Cahill headlines prove power of media beat-ups
Roar Guru By David Wiseman, 24 Jun 2009 David Wiseman is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- 2010 World Cup, football, Socceroos, Tim Cahill
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Socceroo Tim Cahill leaps - AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The whole Tim Cahill saga was an interesting sideshow to the end of Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup. With a spot in South Africa virtually assured months ago, the final two matches lacked the drama of previous campaigns.
Thus a distraction filled the void.
In the first place, I didn’t think the story was a big deal in any way, shape or form. I read it and couldn’t have cared less.
From there the story was refuted, the paper dug in its heels and quoted a nameless source. Alan Jones weighed in, Cahill snubbed the post-match interview, and then a mystery email emerged.
I was not sure what to expect next, but I’m open for anything – even Bruno or Susan Boyle.
This whole exercise didn’t provide us with anything but an interesting case study of the media and how it operates in the 21st century.
Despite rumours of their demise, media organizations are still incredibly powerful entities.
They have the power to make or break people and they do so every day as a matter of routine. Their interpretations of an event and the way they report it affects people’s lives because at the end of the day, perception is as strong as reality, if not stronger.
A media organization will always claim that it is acting on behalf of the readers, viewers, or listeners, but at times there can come a point in the story when it is acting more in its own interests.
This is when things can get very tricky because hell really doesn’t know fury like a scorned media organization that has let itself off the leash.
It will take off the gloves and dig up your past or even run with something it said it previously wouldn’t.
Mind you, this is all in the name of the story.
It can harass and threaten or use a number of other means to make your life uncomfortable. Being followed by the paparazzi is just the icing on a very rancid tasting cake.
All of it in the pursuit of a big story – the huge headlines tomorrow.
Three-four weeks from tomorrow, people will only have a vague recollection of it. It will be all a haze and blur as newer stories have replaced it and hog the headlines and the airwaves.
If it’s not Gordon Ramsay or the latest Kevin Rudd gaffe, it will be the Chk Chk Boom girl.
Come back Matty Johns. I miss you!
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- Explore:
- 2010 World Cup, football, Socceroos, Tim Cahill
June 24th 2009 @ 8:46am
Redb said | June 24th 2009 @ 8:46am | Report comment
Robbos,
You being just as ‘racist’ or discriminatiory in reverse imlying AFL fans like Kurt think along those lines tagggin them as VB drinking, meat pie, AFl wathcinhg diny di.
Your comments are in fact more racist than anything Kurt has been accused.
Redb
Moral Police Commander
June 24th 2009 @ 8:47am
Robbos said | June 24th 2009 @ 8:47am | Report comment
Sj, yes, Bozza’s comments after the game now makes alot of sense after Timmy’s interview.
As for Criticism of the Socceroos, that is just differences of opinions within the football community.
Same as say the boring Aussie rules the swans played during their stellar era of 05-06, there was anti Demitriou feelings in Sydney, just differing opinions within the sport. I know nothing of the sport so I can’t comment on the play, but the crowds were up at the Swans those years.
June 24th 2009 @ 8:49am
Slippery Jim said | June 24th 2009 @ 8:49am | Report comment
I can’t wait to the world cup (and maybe even one day when it comes to Australia!) and all these media outlets have football on the front back and middle pages (or TV/Web equivalent) to maximise their $$$!!!
June 24th 2009 @ 9:10am
Mick of Newie said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:10am | Report comment
sorry to contribute to the trawl but I missed any comment from Tim in the email and I remain in the dark on Bozza’s comments.
What is the story?
June 24th 2009 @ 9:17am
AndrewM said | June 24th 2009 @ 9:17am | Report comment
You would have to be a fool to think that the Daily Telegraph were merely trying to sell papers.. It was a deliberate attack on football to smear the WC bid. The supposed story broke on Thursday.. The held it back until Sunday their biggest selling day and the same day the news of the WC bid would make the news.
The funniest thing of all is that nothing happend. The DT surely paid some bouncer to make up stories, the fabricated email was probably done by rebecca wilson who is a complete idiot.
