Steve Mascord is that rarest of rugby league journalists – one who seems to have the game’s best interests at heart.
Not the vested interests of his media baron employer. Not his own, though I daresay there’s a degree of self-interest in wanting to see the passion he’s invested his life in grow and thrive.
Pure objectivity is, of course, impossible – they teach you that at journo school, right after they tell you that being objective is part of the job description.
But when I spend five minutes with a Mascord feature or opinion piece, I’m as confident as one can be that there are no hidden agendas at play.
Leave that to the cancerous growths who masquerade as rugby league media in some sectors of Sydney, the worst of them so malignant you get the feeling they won’t be satisfied until they’re hanging off the game’s corpse.
In all my years of reading Mascord’s work, and listening to his comments as sideline eye for ABC Grandstand and Triple M, I could count on a fingerless hand the number of occasions he’s been hysterical.
That was until rumours began to swirl about improper conduct from the Canterbury Bulldogs in relation to the Ben Barba affair, specifically rumours that the real truth of the matter had been concealed.
In a golden period for rugby league conspiracy theories, this was the one that sent Mascord over the edge.
On Triple M’s Monday Night Football call a few weeks back, Mascord let fly at the NRL. He was careful not to cross any lines, but left little doubt that there was more to allegations of domestic violence against Barba than had been reported.
And on Saturday night, just a few hours after the news broke that the NRL’s independent investigation had found no impropriety by Todd Greenberg – now moved from the Bulldogs’ hot seat into an even hotter one at NRL HQ – Mascord essentially handed in his notice as a rugby league journalist.
The basic gist of his letter of resignation, backed up by another passionate outburst on the ABC? That it’s a waste of energy chasing the truth when you feel like you’re only being fed lies.
The Canberra Raiders fining David Shillington for having the temerity to make an honest assessment of the Green Machine’s dismal season – albeit outside of the team’s official media policy – is the icing on Mascord’s bittersweet cake.
So why am I getting all worked up about a journo hanging up the dictaphone?
Firstly, rugby league can’t afford to alienate good people – journos, punters, or otherwise – while the sharks continue to circle the rapidly deepening PR disaster waters.
Particularly a guy who cares enough about the game to write about an obscure international between the Philippines and Thailand, and the fallout from it. (Rugby league, it seems, causes controversy wherever it goes.)
Perhaps more importantly, who will authority answer to if those who ask the questions aren’t there?
There’s a fine line between information and propaganda, and precious few are brave and talented enough to cut through it.
The loss of someone like Steve Mascord isn’t like the loss of a retiree or code-jumper. With traditional journalistic models dying (read more on that in Roar expert Mike Tuckerman’s recent journalists v bloggers thinkpiece) there isn’t a new batch of superstar cub reporters being groomed to take his place.
Which is why I hope rumours of Mascord’s retirement are greatly exaggerated.
mushi
Guest
Mascord is certainly putting together a lot of column inches for a guy that doesn't write about rugby league any more. I hope the poor bloke never quits drinking, because judging by this it would turn him into a 10am starter at his local.
robbo's rabbit's
Guest
Please disregard the above post......or risk mass walk out.
Clark
Guest
+1, Just by viewing the articles on the telegraph website, they definitely scrape the bottom of the bin for their stories. They way they showed up to Penrith's end of season celebrations (where nothing remotely illegal was occurring) and tried to blow a story out of proportion was gutter press at its finest.
The eye
Guest
Dear Roar hirers and firers....I'd gladly put up with more ads on the Roars pages if you use the cash to hire Mascord..
mushi
Roar Guru
horrible analogy but stirs the sentiment with sensational comparisons to illegal activity rather than perhaps look at how the same issue is paralleled across other areas of mass consumption. Your issue here can’t just be the use of sensational half truths and stereo types because well that’s ever present in just about every brand in the world. It also can’t be a quality thing because we’ve accepted a quality vs cost/volume trade off in so many other industries that we can’t honestly claim the line in the sand is that Journalism is where this basic market behaviour should stop. We buy trash, and in today’s frantic world media consumption we’ll take fast trash over slow wisdom every day of the week. I don't like it, but then I'm also not stumping up to buy quality journalism with longer lead times
mushi
Roar Guru
but if he's 100% certain why is he going upstairs?
