The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Streaming culture clash in rugby league

5th February, 2016
Advertisement
Sam Tomkins is plying his trade back in the Old Dart. (Image: Wikicommons)
Expert
5th February, 2016
2
1880 Reads

On Thursday night, at my first comp game of the year, I got out the old pink tripod (don’t ask) again and set up my Australian phone to video the media conferences.

We were at Headingley, where Warrington had just upset Leeds 12-10 in Super League. Fantastic game, check out a replay if you can.

That left me with my UK phone, which had a charge in it but no memory. Why not periscope the media conferences of coaches Tony Smith and Brian McDermott, right?

At its peak, this epic broadcast attracted 10 viewers.

Later that night, in the Long Room at Headingley with Mike Stephenson, an old pen friend Dawn Skelton and the 96-year-old Harry Jepsom, these exact words entered my head: “I love English rugby league people so much. These are my people. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my lift in their midst.”

But unfortunately I find small issues, more and more apparent, that have the potential to drive me into conflict with life-long friends.

And it came up again early on Friday afternoon when St Helens issued a media release saying they had banned periscoping at media conferences.

It’s not that I want to do it that much. Last time I looked, Periscope weren’t sending out cheques to people. No problem with the edict. It’s more the reasons that were given.

Advertisement

The NRL banned me live streaming media conferences a few years ago. Under the NRL’s media rights agreements, the licensed broadcaster owns the venue on match day, pretty much, and if you haven’t paid for rights you can’t broadcast from inside the venue.

I was just doing it here in the UK until they told me stop. And judging by a sign on the press conference door at DW Stadium tonight (where Wigan and Catalans play), that has happened.

No problem.

Except… as I said, the reason that was given by St Helens. These days there is small print at the bottom of every email which basically suggests you can be sued for repeating its contents, even if it is from a media manager to a journalist.

Suffice to say, Saints wanted to protect the ‘sanctity’ of media conferences because coaches can speak ‘off the record’ and ‘bona fide’ journalists know what to quote and what not to quote.

Firstly, I wasn’t aware an open press conference had any sanctity. It’s a public interface where the journalists represent the public. It’s probably the most public institution in all of society, bar parliament and programmed live TV.

Secondly, how sad is it that a Super League coach knows and trusts everyone at every media conference? Wouldn’t we one day like the odd stranger to show up, who we maybe couldn’t trust?

Advertisement

The whole thing strikes me as an attempt to keep the game in the 20th century – rules to protect the rights of coaches to swear and/or defame at an open media conference.

Now, in the NRL I get texts from overseas about my holiday plans between media conferences – because the whole world can hear me talking about them via the NRL app.

But the print media is in a state of flux everywhere. To protect themselves, reporters will try to discourage digital coverage which trumps them. It’s bound to happen. They’re watching their backs and protecting their livelihood.

Luckily, in Super League, you can walk straight out the door of a media conference and still talk to just about any player you want to – so the open media conference should really just be a starting point for a print reporter.

Who asks a truly good question at an open media conference anyway? It’s a competitive industry, right?

I’ll tell you right now that English rugby league people make up the most friendly, welcoming, generous community in the entire world, ever.

But in exchange for the national recognition they so desperately deserve, they may have to sacrifice just a little bit of that innocence.

Advertisement
close