Mainstream Media and International growth - Embarrassed not Embraced !

[The Partisan]

I write this after having a memory of watching last nights episode of NRL360 hosted by Ben Ikin and Paul Kent. A guest for the evening was none other than the globetrotting RL journo - Steve Mascord. From the discussions it sounded as though he may be a regular guest ( as in once a month maybe).

I normally like Paul Kent but his dismissal of all things new in the international arena just @#$%^&* me right off !!! :x



I can't but think that commentators / media types of Australia are more amused and 'embarrassed' about some of the new countries to take up our sport rather than embracing the idea - that others around the world have seen the sport; liked it - and want to play it !




I think these people too quickly denigrate the quality of competition, mocking its existence and comparing it to existing leagues / teams. Yes the current Czech national team probably would be whipped 100 - 0 by the local country pub team .... but at least they are having a go at setting up OUR (as in everyone's !) great game in a place most possibly unthought of by the game's forefathers.


Can't quite get out into words the frustation i have with (mostly) Australian media who continually knock and ridicule any attempt to have the game played somewhere different.


Rant over ! :crazy:

 

[Burns]

What happened, what did Kent say? I saw Mascord tweet positively about the show.

 

[langpark]

I normally like Paul Kent

Most disturbing part of the whole piece you wrote... ;-)

Seriously, the guy is a cancer. Those of us in emerging nations are toiling unpaid to spread the game, only for fat idiots on their six-figure incomes to sit back and rub salt into our wounds. I bet the guy has never volunteered a day in his life to Rugby League.

 

[Burns]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-360

On the page is a link to Mascord, Kent and Ikin talking Super League. The way in which Kent has no knowledge of the Super League and the manner in which he belittles Mascord's enthusiasm for the British style of play is anger inducing.

 

[Indelible]

Sat with his arms crossed the whole time like a little child. Ikin seems to be turning into a clone of this fool as well

 

[taipan]

Paul Kent was an embarrassment.Sat there arms folded,smirked at every comment Mascord made,about rugby league on the International front.

These are the so called open minded sport journos of a rugby league bent, apparently News Ltd employs.:roll:


You either get them just outright antagonist toward rugby league such as Bec Wilson with her drivel.A Gallop sycophant and an AFL coat tailer.
Or like Slothfield who looks for nothing but negatives,to fill his agenda driven dislike of Smith/Grant and the ARLC.It's as obvious as a nude in Martin Place.
Or finally ones like Hooper,Kent ,Massoud needing negatives to sensationalise their stories.Now and agin come up with positives.
I don't expect every story about rugby league to be positive,but I expect balance in reporting ,these guys are bereft of that quality.

 

[killbill]

Thanks for the link - surprised these people do not seem to want Rugby League to grow outside of Australia. How is the NFL treated in Australia by commentators? I have read what I could find on Jarryd Hayne. He got some press here on ESPN and only recently have they started to say Rugby League not just Rugby about him. However nothing since the signing as you would expect - baseball opening season is coming up.

 

[Burns]

Full Video here at this Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=794901643898195

 

[langpark]

Paul K*nt's attitude should not surprise anyone. I bet 90% of the people that frequent the NRL section of this very site would laugh and ridicule if you mention anything outside NRL, let alone emerging nations.

 

[killbill]

Paul K*nt's attitude should not surprise anyone. I bet 90% of the people that frequent the NRL section of this very site would laugh and ridicule if you mention anything outside NRL, let alone emerging nations.

I see with the standard I get that but do they not want the game to grow outside of the NRL? In the US many people are pretty excited about the NFL games being played in London. One of my buddies took his son to one as an experience actually.

 

[The Great Dane]

Kents a regressionest that's scared of failure, hence why he is anti-international growth and anti-expansion outside of the 'heartlands'.

But honestly I don't see the whole 'the mainstream RL media in Australia is anti-international growth' thing, I mean yeah there're a handful of loud mouths at the Daily Tele that are anti-internationals (Kent's one of them), but they're anti anything outside of suburban Sydney and are constantly trying to take the game back to similar settings to the ones it had back in the 70's, so I don't see why it surprises so many people that they are only interested in the NRL (and SOO) when their agenda is to shrink the league back to what it was roughly 40-50 years ago + Brisbane.

As for the rest of the media, I don't find them anti-international, for the most part I just find them ignorant of the international game and it's growth.

That also shouldn't be surprising to anybody considering most RL journos are payed to report on the NRL and local RL news, hence why they don't spend much (if any time) on the international game and why they're for the most part ignorant of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if say SBS or NITV (they already show the Auckland Competition) broadcast a couple of lower tier internationals and got a fair audience, sure it wouldn't be an audience anywhere near as large as they'd get for an NRL game, but I think it would be larger then most would expect.

