Back in October last year, The Australian’s chief sportswriter, the curmudgeonly Patrick Smith, tackled his onset of post-AFL season blues by opining on the then hoopla surrounding the start of the A-League season, the Melbourne Spring racing carnival and even the NBL.
The headlines and column inches hijacked by Harry Kewell and Black Caviar must have been headache inducing and his column amounted to a lamentable piece of wishful thinking.
“This weekend these sports – soccer, basketball and racing – will get publicity they do not normally generate or deserve.”
“History says once the wave of interest has washed away, the sports will shrink back into their own mediocrity. And ponder what might have been.”
Three months later Mr. Smith’s prediction of football’s decline into mediocrity is predictably off the mark as the A-League keeps producing an increasing number of high quality matches and a growing appreciative audience.
I sincerely doubt Mr. Smith has noticed.
However, when it comes to “undeserved” publicity, I have good news for Mr. Smith.
In scenes not witnessed since the bad old days of the NSL, one of the most critical matches of the season for Melbourne Heart was criminally ignored in The Age last Saturday.
The substantial 20 page sports section managed to have less column inches on the A-League than what most Australian men pack away in their budgie smugglers sans d’eau froide.
Don’t believe me. Here’s the proof. The piece was only 139 words.
“Melbourne Heart will tonight look to solidify its place in the top three by rebounding from last week’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Perth.”
This was the sum total of what we learned about the home town team as they prepared their match against the formidable Brisbane Roar.
It was also inaccurate as this one solitary line failed to mention Heart’s more recent loss to the Mariners.
Last week I wrote that a “finals run is paramount for the Red and White as they battle to win the hearts and minds of the Melbourne sporting public”
An important part of this battle entails publicity to generate interest and increase attendances. The indifference coming from the “serious” newspaper in town doesn’t help Melbourne Heart’s cause.
Some would say that Heart’s sponsorship by “tabloid” rival the Herald Sun has contributed to this state of affairs.
If only it were that simple. Newspapers are no strangers to commercial imperatives that override sensible editorial policies and dictate budgets.
The Age shares the same building in Melbourne with the most vehemently anti-football radio station in Melbourne, the Faifax owned 3AW. With newspaper budgets being slashed as they slowly head the way of the dinosaur, focusing on making the most of where you investment lies becomes paramount.
It is called laying your eggs in the one basket.
On February 19 2007, The Age produced one of the most startling front pages in its long history. A massive headline, the size of which is normally reserved for the declaration of war, cheekily trumpeted the “JOY OF SIX” to celebrate Melbourne Victory’s deflowering of Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final.
The Age’s editor back then was football mad Mancunian, Andrew Jaspan, and Faifax’s commercial arrangement, since lapsed, with Melbourne Victory saw the thoughts of Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat grace the pages of the Sunday Age.
It would have been enough to send Mr. Smith around the bend.
And for some senior Age journalists it actually did.
In April 2008, Crikey reported that “they demanded a protocol governing the newspaper’s many “partnerships” and “sponsorships” to protect editorial independence.”
“The statement details six incidents that “can be documented” and together “create the impression that the paper is now willing to court favour with vested interests.”
One of the six incidents included:
“Sports coverage – ‘special relationships’ with organisations such as Telstra Dome and the Melbourne Victory Football Club “risk corrupting normal news judgement.”
Was this an example of football, as Patrick Smith put it, “getting the publicity they do not normally generate or deserve.”
Publicity reserved for other sporting codes.
Athas Zafiris is on Twitter @ArtSapphire
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
Well said midfielder - its word of mouth and continued improvement and good behaviour that will make the source of these biased stories start to dry up.
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
How many fake football fans do we have on here? "I've followed soccer for 30 years and now I hate it . . . . I'm sick of the victim mentality . . . " Its not a victim mentality, its the reality of Australian media bias.
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
For someone who has followed football for 30 years you have a very narrow view of the world. We are talking "soccer" not AFL, if that makes it any clearer for you?
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
Even the Federal govt investigated the claims and found nothing wrong. The Age were just using the FFA's stance to publicise their newspaper and put down the WC bid so that the AFL and Demetriou would get their way in the end and the WC wouldn't be played in Melbourne.
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
Maybe the Age had a case to answer. They said some disparaging things about Lowy and the FFA which were all proven to be false. But being innocent in an AFL town doesn't matter does it.
