Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News has been writing a series of blogs about the increasing trend of banning ‘off message’ football journalists from clubs. Newcastle United and Swindon Town have been two of the worst offenders, but Rangers and Celtic have also got in on the act.
Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News has been writing a series of blogs about the increasing trend of banning ‘off message’ football journalists from clubs. Newcastle United and Swindon Town have been two of the worst offenders, but Rangers and Celtic have also got in on the act.
Clubs are very open about their motives. They want to control the messages that reach the outside world to ensure that they are positive and release news through club web sites that can generate revenue.
Not surprisingly, the football authorities deplore what is happening, but are apparenty powerless to do anything about it.
One might add that local football journalism is also threatened by financial factors. Local newspapers, often owned by chains, are threatened by the decline in advertising revenues and print sales which is not offset by any digital income. Consequently, the resources invested in journalism are declining.