The local paper needs the football club more than the football club needs the local paper

Yeah, that was touched on in the article, too. (I wonder how many posting here have even read it).

 

I went to the paper's website and they have a number of team articles posted. They'll never be able to shut them completely out, if that was the owner's intent. Not without shutting out the BBC and all other media outlets.

 

Wiki tale: In 1966, Annenberg used the pages of The Inquirer to cast doubt on the candidacy of Democrat Milton Shapp, for governor of Pennsylvania. Shapp was highly critical of the proposed merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad with the New York Central Railroad and was pushing the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission to prevent it from occurring. Walter Annenberg, who was the biggest individual stockholder of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wanted to see the merger go through and was frustrated with Shapp's opposition. During a press conference, an Inquirer reporter asked Shapp if he had ever been a patient in a mental hospital. Never having been in one, Shapp simply said "no". The next day, a five-column front page Inquirer headline read, "Shapp Denies Mental Institution Stay". Shapp and others have attributed his loss of the election to Annenberg's newspaper.

 

What type of hard-hitting journalism are fans of the beloved local football club missing out on if coverage in the Swindon Advertiser is reduced? Is the coverage like "The Podunk Podunkers beat/lost to the West Podunk Wheateaters in a hard-fought game/match/contest?

Looking at the "Football" section, coverage seems to be similar to papers in Podunk in the states. Think the club can do just as well with coverage. This article from their "chief sports writer" had six consecutive paragraphs of quotes. Definitely serving the readers with great news they can't get anywhere else.

Pre-season optimism is flowing for Town Ladies boss Robertson (From Swindon Advertiser)

 

Never get into a pissing match with a company that used to buy ink by the barrel, but doesn't need that much ink anymore so they outsource printing.

 

Couldn't that headline be considered libelous? It looks like they're saying he was in the institution and denied that he was in there. If he wasn't in there, couldn't that be reckless disregard for the truth?

 

Would you include contact info for the helpful media guy in print for upset readers to complain to?

 

In essence, blaming the team for the inability to cover the team. Sorry, but aren't journalists supposed to get the story and not have it spoon-fed to them via "access?"

 

Like I've said: Fuck it. Buy a ticket and report from the cheap seats. Wait by the players' parking lot after the game if you want to corral someone for some insight. Or get on the horn. "Access" comes with strings attached, and there's enough information out there nowadays that you scarcely need it to cover a team.

 

You quoted Michael Keaton's Batman. Awesome

 

I have absolutely no idea what this is referring to. This thread is really depressing. The facts that so many people don't see the value in journalism is not a good sign. Let's just have every team/company/politician just put out press releases on their website and call it a day. Nothing but great news!

 

Some context is necessary here, I think.

For one, sports coverage in the UK is decidedly different, especially in soccer. Players aren't just available in the locker room. In fact, they're rarely available at all. Just look at this article about a new deal with rights holders about access:
Premier League clubs agree to give TV channels more access to players | Football | The Guardian

Could you imagine the NFL media partners agreeing to such a limp policy? Not in a million years.

Also, Swindon Town may be a third tier English soccer team, but it is the primary sports team within Swindon. The closest higher level teams are Bristol City (one level up in The Championship, or second tier) or in the greater London area. Both of those would be about an hour away via public transit, if not more.

So it very much is a centerpiece to the local paper's sports coverage along with rugby and cricket. Yes, the Premier League gets significant coverage, but it's just like a local paper here running stuff from the AP on the NFL while focusing primarily on the mid-level college athletic department. Think of any minor league town that has a baseball team with a huge following but no college or pro sports. Or a college town with a huge presence but no minor league team (or a really small one, Class A or rookie ball).

Those beats are the lifeblood of the sports section along with prep sports. But there isn't any such thing as prep sports to cover in the UK. So where an American small town paper could double down on high school coverage, this paper can't. Neither is there an opportunity to cover college athletics, like a paper might do when ousted by a minor league baseball team. It looks like there are a couple other lower tier pro sports - including ice hockey - in Swindon, but not the big three.

So you can't just say screw it. The team owner or president is sadly right; the newspaper needs the team a lot more than the team needs the newspaper.

The paper needs to find a way to cover the team in a new way. Do more analysis - even if it's watching from the stands or on television. See if you can get in for nearby away games. Simply not covering the team would be a dangerous move.