When the Exclusive Becomes Elusive

The Sun Herald

The beginning of this article reads as follows:

EXCLUSIVE: THE POTENTIAL SAVIOUR

(http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/parramatta-waiting-in-the-wings-for-thurston-20101016-16o8d.html)

Apparently, Parramatta Rugby League Club are keeping their eye on the goings on in Townsville in an attempt to secure Jonathan Thurston for next season. 

Whoa, what a scoop.

Rugby League club tries to secure a talented player who may be able to weasel his way out of his contract.

If we are honest with ourselves, what club wouldn't be 'watching' in an attempt to snare a player of Thurston's caliber.  

So, what makes an exclusive, exclusive? And is the exclusive now something that is too elusive to promote what with the instantaneous ability to share news on the internet?

Perhaps the exclusive is dead . . . but in the case of this article, it's just telling us what we would have already guessed. 

Getting My Fix

(http://www.whitmangowdridge.co.uk/ProductsandServices/GeneralInsurance/tabid/157/Default.aspx)

Ah, the relief. That's a straight up dose of some good Journalism. Nothing gives you a high like good Journalism!

This is both a good story and a bad story. Good because it's well written and well researched (snaps to Reily and McClymont) but bad because it deals with a very controversial issue in the professional sporting industry.

You can read it here:

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/bulldogs-players-quizzed-over-alleged-betting-fix-20101006-16805.html

It's a good story with multiple sources however there are far too many unnamed sources for it to be truly credible in normal circumstances however there are legal issues due to the criminal nature of the story.

The Story draws not only on interviews and characters but one source is a biography and other details have clearly come from some sort of a police report/media release. The use of such sources is good, general work.

it's a good informative and well researched piece. It's nice to know the future of good Journalism is still alive.

Dear Phil Gould,

smh.com.au

I hate to have to be the one to inform you of this, but Journalism is not all about YOU! Not even your silly and inconsequential opinion articles!

Also, thank you for writing an article full of stuff that we already know!

Well Done, do you want a medal?

Just because you've been a part of Rugby League all your life, does not give you the skill set to become a Sports Journalist and it's no wonder that the rest of the Channel Nine commentary team make fun of you!

I mean, just look at this article:

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-match-preview/the-good-old-days-are-back-20101002-161y8.html

Your ideas are stupid and outdated. it’s a wonder that the Sydney Morning Herald gives you space to write on their paper in the first place. I can only guess that it's because they enjoy having someone on their staff that they can ridicule and slander without having to feel bad.

Your idea to have two competitions – one for Sydney and another for regional teams – is down right discriminatory and goes against all that Australia stands for.

You are ridiculous!

Love Emma

The Local Goes Global

www.heraldsun.com.au

The greatest thing ever to come out of the internet would have to be its ability to make things that happen locally, matter on a global level. 

The website where this article (http://www.streetcorner.com.au/news/showPost.cfm?bid=19305&mycomm=SC) was published is called Street Corner - a news website that provides information on local cities around the world. 

Personally, I LOVE magazines and websites which tell me what's going on in the physical world around me. Time Out Sydney and TwoThousand are two i am particularly fond of, but having stumbled across Street Corner in my quest for sporting articles, I must say i welcome it into my fold of frequented, localised media. 

But, on the article in particular. While it's not technically about sport, it is about the passion behind sport. A passion that defines the popularity of professional sport in this country. 

The best thing about the article, especially concerning it's online medium, is the end of it. 

And not because it was so poorly written that I longed for it to finish.

The last two lines are links. Links that lead off onto more information.

And herein lies the advantage that online media has over it's print and broadcast counterparts. User Interaction. 

The ability for users/readers to gather more information about the topic they were just enlightened to with ease and precision. In this case, one reads about Kristina Keneally's support for Rugby League in Sydney and automatically, one can press a link that goes to the Rugby League home page and one to a site about NSW Events.

