Media manipulation of the message - WHY?

[mjp]

I usually have a bit of a 'live and let live' issue when it comes to reporting and don't get too upset by what is written in the media. But the way the media are driving and manipulating the message contained in stories (more and more) is really starting to get to me.

Example:

Sam Mitchell is a grown man. He made a grown up decision to relocate to Perth on a huge money (for a first year coach) 4-year deal. He is now breaking that contract because he wants to head back to Melbourne...everyone seems to think that is all fine and, hey, whaddayagonnado...family comes first you know.

Meanwhile, Tim Kelly is a young kid. He has 3-kids under 2. He HAD to nominate for the draft in order to become part of the AFL system and be able to support his family versus living on the wages of an apprentice electrician. He TOLD all of the non-WA clubs NOT to draft him...that it would be hard, that his wife needed her sister and aunt around to help. They took him anyway and he signed the MANDATED ROOKIE CONTRACT. Now he wants to go home because of family reasons and that is disgraceful because after being overlooked in 5-drafts, Geelong finally gave him his chance and he owes them and blah blah.

Example:

Essendon offer way unders for Jake Stringer and the Bulldogs are just being stupid 'cos these details always 'get done' and they just need to do the best they can because "I can ASSURE YOU" he wont be walking back into that footy club and blah de blah de blah...

Meanwhile, Freo apparently offer way unders for Jesse Hogan and that is so unfair and why did they spend so much time with him when they were going to make such a 'lowball' offer and oh my goodness it is things like this that really challenge the integrity of the trade process and Peter Bell is so inexperienced that this is the problem and blah blah blah...

I feel like I could go on forever and ever.

Why do they do this? Why do they feel the need to do this? Why doesn't ANYONE ever produce a counter to the group think POV that gets presented??? I had some hope for Cornes as a media commentator when he first started but he is just as bad as the rest...Do any of them actually step back and THINK about what they are saying? Why do things that some clubs do receive the big, consistent tick of approval (no-matter-what) whereas others are pilloried for taking exactly the same steps/actions/approaches?

It is getting WORSE, not better. And there is simply not an independent voice anywhere to be found. I had hope for the footyology site but Connolly's time with the 'big' media and role as an Essendon apologist (I don't totally blame him for that, he is an Essendon supporter and doesn't make a secret of it) compromises his view too frequently...

Sorry for the rant. Just tired I guess.

[Rocket Science]

What you've just described is a microcosm of the media landscape in general and the way it frames and distorts to suit various powers and vested influencers.

Particularly with the $$ involved, why would the footy meeja be immune? There's precious little rigorous football journalism. It's a circus for the most part.

I suspect most are wise to the agendas and machinations anyway which might explain why general regard for the football media is ungenerous at best.

Yes it's easy to get the shits with it.

[EasternWest]

Nuke

[1eyedog]

There is rarely an independent voice in anything, anywhere. The media drops PMs it is all encompassing.

[Topdog]

That's why i don't bother reading any of the "journalism" surrounding footy, although for non Essendon issues i do like footyology.
Also i didn't know about Kelly's background and telling clubs not to draft him

[GVGjr]

Meanwhile, Tim Kelly is a young kid. He has 3-kids under 2. He HAD to nominate for the draft in order to become part of the AFL system and be able to support his family versus living on the wages of an apprentice electrician. He TOLD all of the non-WA clubs NOT to draft him...that it would be hard, that his wife needed her sister and aunt around to help. They took him anyway and he signed the MANDATED ROOKIE CONTRACT. Now he wants to go home because of family reasons and that is disgraceful because after being overlooked in 5-drafts, Geelong finally gave him his chance and he owes them and blah blah.


Sorry for the rant. Just tired I guess.

Perhaps professional football is beyond Kelly.
He effectively tried to manipulate the draft by warning clubs off selecting him. After West Coast selected 2 players before Kelly was selected by Geelong he still somehow feels tied to them to the point that he has refused to consider offers from Fremantle because he doesn't want to play for a lowly team. Yes he has kids, yes he is probably homesick but this is a nonsense for him not to consider offers from Fremantle.

This from an article I just read:

“He said if you could get something for him he would love to go home. But he will only go to West Coast and if not he will see out his contract.

“I asked him if he wanted to have a chat to Peter Bell and he said, ‘I don’t want to do it’.

“He said, ‘I will stay at Geelong or go to West Coast’. But I don’t want to go to a club down the bottom of the ladder because Geelong is a good club"

Okay young man, you're clearly not ready to be a professional footballer and the homesick act and lack of support you have mentioned are just convenient excuses to get your own way. A lot of adults have to put their career ambitions on hold and settle for something else because their family is more important to them but this is just a clear case of manipulation from Kelly. Perhaps he needs to compromise just a bit himself.

Despite having 3 young children himself Kelly is coming across as an immature aged recruit

[Topdog]

Not considering Freo is ridiculous

[divvydan]

His manager has in the past bad mouthed Ross Lyon and Freo on social media. Wouldn't be surprised if the manager had plenty of sway over Kelly's club of preference.

