Courier Mail-Fight Back

[El Diablo]

and the GC Bulletin will be all about the Gazzas

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/bully-boys-back-afl-over-titans/2008/07/06/1215282650283.html

Bully boys back AFL over Titans

July 7, 2008

NEWS Ltd - cue Darth Vader theme music from Star Wars - has conflicts of interest plastered all over rugby league. Here's another … We understand the Gold Coast Titans are furious about The Gold Coast Bulletin helping bankroll the region's new AFL team. When the Titans started to sniff out potential sponsors a few years ago, the News Ltd-owned tabloid steadfastly refused to do so in the name of editorial independence. Imagine the Titans' bewilderment, then, to learn that not only has the newspaper become a partner of the consortium expected to be handed the AFL's 17th licence in October but editor-in-chief Bob Gordon is sitting pretty on the board. Many at the Titans - without question the success story of the NRL in recent times - claim "The Bully" is less supportive of rugby league than before. Indeed, the whole thing makes you wonder why News Ltd is supporting an AFL team when it has half-ownership of rugby league? This all comes on the back of former Bulletin managing director Roy Miller being spirited on to the NRL board as one of the media company's appointees. We called News Ltd corporate affairs director Greg Baxter, who said he was unaware of the relationship between the newspaper and the proposed AFL side. He directed us to Gordon, who is yet to return our call.

 

[greg]

You can guarentee if the Broncos were in the Grand Final the reporting in this rag of a paper would favour the NRL again. If HENJAK gets sacked (I said "if") it will get massive coverage. I often get the impression the good old Courier Mail only cares about NRL if the Broncos are involved. I understand 1 team towns are biased in their reporting but the courier mail takes it to a new level. They don't understand that Brisbane is a rugby league heartland (not "the" heartland) and that plenty of fans in Brisbane go for teams other than the Broncos.

 

[juro]

Rugby league fans need to fight with their feet. If these newspapers are going to do this garbage, walk away. Surely there must be other news sources which provide the people news that they are actually interested in!

 

[juro]

I remember being up in Brisbane about half a dozen years ago during the summer. I picked up the local paper, probably the Courier, to read the report on the 1st day of the cricket test match. Rather than report on the day's play, the headline and half the article was going on about how the Queensland bowler had been overlooked for the team.

 

[fourplay]

I wonder how much the AFL are paying these people? Whether it's government aid money(SA), Blacktown's entire sports budgets($20m, one mans decision), stadiums and the media, both print and TV, just look at the puff pieces ch9 churn out. The AFL always seem to "influence" the decision makers.

 

[Roosterphin1]

The Courier Mail is as bad as the Telegraph. FFS their resident pro queensland sports writer Mike Coleman is a NSWelshman. Says it all really.

Just goes to show how many mexicans we have living up here now

 

[applesauce]

I honestly believe that the NRL fans need to email/call the papers or networks etc to at least keep it to the front of their minds.

NRL fans like attendances are lazy when compared to AFL, and when compared to the NRL the squeaky wheels the AFL's are loud and in large numbers.

We just seem to roll over and take it. At least show these mongrels that NRL fans have more passion and undivided attention to our game and not the AFL.

 

[docbrown]

I honestly believe that the NRL fans need to email/call the papers or networks etc to at least keep it to the front of their minds.

NRL fans like attendances are lazy when compared to AFL, and when compared to the NRL the squeaky wheels the AFL's are loud and in large numbers.

We just seem to roll over and take it. At least show these mongrels that NRL fans have more passion and undivided attention to our game and not the AFL.

A valid point and it does work. I've had feedback from papers and TV network myself - even retractions.

 

[Brutus]

Anyone looking at the CM website right now would be forgiven for thinking that Brisbane was an out-and-out AFL city.

 

[taipan]

Has anyone got the e-mail address of Ch9 Sydney or the Today Show.

 

[JW]

Fair dinkum, is there even a game on this Sunday? Honestly, this is the most lackluster build-up to a Grand Final I can remember, and quite undeserving for what should be a top match. Even the Manly-Melbourne games had more coverage across the board than this.

The CM website is just full of barf at the moment.

 

[Perth Red]

Given it is two Sydney teams I was expecting it to be going off in NSW for this years GF. Do you think the psychology of our game still has its working mans roots in that we seem to doth our cap to everyone else and seem happy to sit back and let others steam roll us?

Whilst I think the game on the field is appaling you can't but admire the AFL's abilities off the field. Would be good to see a PHD or masters student do a thesis on sports coverage in the media in this country.

The clever way AFl manipulates media through contra deals, sponsorship deals, not to mention a bl00dy good PR department is something we could definately learn from. When an alien sport can dominate the home sport in the heartland through the media outlets we know we have some massive challenges in front of us.

This battle isn;t for RL or AFl fans, it is for the 75-80% of people who are "sports" fans, have a passing interest in sport and of course the kids.

 

[El Diablo]

Has anyone got the e-mail address of Ch9 Sydney or the Today Show.

http://today.ninemsn.com.au/contactus1.aspx

today@nine.com.au

did you ever hear back from the NRL re the 60 minutes claim and what is the truth?

 

[Brutus]

It's getting worse by the hour.

NRL Grand Final...anyone home??

 

[dogslife]

The courier mail is very very ordinary. I make a point of not buying it anymore because im sick of hearing about the broncos, the titans and the suns (for christ's sake who in QLD gives a sh*t about the AFL?). If I ever feel like reading a paper i pick up the smh. The telegraph isn't too bad despite the fact it's a news ltd publication and a lot of the same garbage is common to both the cm and the telegraph

 

[El Diablo]

It's getting worse by the hour.

NRL Grand Final...anyone home??

odd they nver thought either GF was big news

 

[Brutus]

Ch 10 Sydney started their sports news yesterday with 5 mins of Comm Games stuff.

I know they have the rights, but ffs...it's grand final week.

2GB and 2UE felt the need to start their afternoon sports news with the Ablett thing and the real corker came this morning when the North Melbourne Best and Fairest Awards led the UE news.

What the f**k is going on?

 

[Brutus]

The CM website is no better this morning.

The Sports section is a joke.

All Ablett and Tird.

 

[Lego_Man]

There needs to be a Holocaust of Victorians in the northern states.

Or at the very least some form of McCarthyism.

 

[applesauce]

This was the CM website last night:

If you go on the DTele AFL is down the end, if you go on the HSun NRL is at the end, but on the CMail the NRL and AFL have level pegging (RU is bigger than AFL up here)...

If the Titans do anything the CM doesn't give them a taste of exposure yet a still non-existent football team gets better treatment than the Titans, go figure.

At least on channel 7 last night they had the decency to show interviews will young males on the street who were asked about Ablett and said "Who's Gary Ablett?".

Why is James Hird the next biggest story???

This was 2nd after the Hird slide. If you read the caption you will be stunned, you would swear it was last Saturday night and a Melbourne paper...

This was the 3rd slide... It isn't even about NRL or the GF just a sport quiz!

God help us! :crazy: