Phil Rothfield
Roy Masters
.
.
Peter FitzSimmons

So you're big argument that soccer is treated unfairly in this country are class A dickheads like Peter Fitzsimmons, Bec Wilson and Phil f***ing Rothfield? You do realise that ALL sports fans hate these people, don't you? They're equal opportunity sh*t stirrers whose job it is to create interesting and controversial ramblings that sell papers.

Look, you'll win no respect from me with absurd "it's my opinion and I'm entitled to it" cop outs. It's clear that you see affronts to soccer in every shadow. Your tantrum about the use of the term minor premiership demonstrates that. I don't think anybody denies that newspapers have biases and give certain institutions more respect than others. So what? Welcome to the real world. Do you not think that those people within and without the media industry that have links to soccer don't have the same biases?

[Adelaide_United_Red]

you failed to answer the question:)

As for Bec Wilson, has anyone in the known universe(or even here at Austadiums) ever read an article from her that isn't negative?(regardless of sport, for a sports journo[term applied loosely] she sure does seem to hate sport and athletes a lot.

[Jeffles]

Last year, at around the time of the sports funding review, Rebecca Wilson wrote quite a good piece about the sacrifices Olympic athletes in less glamourous sports make. I think the example used was rowing. A very moving piece. That said, they are few and far between.

The better selling newspapers in this country, the News Ltd tabloids, work because they create interest and conflict. The target might be western Sydney football wars or the so-called unique problem of "soccer violence". I see the folly of it too. When it's soccer, it's a "problem" but when it is cricket, measures to curb violence is seen as wowserism.

Media is more than the newspapers. We have a bit of choice. Support the forums that follow your party line and get your voice heard in the media where that don't. It's the economics, stupid.

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

you failed to answer the question:)

Fair cop.

I guess the honest answer is "no idea" as I don't pay enough attention to that part of the newspaper to know.

The answer depends a lot on what you mean by "fair". Generally I don't think any organisation has any particular right to automatic "respect" from the press so I would say that all is fair in love, war and sports journalism. But if you define fair as "receives impartial treatment or treatment that is consistent with its competitors" then the answer may well be no, but I doubt the imbalance is as great as you make it out to be.

[Nines]

Firstly , newspapers are supposed to be objective and relay the news as it happens .

Bullshit. Do you not understand the concept of "freedom of press"? Newspapers are supposed to be whatever the f**k the owner of the newspaper wants it to be.

Sports is news .

Barely. The relative prominence of sports in newspapers is grossly in excess of its actual news value.

Secondly , newspapers don't sell newspapers because of what they do or do not print. That's why we have sports magazines to supplement general sports news .

So you're saying the content of newspapers is not what people buy newspapers for?

Buying a newspaper in Sydney to follow the AFL is generally a waste of time .So the specialist prints take up the slack or more commonly fans address the online sports pages of other newspapers .

Buying a newspaper in Shanghai to follow the marriage of the future Prince of Wales is probably a waste of time too. Are you trying to prove my point here?

I know , I do .

Bully for you.

Totally disagree with all your remarks ,but I'm not getting into a debate.

The point I was alluding to is that the mainstream newspapers are in major trouble because of the availability of online news .A lot of people like me look for their news online .A newspaper is still the preferred presentation for most but it is a lot cheaper and convenient to search online especially when travelling etc .

.

[Boba Fett]

A_U_R - surely having bad things being written about your sport is actually a good thing? Better than being ignored.

And the major codes have plenty of negative stuff being written about them all the time. All the media around the AFL at the moment is not about the NAB Cup, it's about Nixon's sordid little escapades. And the NRL focused media is all consumed with financial/owndership dramas at Cronulla and Newcastle.

[Jeffles]

A_U_R - surely having bad things being written about your sport is actually a good thing? Better than being ignored.

To an extent this is true. RL in the UK is both ignored and written about in a mainly negative light. The fact that some prominence is given to negativity suggests the sport has a popular critical mass out there but it's not conducive to attracting new fans or maintaining those that are wavering.

[Boba Fett]

RL in the UK is both ignored and written about in a mainly negative light.

Er, how does something get both ignored AND written about?

[bazza]

RL in the UK is both ignored and written about in a mainly negative light.

Er, how does something get both ignored AND written about?

In the UK, the opinion seems to be that rugby league gets very little coverage in the main papers e.g. a few columns with the results at most.
On the occassions when it gets more coverage, it is usually when there is some major negative event e.g. betting scandal, assault. These events get more coverage than the challenge cup or grand finals

[Nines]

A_U_R - surely having bad things being written about your sport is actually a good thing? Better than being ignored.

And the major codes have plenty of negative stuff being written about them all the time. All the media around the AFL at the moment is not about the NAB Cup, it's about Nixon's sordid little escapades. And the NRL focused media is all consumed with financial/owndership dramas at Cronulla and Newcastle.

The AFL had a slow start to the season and IMO it was due to the focus not being on the game itself .