[mjp]

P
Despite having 3 young children himself Kelly is coming across as an immature aged recruit

I don't think there is any doubt about that. In fact, the whole point of the story I was telling was on the basis that Kelly is 100% out of his depth in life, if not on the footy field. So why does someone who is battling so hard with non footy things get such a hard time from commentators whilst a mature coach (Mitchell) gets a pass?

Saying Kelly is beyond professional footy is clearly not the case - he missed the Geelong B&F by 0.5 votes. Saying he is:

1/. Getting (and listening too) bad advice.
2/. Immature in his dealings with the media and footy club leadership

is no doubt accurate...the fact that there are VERY unhappy players at the Fremantle Footy club should come as no surprise to anyone...the fact he has friends there telling him not to go there...would that surprise you? My understanding is that he simply does not want to go to Fremantle and given the option 'Stay at Geelong or move to Freo' would stay at Geelong every day of the week.

Again though - why does Mitchell get a pass when Kelly gets such a hard time...

[FrediKanoute]

It comes back to what the role of the media is. This is a philosophical question rather than an actual question. The easiest way to understand s look at the way "news" was reported in 1980 compared to 1990 compared to 2000 compared to 2010 compared to now. Broadly what you should see is a move away from fact based reporting to opinion based reporting. Why? Economics are one reason - getting facts is costly whereas opinions are freely given. Also, as news has become more and more "real time"/"constant"/"instant", the actual amount of "news" in the pure sense of the word hasn't really changed - just that there is much more content/sources/avenues that need to deliver the "news".

Where in 1980 he "news" fitted into 4 daily eveing news bulletins; 2 morning daily newspapers and an afternoon paper (4 terrestial channels 2, 7, 9 & 10 and The Age, The Sun and The Herald) from a Melbourne perspective the number of stories reported was capped. Today with multiple news channels, online papers, online blogs, online experts etc the number of news stories reported is enormous and the content requirement can only be filled with opinion pieces.

Relating it back to football. The whammy here is that in 1980, an AFL footballer was full time trade/profession and part time footballer. The professionalisation of the game has mean that when footballer's retire from football they have basically 2 immediate career options to them 1) go into the media 2) go into coaching. The proliferation o the media (print, radio and tv) with ex-footballer pundits, most of whom have no life experience outside the bubble of the AFL makes for a phenomenom of Group Think. They aren't trained to think critically an analyse and because they all been schooled in much the same way through the AFL system they all have the same concept of right and wrong.

This is what makes real journalists, Caroline Wilson, Rohan Connolly, Mike Sheehan so much more effective - their pieces are often so much better researched and written that they have an impact!

[ledge]

It comes back to what the role of the media is. This is a philosophical question rather than an actual question. The easiest way to understand s look at the way "news" was reported in 1980 compared to 1990 compared to 2000 compared to 2010 compared to now. Broadly what you should see is a move away from fact based reporting to opinion based reporting. Why? Economics are one reason - getting facts is costly whereas opinions are freely given. Also, as news has become more and more "real time"/"constant"/"instant", the actual amount of "news" in the pure sense of the word hasn't really changed - just that there is much more content/sources/avenues that need to deliver the "news".

Where in 1980 he "news" fitted into 4 daily eveing news bulletins; 2 morning daily newspapers and an afternoon paper (4 terrestial channels 2, 7, 9 & 10 and The Age, The Sun and The Herald) from a Melbourne perspective the number of stories reported was capped. Today with multiple news channels, online papers, online blogs, online experts etc the number of news stories reported is enormous and the content requirement can only be filled with opinion pieces.

Relating it back to football. The whammy here is that in 1980, an AFL footballer was full time trade/profession and part time footballer. The professionalisation of the game has mean that when footballer's retire from football they have basically 2 immediate career options to them 1) go into the media 2) go into coaching. The proliferation o the media (print, radio and tv) with ex-footballer pundits, most of whom have no life experience outside the bubble of the AFL makes for a phenomenom of Group Think. They aren't trained to think critically an analyse and because they all been schooled in much the same way through the AFL system they all have the same concept of right and wrong.

This is what makes real journalists, Caroline Wilson, Rohan Connolly, Mike Sheehan so much more effective - their pieces are often so much better researched and written that they have an impact!

Where does Damien Barrett fall ? He has never played the game and You can’t possibly call him a real journo .

[GVGjr]

I don't think there is any doubt about that. In fact, the whole point of the story I was telling was on the basis that Kelly is 100% out of his depth in life, if not on the footy field. So why does someone who is battling so hard with non footy things get such a hard time from commentators whilst a mature coach (Mitchell) gets a pass?

Saying Kelly is beyond professional footy is clearly not the case - he missed the Geelong B&F by 0.5 votes. Saying he is:

1/. Getting (and listening too) bad advice.
2/. Immature in his dealings with the media and footy club leadership

is no doubt accurate...the fact that there are VERY unhappy players at the Fremantle Footy club should come as no surprise to anyone...the fact he has friends there telling him not to go there...would that surprise you? My understanding is that he simply does not want to go to Fremantle and given the option 'Stay at Geelong or move to Freo' would stay at Geelong every day of the week.

