Since the Sheffield Wednesday business when we wouldn't speak to them for a short time.
Since then they have been very reserved with regard to us and this can be seen with little concentration on Steve to Peterborough, unwillingness to name transfer or loan targets and so on.
RS constantly praising Evans who listens in and phones in on a regular basis.
Kempos law is in place here...To every action there is an opposite but greater reaction.
Was it right for the club to put such pressure on a local radio station to suppress and change the way their reporters put out information.
Yes because all Radio Sheffield reporting/comment (whether deliberate or not) is clearly stacked against all clubs that don't have Sheffield in their name. So much so that it is laughable at times.
rob staton for example comments on the match v norwich and comes out with im interested to see who plays for norwich because wednesday are after two of their players
We have a delicate, symbiotic relationship with the media. Every now and again we have tested the water in a way that I think is us putting a marker down and effectively saying to them (Radio Sheffield and I recall also on one occasion The 'Tiser) 'tow the line a bit because you need us more than we need you'. I agree with Kempo that Radio Sheffield have seemed a bit more sycophantic since we made known our feelings over the rumoured Stevie May deal and so perhaps our stance had the desired effect. Perhaps it is a trick that Steve Evans learned from his great hero Mr Ferguson, who grew so important that for some time he refused to speak to the Mighty Beeb after they took an unhealthy interest in things he thought were out of bounds. It isn't a good thing Kempo, and perhaps it does impact on the independence of journalism, but in the end they all need each other and they all play the game. We no doubt use the media to our ends as much as we can, and without a bit of cooperation from us they don't have their stories to run. It is unedifying but it isn't going to change.
Apologies, K. It was a trifle ped*ntic as you say. In an earlier life I once spelled Roumania/Rumania/Romania in a way displeasing to the mob on MM and was hounded for weeks.
We have a delicate, symbiotic relationship with the media. Every now and again we have tested the water in a way that I think is us putting a marker down and effectively saying to them (Radio Sheffield and I recall also on one occasion The 'Tiser) 'tow the line a bit because you need us more than we need you'. I agree with Kempo that Radio Sheffield have seemed a bit more sycophantic since we made known our feelings over the rumoured Stevie May deal and so perhaps our stance had the desired effect. Perhaps it is a trick that Steve Evans learned from his great hero Mr Ferguson, who grew so important that for some time he refused to speak to the Mighty Beeb after they took an unhealthy interest in things he thought were out of bounds. It isn't a good thing Kempo, and perhaps it does impact on the independence of journalism, but in the end they all need each other and they all play the game. We no doubt use the media to our ends as much as we can, and without a bit of cooperation from us they don't have their stories to run. It is unedifying but it isn't going to change.
This is a perceptive view. I read a book recently that argued that the constant changes in fashion were in large part driven by the need for media fashion editors to have something new to say every week. So in sport. An unholy crew all in it together and all feeding off the gullible public. Screw the pundits.
If they did influence the sale of may then clearly they have an ethical responsibility. If they engaged in any insider trading, or , suggested a bias for one club over another then it was right to make them accountable.
On a more general note it is beyond argument that sheff wednesday is treated with more respect, and enthusiasm. They will probably site the fan base as commercial evidence.
-- Edited by ian on Wednesday 9th of September 2015 08:29:42 PM
sheff wednesday is treated with more respect, and enthusiasm. They will probably site the fan base as commercial evidence.
-- Edited by ian on Wednesday 9th of September 2015 08:29:42 PM
This is the argument always trotted out but the BBC is a license payer funded public service broadcaster, it should not be concerned with commercial considerations of any kind. In reality BBC Radio Sheffield is BBC Radio South Yorkshire but that's not as snappy is it?
The balance of power has shifted a fair bit. 10/15 years ago, Radio Sheffield, Tiser, Star and Green Un were the only way that the club had of getting anything out there. Now it has its own media channels, and a revenue stream attached to information (Millersplayer) that means it needs to keep proprietary information back. It doesn't need the traditional sources as much as it did and is, to an extent, actively competing against them.
At the same time, local radio changed. Instead of local enthusiasts covering a club with genuine interest (remember when you'd switch between Radio Sheffield and Hallam because you'd want to hear what Brian Chapple and Gerry Somerton had to say?) you had professional journalists looking to start their ascent to the Five Live Sports team. They need stories and sanitised highlight reels of commentary. The famous Brian Chapple Alan Lee commentary is brilliant because it's authentic delight; and he would never have touted and pitched Robins to Barnsley as Radio Sheffield did some years later.
So. The club doesn't need the traditional media as much as it did and the media aren't as bothered as they were (Paul Davis being an exception: he comes across and writes like a genuine fan). So the club does try to control the tone of coverage, trying to silence critical stories. It's a professinal relationship now, not what it once was. I think it's probably the worse for it.
Very good points DavidR. The club (all clubs) has its own media machine in the form of the club website and Millers Player. The huge clubs have their own TV channels. The club will try to control what information it releases and when (witness the lack of news and comment from the club on the Kirk Broadfoot ban which was a big story that was under the radar for a good while). They probably therefore see Radio Sheffield and other independent media as being something that they can influence and manage to some extent but also an occasional irritation.
-- Edited by smiler on Thursday 10th of September 2015 08:01:56 AM
Fascinating cat and mouse between the club and the independent media today. RUFC put their own agenda out on the media they control, and then try to manage the wider media by taking Evans out of the firing line so that Raynor can side step awkward questions. Radio Sheffield need to run something, and the Evans non-appearance becomes the story. Regardless of what it does or doesn't say about whether SE is off to Peterborough, it's an example of typical modern media management.
-- Edited by smiler on Thursday 10th of September 2015 08:22:47 PM
The club are fanning the flames of this story....All they need to say is that Evans is not leaving but again they are behaving in a rather arrogant manner.
The fans have a right to some information and RS have a duty to investigate this story and find out the truth.
Not specifically RUFC but as a general observation would you agree with me Kempo that many organisations over-think and over-complicate their dealings with the media? I know a criminal lawyer who I recall once saying to me that the hardest thing about representing a lot of his clients is that they lie when the truth would do fine.
Smiled....I am a cynic and I believe that many organisations and indeed powerful individuals attempt to manipulate the media and that makes me suspect that they have something to hide.
As you suggest I would agree that organisations may be too defensive at times when the simple route would have been better.
I suspect that this is the case at present...I have a job and have no thoughts of leaving it would have been better than cancelling a press conference due to an urgently called internal meeting......That's like pouring petrol onto a fire as there is a concern that it might spread!
The one thing that is 100 per cent certain is that Evans is not going to Peterborough.
I don't care what the press say, what the in the knows 'know' on Millersmad, even what the bookies say...I can tell everyone that Steve is staying.
Next week all this will have blown over, we will have 6 points in the bag...oh and pigs will be flying!
If Evans does go you will be the first recipient of the much coveted Ridgeway Kid Award. This may smack of favouritism as several others have agreed with your assessment. However, your use of the phrase "idiots" and your previous track record of "Lump on a top half finish" and "Lump on Brazil for the World Cup" meant you rose head and shoulders above the pack. Watch this space.