As a news and reading junkie, this makes my life so much more fufilling.

Hooray for Street Corner! Hooray for the Internet!

In the Public Interest?

(http://handballnews.blog.com/tag/drago-cosic)

Ray Warren. Sports Commentator Debonair. Has not missed calling a grand final since 1991.

And he may be forced to give the reins to someone else this year. . . because he's in hospital. . .

with a urinary tract infection.

Oh dear.

I'm really glad that this online article is not accompanied by a picture of Rabs himself. To forever have one's face immortalised online next to the letters UTI is just too wrong to be discussed.

Was this really in the public interest>? No. Is Warren just oversharing? Yes. This is the textbook definition of an overshare.

Thanks Rabbits. Get well soon??? =S

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/leagues-no1-caller-has-a-no1-problem-20100929-15xhs.html

Bad Boys Of League

www.theaustralian.com.au

Ah, nothing is as enticing to the media as a trial. 

And you know it's serious when The Australian decides to publish full coverage. Pfft, it's no Daily Telegraph after all.

Young Brett Stewart, pictured above with his partner, has been accused of sexually assaulting a young girl earlier this year. You can read the full backstory in the Australian article here.

This particular article doesn't reveal any new information. Just an assumption that the trial will go for a whole two weeks. oh wow, breathtaking stuff.

Begs the question, why do we need to have tiny updates on everything in life? Online News and Social Networking are breeding a society hooked on instantaneous updates.

Oh dear.

EDIT: Brett Stewart was cleared of all charges. A not guilty footballer? well it had to happen sometime i guess.

Hong Kong's Secret Love of Rugby League

www.thestandard.com.hk

On doing a simple search for a particular Rugby League story, i came across this article posted on a Hong Kong Newspaper website.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=18469&icid=a&d_str=

Ah.... what?

Since when have Hong Kong ever had an interest in Rugby League. . .  ever?

I don't even know whether they have a football team.

But here, on this page, a prominent newspaper website in Hong Kong, is an article about Mark Gasnier's return to Rugby League in Australia.

Now before i get too carried away with my opinions on Gasnier and his move to France and then back to Australia, I must point out the strangeness of the placement of this online news story. 

While The Standard does have a sports section, this particular article seems to have been filed under 'breaking news'. The strange placement of this article is quite significant as it explains the need for news websites to be clearly labelled and organised so that articles can be easily accessed by those who actually want to access them.

I stumbled across this gem in a google news search. God forbid had I been able to find it by going directly to The Standard's home page.

Curiouser and Curiouser. 

Money Grab

Courtesy of Daily Telegraph

When I first set my eyes on this article, i couldn't help but shake my head.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/saints-fans-challenged-to-turn-up/story-e6frexnr-1225926472204

Oh Journalism! How I loathe it when you try and use your power and skills to promote financial endeavours!

I am not a naive person - I know how the world works. But the dual interest that News Limited has in the National Rugby League is sometimes so disconcerting that it makes me want to vomit.

In this article, News Limited is playing on the egos of supporters by accusing them of having no passion in an attempt to sell more tickets to the finals match between the Dragons and the Tigers.

I can feel the bile coming up in my throat. And for the first time, its not just because the St George Dragons were mentioned.

Clearly you need to fix yourself News Ltd... your obvious grab for money is making me feel sick!

Limited Things to Say

One of Jason Koo's banners. (www.smh.com.au)

Every week there are an increasing number of conspiracy theory articles claiming that News Limited is now in the business of censorship. It is unfortunate though that these articles seem to be of the crazed fan type - where journalists go out to games in search of the craziest, most devoted fan they can in an attempt to find a story.

This is what seems to have been undertaken by Brad Walter of the Sydney Morning Herald who has written a story about a fan's anger at AAMI Stadium staff who allegedly asked him to take down his supporter signs because they provided anti-News Ltd sentiments.

You can read this thrilling piece of news here.