Again though - why does Mitchell get a pass when Kelly gets such a hard time...

He's been in the industry a long time and I guess people always thought he'd been heading back home at some stage. After being part of a flag winning effort the timing is probably also right but like you have explained he should be getting called out because he's breaking a contract and the industry seems to look past this possibly because it creates news or a buzz in the business of AFL football.
The fact that it doesn't involve another player or a draft pick is the reason why it's not a discussion point for the media or fans.

I've had enough of contracts being broken because its too heavily weighted against the clubs.

[Twodogs]

It comes back to what the role of the media is. This is a philosophical question rather than an actual question. The easiest way to understand s look at the way "news" was reported in 1980 compared to 1990 compared to 2000 compared to 2010 compared to now. Broadly what you should see is a move away from fact based reporting to opinion based reporting. Why? Economics are one reason - getting facts is costly whereas opinions are freely given. Also, as news has become more and more "real time"/"constant"/"instant", the actual amount of "news" in the pure sense of the word hasn't really changed - just that there is much more content/sources/avenues that need to deliver the "news".

Where in 1980 he "news" fitted into 4 daily eveing news bulletins; 2 morning daily newspapers and an afternoon paper (4 terrestial channels 2, 7, 9 & 10 and The Age, The Sun and The Herald) from a Melbourne perspective the number of stories reported was capped. Today with multiple news channels, online papers, online blogs, online experts etc the number of news stories reported is enormous and the content requirement can only be filled with opinion pieces.

Relating it back to football. The whammy here is that in 1980, an AFL footballer was full time trade/profession and part time footballer. The professionalisation of the game has mean that when footballer's retire from football they have basically 2 immediate career options to them 1) go into the media 2) go into coaching. The proliferation o the media (print, radio and tv) with ex-footballer pundits, most of whom have no life experience outside the bubble of the AFL makes for a phenomenom of Group Think. They aren't trained to think critically an analyse and because they all been schooled in much the same way through the AFL system they all have the same concept of right and wrong.

This is what makes real journalists, Caroline Wilson, Rohan Connolly, Mike Sheehan so much more effective - their pieces are often so much better researched and written that they have an impact!

Great article. One of the best assessments I have read on WOOF.

I was always of the opinion that family life counts more and at the end of the day footy was just a game, and if players wanted to break a contract then the competition (being shit scared of having its industrial laws tested by an actual legal system because it would lose) should just look the other way. But I heard a guy ring into SEN the other day about the Kelly situation and he pointed out that he joined the Air Force when he left school and learned a trade but after he'd finished his apprenticeship that he "owed" the Air Force 8 years (I think, it might have been 4 and it was 8 altogether) and that he could be sent anywhere in the world to complete that time. His exact words were "you try breaking a contract with the ADF. See where that gets you"

[Sedat]

The meeedya have inserted themselves into the stories, instead of reporting on the stories. Hence they frame the narrative to suit their paymasters.

[Topdog]

What's the deal at Freo to have so many unhappy players?

[GVGjr]

What's the deal at Freo to have so many unhappy players?

Huge changes at the club. Perhaps Ross Lyon is difficult to get on with

[Twodogs]

What's the deal at Freo to have so many unhappy players?

I assume it's Ross Lyon.

[mjp]

I assume it's Ross Lyon.

Let's go with Lyon as one part of a problem.

Another part has gone.

Another larger issue remains. And there is no fixing that one...

[westdog54]

Where does Damien Barrett fall ? He has never played the game and You can’t possibly call him a real journo .

Bag him it all you want for how he treats us but the Supplements Saga was his baby. We may not like him but he's a journo, for better or worse.


Let's go with Lyon as one part of a problem.

Another part has gone.

Another larger issue remains. And there is no fixing that one...

I'm not sure I follow...

[Happy Days]

I'm not sure I follow...

Clearly talking about Chris Mayne

[Topdog]

Bag him it all you want for how he treats us but the Supplements Saga was his baby. We may not like him but he's a journo, for better or worse.



I'm not sure I follow...

What do you mean the supplements saga was his?

[EasternWest]

Clearly talking about Chris Mayne

Lol.

[mjp]

I'm not sure I follow...

Three problems.

Lyon is one.

One has recently left. You can work this out easily enough.

One other remains...

[jeemak]

I think the third is Fyffe...……...

[EasternWest]

Three problems.

Lyon is one.

One has recently left. You can work this out easily enough.

One other remains...

Just say it. The suspense is killing me.

[azabob]

Just say it. The suspense is killing me.

Chris Bond?

Still not sure who the remaining one is.

[mjp]

There you guys have it...

[azabob]

For those playing at home the three are

Lyon
Fyfe
Bond

[westdog54]

What do you mean the supplements saga was his?

He broke the story and chased it harder than anyone else.