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
I never said the journalists are without fault, just that the fans/readers are not without a portion of blame either. It's a case of supply and demand; there has to be both. Certainly some journalists don't seem to mind 'feeding the beast' and have low morals. In fact, many simply make up facts these days, without fear or being held accountable. This is what annoys me most.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
So the Drug dealer who is just taking avantage of the demand is at no fault ? I know what your saying but how does that justiy the gossip, what about a Journalists integrety, or does that only apply if there not beng pressured by the editor for a story ?
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Unfortunately, gossip or sensational stories/headlines sell papers and increase hit rates. It's sad state of affairs, but all those fans and readers attacking the journalists and writers need to have a good hard look at themselves, because they are the ones that supply the demand. Even here on The Roar, you seem brilliant analysis pieces, or articulate and rational stories, get low reads and few comments, but a sensational piece of gossipy garbage or inflammatory opinion racks up the big numbers. It's an over-simplifaction of the issue, but there is a sentiment that fans are getting what they ask for with trashy journalism.
robbo's rabbit's
Guest
Every reporter should be encouraged from a very early age to read a Monday morning paper written in the 80's and learn from it, how to write an article on rugby league. When a member of the public sat down of a Monday and read about league, by the end of the article it felt as if you were actually at the game, it was written that well. Un-like today where you get the result and an article that should be in the gossip column.
jamesb
Guest
I have an idea Why doesn't the ARLC employ Mascord as part of the ARLC's media unit.?
russell johnson
Guest
Two minded (ambivalent) on this issue Steve is taking his ball home because people aren't trustworthy, really! On the other hand although I don't always agree with him he is the antithesis of Phil Gould and that should make him alright in in any true leaguie's book. I can understand entirely why he would be disillusioned but truly he's only suffering from being let down. As a word of warning years ago, when a famous French commentator walked away, after a particularly violent game and went to rugby yawnion, the damage was done and is still being felt in the game in France to this very day! The truth is even in the grubby world of largely poor journalism parading as the bastion of the right of free speech Steve's a top bloke and a real leaguie and I'd always rather have him playing for us than against us!
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
There are other ways of dealing with problems other than to place them on the front page as some kind of proof that the NRL are making 'the world a better place'. It would be disturbing indeed if anyone actually expects the NRL - or any other business - to be the moral guardian of society, or to be somehow a law unto themselves. Not everything is required to be fodder for the gossip pages.
Midfielder
Guest
Story I heard on " Hens FC" 702 saturday afternoon where a bunch of women talk about sport ... they said """if"""" the wife / partner said she did not want the media involved as they think she would have ... we actually don'y know if it was reported to the police... there are strong grounds to say the lady did not want her domestic issue over the RL media and social media world...
Kris Swales
Expert
I suspect the producers feel they need to balance out the ex-players with guys who can articulate their thoughts in something other than cliches.
robbo's rabbit's
Guest
I've had it to death with these reporters....it's my choice not to purchase a paper but what annoys to tripe out of me, is every time I tune into a league show, here they are, telling us the same rubbish they would of wrote about during the week....surely we have an abundance of recently retired players whom can fill this role....
Nomad
Guest
You obviously (and it is hard to believe) haven't read the Wilson sisters (Caroline and Rebecca) getting stuck into the AFL over drugs, ground allocations, behavior, CEO arrogance etc. They thrive on being critics and need a victim to grill over - any code will do....
Casper
Guest
so here's how it works, if you're in the nsw footy media you have to get a scoop on everyone else. if it's a slow week, you can just create one. Mascord isn't a messiah, just not as bad as some like that 'bulldog' Ritchie who thinks he's bigger than the game. Greenberg was a breath of fresh air after years of bad press at the bulldogs.You can only try to change the culture, it needs buy in by participants for it to work & some people refuse to change. my take on the Barba issue is his partner understood the only way for him to continue doing the only job he was any good at to support his kids was to get him some treatment. Many country indigenous kids are found out by the sydney lifestyle, it's not an excuse but a fact of life. Domestics happen every day, cops turn a blind eye because there's never a winner out of charges being laid but we expect it won't happen in the football environment. Probably smart to get Barba & family out of sydney, based near her family & get some sort of structure in his life at the Broncos (well known as a strong disciplinary club) where there seem to be mature guys like Parker, Glenn, Hannant & Hodges to guide him.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
Who ese was suppoe to pay for it, Barbas missus ?
Nomad
Guest
No unlike others I read widely to get all points of view and don't rely on the Tele and pub gossip...Note nowhere did I say that was my only source of news