ali
Bench
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Hi Guys,
This is something that has been worrying me for awhile. I enjoy being on these forums as much as the next bloke, but I think a lot of the time we waste hot air debating issues amongst ourselves. At the end of the day we all want the same thing, a successful 2008 world cup. We may have different opinions on how this will be achieved, but in the end of the day we want a successful tournament that turns a profit. I know we are all growing edgier and edgier waiting for announcements from the ARL.
But the major problem I see is not just concerning the ARLs management of the competition, but turning around a skeptical media who are likely to rip into the event, thus stopping thousands of swinging fans from attending. Basically who needs enemies when you have the Sydney centric RL media, most of which cant see past the NRL and feel the need to denigrate international RL.
In the short term we need to forget about converting non RL fans, and focus on educating RL fans on the merits of international RL. No need debating with union people, where your average NRL supporter wont even back you up. Something as simple as posting the odd topic on your clubs most popular forum, keeping them up to date with world cup qualifiers etc. We need to email RL / sports shows, go on talkback, chat about issues, get letters published in league magazines / daily newspapers. Follow this up by campaigns to get TV coverage of qualifiers. Basically make the world cup /international RL such a talking point that the media dont need prompting to take a positive opinion towards the event in 08. We have 2 years to turn the media around. We dont want the event sneaking up on the public or worse still endure a year of the media ripping into it.
We have a good crew of people on here. Some of us are getting involved in the media at an individual level, but we need to get organized. Our English cousins have used the media superbly post the 2000 world cup disaster and I truly believe some of their work is the reason the Super League has gone from strength to strength since the world cup disaster. By getting organized, they stopped most of the negative press that followed the 2000 World Cup. If you get a chance, read Ray Gents book on the petition (which Ill happily lend out). Our problem is more specific, in that our media loves Rugby League but tends to have an inferiority complex towards the international side of our game.
So what I am proposing is that;
(a) We create a sub-forum in here for media campaigns. Im not sure of the specifics, but maybe Roopy we could have the Pacific Cup forum after it is over?
(b) We actively recruit and publicise this forum so that the majority of international fans can get involved. Probably no need for an actual website.
(c) Members would be encouraged to make a couple of contributions to the media each week, and post a copy of what they sent / did with a particular media outlet.
(d) Try and work with certain journos, such as Mascord and Voss who are good supporters of the international game.
(e) Ultimately we could get the ARL on board and ask for advice on where they would like help. If we could get organized and start having a decent impact, Im sure the ARL would be interested in hearing from us.
In conclusion, its pretty obvious that the majority of people on here care greatly for international RL. But whilst the likes of Yanto, Der Kaiser and others to a lesser extent are slaving away at the coal face, we are sitting back and spending many hours a week debating all this. Our time needs to be better used to turn around the skeptical Aussie media and RL public. The carve up the English media gave the 2000 World Cup was definitely not good for the tournament. We do not want a repeat in 2008!
I think a campaign like this is of utmost importance to the success of the tournament. I predicted very accurately how our media would treat the 2003 union world cup, and Im confident we are in for a rough ride of 08 if we dont act soon.
This is something that has been worrying me for awhile. I enjoy being on these forums as much as the next bloke, but I think a lot of the time we waste hot air debating issues amongst ourselves. At the end of the day we all want the same thing, a successful 2008 world cup. We may have different opinions on how this will be achieved, but in the end of the day we want a successful tournament that turns a profit. I know we are all growing edgier and edgier waiting for announcements from the ARL.
But the major problem I see is not just concerning the ARLs management of the competition, but turning around a skeptical media who are likely to rip into the event, thus stopping thousands of swinging fans from attending. Basically who needs enemies when you have the Sydney centric RL media, most of which cant see past the NRL and feel the need to denigrate international RL.
In the short term we need to forget about converting non RL fans, and focus on educating RL fans on the merits of international RL. No need debating with union people, where your average NRL supporter wont even back you up. Something as simple as posting the odd topic on your clubs most popular forum, keeping them up to date with world cup qualifiers etc. We need to email RL / sports shows, go on talkback, chat about issues, get letters published in league magazines / daily newspapers. Follow this up by campaigns to get TV coverage of qualifiers. Basically make the world cup /international RL such a talking point that the media dont need prompting to take a positive opinion towards the event in 08. We have 2 years to turn the media around. We dont want the event sneaking up on the public or worse still endure a year of the media ripping into it.
We have a good crew of people on here. Some of us are getting involved in the media at an individual level, but we need to get organized. Our English cousins have used the media superbly post the 2000 world cup disaster and I truly believe some of their work is the reason the Super League has gone from strength to strength since the world cup disaster. By getting organized, they stopped most of the negative press that followed the 2000 World Cup. If you get a chance, read Ray Gents book on the petition (which Ill happily lend out). Our problem is more specific, in that our media loves Rugby League but tends to have an inferiority complex towards the international side of our game.
So what I am proposing is that;
(a) We create a sub-forum in here for media campaigns. Im not sure of the specifics, but maybe Roopy we could have the Pacific Cup forum after it is over?
(b) We actively recruit and publicise this forum so that the majority of international fans can get involved. Probably no need for an actual website.
(c) Members would be encouraged to make a couple of contributions to the media each week, and post a copy of what they sent / did with a particular media outlet.
(d) Try and work with certain journos, such as Mascord and Voss who are good supporters of the international game.
(e) Ultimately we could get the ARL on board and ask for advice on where they would like help. If we could get organized and start having a decent impact, Im sure the ARL would be interested in hearing from us.
In conclusion, its pretty obvious that the majority of people on here care greatly for international RL. But whilst the likes of Yanto, Der Kaiser and others to a lesser extent are slaving away at the coal face, we are sitting back and spending many hours a week debating all this. Our time needs to be better used to turn around the skeptical Aussie media and RL public. The carve up the English media gave the 2000 World Cup was definitely not good for the tournament. We do not want a repeat in 2008!
I think a campaign like this is of utmost importance to the success of the tournament. I predicted very accurately how our media would treat the 2003 union world cup, and Im confident we are in for a rough ride of 08 if we dont act soon.