Trust Me
Roar Rookie
Negative articles on the back page of the Melbourne Sun do tend to sell well, unless they are neagtive articles about AFL, but that's not going to happen is it. Its not just the media's fault is it though, the people who read those papers buy those papers and they think like the editors do, so its a matter of slow and sure progress to educate people with a better product and better behaviour, which I think is happening..
Ah Phil, you clearly have no idea of The Cattery's history on this website via his many other guises over the years. He holds the record for the most comments ever on this website for a piece. Most of them his mind you ;)
The Master
Guest
This 'piece' from Buckley, is it even particularly newsworthy as a stand alone story. Sure I could see how it could be used to back up opinion pieces but as a stand alone story I don't see why it would be run in any newspaper.
stabpass
Guest
@ Phillip Coates, think you have it spot on, ..... especially the tomatoes bit !. BTW Phillip Coates ..... that name reminds of something to do with the Olympics, or Australian Olympic team ??
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
Cattery, I don't know why you keep responding to this thread. Clearly many people just don't want to see the facts - of course its easy to point to examples of anti-football bias from time to time for eg the HUN will mention a few ejections at a Melb derby as a riot while not mentioning 40 or 50 ejections at the boxing day test but its the same media that hev given mVFC front and back page coverage over the years and the same media that loves to break stories about AFL bad boys getting into trouble. I think Art is just winding you up to get more hits so he can have this months most popular story. Art I akso think its unfair and rude of you to call Cattery a troll in your attempt to insult him. Cattery contributes many reasonable and thought out arguments to The Roar football pages and as an avid contributor deserves better from you. Perhaps when your picking tomatoes with your dad you can ask him about the subject of manners.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Hardly a lofty ambition. It's half time of the W-League grand final - why are you wasting your time on such questionable endeavours?
Cattery - I've got an idea. The life and times of a troll. I'll interview you and you can honestly describe everything you've done over the years. Must be proud of your work during the WC bid in particular. I'm sure I can find a magazine to sell it to.
Kasey
Guest
Disaggree, stabpass. The method in which the point is delivered has a large bearing upon the way those points are interpretted. Take Craig Foster as just one example. Every now and again he stumbles across a valid point, but the method in which he delivers it often means the general public completely miss that point. We see that often in football, many people have opinions in this country both from within and external to the game, the problem comes from those who speak from external to the game when they fail to offer even the most basic of respect to the game before delivering their remarks. This then comes across as condescending, or as hiding an agenda and is therefore too easily dismissed by football fans who are sick of being talked down to by fans of other sports. When someone like Mike Sheahan sticks the boot into the AFL, they are always careful to frame their words with the respectful tones of an acolyte to the sport, that makes it a hell of a lot easier for ARF fans to view the criticism in the manner in which it is intended(to improve the game). Too often the criticism of football is easily disregarded as "sticking the boot in" which is a pity because for football to continue to grow, it should take advantage of the collective wisdom in this country of the other footy codes IMO.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Whether you call yourself Art Sapphire, or Athas Zafiris, is of zero consequence to me - I judge the words written on the page and respond. I have zero problem with your choice of nom de plume. But you appear to be having a go at me (and 99% of all Roar contributors) for not using their real name -which seems an odd thing to do on a forum of this kind. And I repeat, regardless of what name you choose to use, to make a comparison to apartheid, especially in a subject you didn't have all that much knowledge about, is an extremely low point in your body of work (under either name).
Philip Coates
Roar Guru
the piece doesn't even feature on theworldgame web site (nor the roar website as pointed out) so either our dedicated football press is also part of the 'anti-football' conspiracy or FFA simply don't know how to promote their own information. Unfortunately for football I think in this case it is clearly the latter.
Thanks Bondy, The Cattery can get this all clarified with Tristan but he just keeps sulking.
Bondy
Guest
Athas . I'll back you up there with the T.D.F. going under Art Sapphire , i dont think Cattery that it was intentional , the name change to suit an article.
c
Guest
Did the FFA send a media release about the column. Good question. If not then your comments are fair enough and the administrators’ of our game are to blame and should be spending every spare moment getting it out there
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Attracting comments is not hard to do on a sports forum, especially if you want to make outlandish comparisons to apartheid.
stabpass
Guest
Athas Zafiris said "Whether you make god points or bad points is not relevant. " Your above quote says it all. I also made plenty of comments about the apartheid 'piece' and enjoyed dispelling it. Have a nice day.