From there the RLIF might be able to grow enough interest to justify a couple more RL journos reporting on international news (outside of Oz, NZ, Eng,and the odd PNG, Fiji, Samoa and Tongan news that is) more often, thus educating the general public of Australia about international RL.
But until that happens all the money is in domestic news for the journos.

 

[killbill]

Kents a regressionest that's scared of failure, hence why he is anti-international growth and anti-expansion outside of the 'heartlands'.

But honestly I don't see the whole 'the mainstream RL media in Australia is anti-international growth' thing, I mean yeah there're a handful of loud mouths at the Daily Tele that are anti-internationals (Kent's one of them), but they're anti anything outside of suburban Sydney and are constantly trying to take the game back to similar settings to the ones it had back in the 70's, so I don't see why it surprises so many people that they are only interested in the NRL (and SOO) when their agenda is to shrink the league back to what it was roughly 40-50 years ago + Brisbane.

As for the rest of the media, I don't find them anti-international, for the most part I just find them ignorant of the international game and it's growth.

That also shouldn't be surprising to anybody considering most RL journos are payed to report on the NRL and local RL news, hence why they don't spend much (if any time) on the international game and why they're for the most part ignorant of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if say SBS or NITV (they already show the Auckland Competition) broadcast a couple of lower tier internationals and got a fair audience, sure it wouldn't be an audience anywhere near as large as they'd get for an NRL game, but I think it would be larger then most would expect.

From there the RLIF might be able to grow enough interest to justify a couple more RL journos reporting on international news (outside of Oz, NZ, Eng,and the odd PNG, Fiji, Samoa and Tongan news that is) more often, thus educating the general public of Australia about international RL.
But until that happens all the money is in domestic news for the journos.

Thank you Dane for the overview - that makes sense but from an American perspective. wouldn't it make great copy the international view. I just read a post here with pictures from Serbia and Czech and other countries very interesting and I am new to the game! Thank you to the internet and those utilizing it! Papers are dying here and stories out of the norm are what gets readership. The only reason people pick up the Chronicle are sports and regional inserts for example. No doubt you guys have done this to death on here though. Again thanks for sharing.

 

[langpark]

Check this out! Aussie arrogance at its finest!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0wg9bh65OQ

 

[hutch]

Check this out! Aussie arrogance at its finest!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0wg9bh65OQ

It's not arrogance, they are just taking the p*ss. Vossy is a massive supporter of international rugby league and even he got involved. If anything it might have shown a few viewers that Russia have a rugby league team.

 

[langpark]

It's not arrogance, they are just taking the p*ss. Vossy is a massive supporter of international rugby league and even he got involved. If anything it might have shown a few viewers that Russia have a rugby league team.

That's my whole point. Instead of applauding efforts around the world, all they do is mock and ridicule.

 

[byrner]

That's my whole point. Instead of applauding efforts around the world, all they do is mock and ridicule.

Its a joke. Get a sense of humour.

 

[langpark]

Its a joke. Get a sense of humour.

I'm not going to lie, I did laugh a bit during the video, but that doesn't change the way I feel about it. It's a disgrace. Are you ok with the fact that the one an only time they ever mention Russian Rugby League is just to ridicule it? Rather than perhaps showing some of the great work that's being done over there to promote the game.

Imagine this, your a former League player or coach who's now an expat living in a country where League is not played, let's say Portugal, for example. Would seeing a video like that make you more inclined to spend your precious time and money starting up a few teams or not?

Anyway, i could go on, but I'll leave it there, it's just infuriating.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

It was pretty funny.

Putting Russia in the WC and making them play one of the best Roos sides I've ever seen was one of the most stupid things anyone has ever done, not just in rugby league, but in the history of multi-celled organisms. It pretty much deserves ridicule, even 15 years on.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Putting Russia in the WC and making them play one of the best Roos sides I've ever seen was one of the most stupid things anyone has ever done, not just in rugby league, but in the history of multi-celled organisms. It pretty much deserves ridicule, even 15 years on.

Like Japan playing the All Blacks in the 1995 rugby union WC and getting roasted 145-17.

 

[The Partisan]

As a postscript i have sent an email to NRL360 putting in a request for the guys to acknowledge the growth of the international game in the week leading up to the May 1 - 3 rep round.

Suggested they could discuss the merits of the rise of the internationals and its positive impact on the NRL / SL.

Sent info re the incoming South African ' experiential expedition' too !


Nothing ventured nothing gained !