This particular article provides the reader with what seems to be only one (very opinionated) side of a dispute.

The article begins by making reference to the election, claiming that the free speech our democracy strives for is being taken away from football fans by media conglomerates. However, the article goes on to only offer the view of the crazed fan who believes he is being censored due to his wayward opinion

Only in the final paragraph are we offered any sentiments from the opposing side – a legitimate excuse is made being that the man’s signs were blocking advertising - which we can even see in the provided picture.

To sum it all up, the sensationalist nature of the man's remarks perhaps blinds the reader to the fact that this article has very little factual basis and is merely an over the top, one sided opinion piece.

Role Models or Roll Models?

Ben Cousins (Image Courtesy of The Age)

Ah, yet another Ben Cousins scandal. It's as if Journalists need as much of a fix as he seemingly did in his drug taking 'glory' days.

Now, there making a documentary!

Will Brodie of The Age Newspaper in Melbourne writes about how the Richmond Tigers (the AFL bad boy's current employer) are still backing his playing skills, despite the emergence of this rather controversial documentary to be released during Grand Final Week.

Read his article here

The most interesting part of this article is the attached video, which previews some rather risque sections of Cousin's documentary - mainly scenes with him high as a kite, participating in his favourite hobby of being half naked. Whilst the scenes are interesting, they do not actually give further insight into the character of Ben Cousins, simply being sensationalistic in nature.

The article itself is well written and straight to the point, or rather points. The first angle the writer takes is whether the documentary will affect Cousin's career - as would have been already discussed as the documentary was 'voluntary' in nature. The second angle is the more well-circulated issue of the AFL's drug testing effectiveness. Of course, bringing up this issue in relation to any news on Ben Cousins is hardly news at all. So why do we care?

Probably because, lets face it, Ben Cousins is a hot, football playing bad ass who wants to teach children by documenting his bad lifestyle choices.

Awwww

Let The Fans Have Their Say!

The Sydney Morning Herald website posted an article a week ago concerning the editing of fan posts on the Melbourne Storm Rugby League fansite, which is subsequently owned by News Limited.

You can view the article here.

This article is a very interesting hard news story that mixes the current Melbourne Storm Salary cap scandal (If you've been living under a rock and have no idea what i'm talking about click here) and the more ongoing and eternal issue of Free Speech.

The article is obviously well written, answering the who/what/when/where/why questions within the first two sentences and playing on the news values of currency, prominence and timeliness.

But what makes this article worthy of reading all the way to the end is the way in which the writer is able to make contradictory accusations while playing on issues already on the public mind. Basically, News Limited is the media company that owns the Melbourne Storm Rugby Club and were then instrumental in bringing the club into disrepute over it's salary cap scandal. Of course, it was big news and it is the duty of the media company to keep the public informed therefore there was nothing they could do except cover the issue as best as possible.

What the public has issues with is the fact a media company has a large vested and financial interest in an areas (Rugby League) where they are meant to be impartial.

More importantly, the writer reveals that the head of the News Limited Corporation, John Hartigan, has always been an avid supporter of Free Speech, thus the idea that his own corporation is censoring fan posts on a website he owns is a heavy idea indeed and one that is thoroughly newsworthy.

However, the accusation that the reason behind the censorship of some posts is due to their defamatory nature towards News Limited seems a little far fetched with the company's communications manager revealing that it was in fact due to the use of foul language.

We may never truly know - and thats what makes this piece of sports journalism remarkably interesting.

(Image Courtesy of SkySports.com)

Putting the "Good Sport" in "Good Sports Journalism"

Welcome to From The Back Page, a blog dedicated to discussing the field of Australian Sports Journalism!

Here, I intend to gather and discuss Sports related articles from some of Australia's major and minor online news sources.

Do not be afraid to comment on any of my posts as i'm a firm believer in the subjectivity of Journalism as a profession, though - like many Journalists - i'm also a firm believer in the idea that i'm always right.

So Enjoy!