Freddy fitler’s behaviour a few days later, in which police were called, didnt make the front page.
Some at the Daily Telegraph, the editor, Rebecca Wilson, are the SCUM of the earth. SMH has a MUCH better outlook on sports, does not push agendas, and has some credible football journalists.
I will not be buying this paper until Rebecca Wilson , the Editor and the other RL scum have been sacked.
June 24th 2009 @ 10:27am
Slippery Jim said | June 24th 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment
Mick of Newie,
Bosnich said re the furore around Cahill: “Unfortunately in this world there are certain people, not necessarily the news organisations, but there are certain people that can be especially close to you that are the scum of the earth and who think by basically trying to pull somebody else’s house down (they) will make their own house look better.
“What happened to Timmy in these last couple of weeks, and I’ve had personal experience on a huge level as well, is just wrong. It’s un-Australian and it’s wrong.”
Bosnich later said “I make no apologies for what I said on Fox Sports, I was just trying to protect the interests of the sport here and the interests of the players.”
Cahill recently said, in part: “It doesn’t take rocket scientists to work out what’s happened in the past couple of weeks. There’s players’ agents involved who are very bitter, It’s difficult to explain because you think that you can play football and nothing else matters but factors outside the game do affect the team. It’s one of those issues that will definitely be addressed with the FFA and players because it’s something that has made me angry. As a team, when we play we are unbelievable but outside, when it comes to other issues, it’s a little sad.”
June 24th 2009 @ 11:04am
danny said | June 24th 2009 @ 11:04am | Report comment
lovely paragraph from leaping larry’s column in the sunday age;
“THE very same media outlets that routinely skate once lightly over soccer all the rest of the year, other than to occasionally dust off the prehistoric vaudeville routine of comparing it negatively to Aussie rules, are, of course, the ones that reliably break out in a green and gold frenzy only when the Socceroos are doing something too big to ignore. And you know what this time-honoured comedy set-piece has in common with a nice clean window? Transparency.”
loved it.
June 24th 2009 @ 11:21am
jimbo said | June 24th 2009 @ 11:21am | Report comment
Sport is a very competitive business in Australia, so there will be mud thrown, but the vast majority of the mud slinging is coming from News Limited which is the majority owner of Rugby League in this country.
There was no mud thrown at our nation football team coach or star midfielder from the ARU or the AFL.
The timing of the attacks is also important – the same time that Asstralia, our country, qualified for a World Cup again and the same time that the Federal Government, our government, officially announced our World Cup bid.
More than a coincidence most people would agree.
Kurt,
Stop perpetuating 19th century stereotypes about “Soccer” – although you are very good at it.
There are more people playing AFL and NRL with foreign or English backgrounds than football.
It’s not Un-Australian to play or watch football.
I suppose if you watch enough of those “AFL – the game that made Australia” ads you might believe anything.
June 24th 2009 @ 11:25am
jimbo said | June 24th 2009 @ 11:25am | Report comment
News limited themselves admitted it was a player agent that wrote the alleged email, not a player and what do player agent’s do best – make money out of players.
And what do News Limited do best – pay people for dodgy stories to porint in their newspapers.
A match made in heaven.
Even rebecca Wilson has become a season ticket holder for SFC – come on and join us!
June 24th 2009 @ 11:34am
Finno said | June 24th 2009 @ 11:34am | Report comment
TWG had a interesting column with a Q & A Phil Rothfield, it worth a read
Kurt, I also agree with you football ( soccer) probably need to get over it, dont worry about what people say about the game let the onfield results get the media attention.
If the media dont want to write about it, it will be to the outlet demise as there are still thousands of kids that play football every weekend and I can assure you that these kids love watching the Socceroos. I can only say that when I was playing football as a kid I couldnt name any Socceroos, even now my mother can name at least 3 of them due to the media coverage and the WC. Football should be careful not to get dragged into the code war, its not the same sport as the other codes. Football need to identify it self as the other code. So AFL, NRL or rugby fans watch thier sport in winter and in summer watch the A-League.