Rags Writing City Reports For MEN

[Uwe Rosler's Grandad]

I can't spend all day on here, much as I would like to, but I am interested in your views.

Well youve registered to the site so you have a log on, I dont know you but will work on the assumption that you are educated, and being a journalist thick skinned, so as the clubs largest independant forum you have come to the right place to guage your target audience's views. Its quite easy on here to quickly seive out the idiots and the kids to give a more balanced view of the average posters views and concerns about our club at any given time. Who knows over a period of time you may even reach the magical post count that will allow you to start your own threads on issues you may be researching for articles at the time, enabling you to get some true feedback from the fans of the club. Dont worry I can assure you it will rarely be a one sided love in on here.

Use the access you have to the people that matter on here and who knows, we may just turn out to be your most valuable resource, not for inside info but for the fact that if we had a voice that truly represented our views in a fair and even handed manner, then the MUEN as it is referred to may manage to gain more respect from its local target audience, effectively raising your own reputation.

Just a suggestion, IMO ;o)

Top post.

 

[flb]

why have the MEN never ran a story (and i mean a proper story) on the MUFC debts?

We have run loads of them! In fact I was named the Football Supporters Federation's football writer of the year award in 2006 for covering the whole affair.
It also got me pretty much shunned by United.
here's a recent one (April) not written by me:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1107902_debt_crunch_in_2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ch_in_2013</a>

The poster who says that the MEN tries to belittle City, I'm just interested to know which stories do that?
Chris Bailey is a lifelong Blue, and proud of it, and the sports editor used to be a Maine Road regular I believe - though he keeps his allegiances close to his chest.
I certainly won't be belittling City, and have no reason to in the first place.
It would be stupid for us to belittle one of our two main selling points.
I can't spend all day on here, much as I would like to, but I am interested in your views.
Plenty of United fans think we are pro-City. In fact, the first time I spoke to fergie, in 2001, he blew his top at me and told me "Youse are all Blues at the Evening News!"
The truth is that we try to tread a fine line between the two clubs, but a lot of people only see what they want to see.

Stuart,the fact you got shunned by United speaks volumes in itself,and im pretty sure other not so forward reporters are now scared of of writing anything derogatory about United-i wish you good luck in your new job.

 

[Neville Kneville]

why have the MEN never ran a story (and i mean a proper story) on the MUFC debts?

We have run loads of them! In fact I was named the Football Supporters Federation's football writer of the year award in 2006 for covering the whole affair.
It also got me pretty much shunned by United.
here's a recent one (April) not written by me:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1107902_debt_crunch_in_2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ch_in_2013</a>

The poster who says that the MEN tries to belittle City, I'm just interested to know which stories do that?
Chris Bailey is a lifelong Blue, and proud of it, and the sports editor used to be a Maine Road regular I believe - though he keeps his allegiances close to his chest.
I certainly won't be belittling City, and have no reason to in the first place.
It would be stupid for us to belittle one of our two main selling points.
I can't spend all day on here, much as I would like to, but I am interested in your views.
Plenty of United fans think we are pro-City. In fact, the first time I spoke to fergie, in 2001, he blew his top at me and told me "Youse are all Blues at the Evening News!"
The truth is that we try to tread a fine line between the two clubs, but a lot of people only see what they want to see.

Respect to you for having the balls to come on here Stuart & good luck in your new job.

Please find out some news about Tevez, Eto'o etc rather than pushing the Crouch angle!

My problem with you doing the City job is simply that traditionally there has always been a slant on the various reports by City & Utd reporters & now whereas Utd have their man, plus the editor, to give their side of the argument, we also have someone who's sympathys lie with Utd to argue our case. Your comments about being shunned by Utd are proof of how they like to influence the media, even if some of the posters on here who are more intelligent than myself can't see it. I hope you'll give our side of the story, argue our case when they twist the news & not let 'Pravda' take over the whole thing.

Anyhow, I really hope you can manage it because I admire your honesty. Good luck once again.

 

[Damocles]

why have the MEN never ran a story (and i mean a proper story) on the MUFC debts?

We have run loads of them! In fact I was named the Football Supporters Federation's football writer of the year award in 2006 for covering the whole affair.
It also got me pretty much shunned by United.
here's a recent one (April) not written by me:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1107902_debt_crunch_in_2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ch_in_2013</a>

The poster who says that the MEN tries to belittle City, I'm just interested to know which stories do that?
Chris Bailey is a lifelong Blue, and proud of it, and the sports editor used to be a Maine Road regular I believe - though he keeps his allegiances close to his chest.
I certainly won't be belittling City, and have no reason to in the first place.
It would be stupid for us to belittle one of our two main selling points.
I can't spend all day on here, much as I would like to, but I am interested in your views.
Plenty of United fans think we are pro-City. In fact, the first time I spoke to fergie, in 2001, he blew his top at me and told me "Youse are all Blues at the Evening News!"
The truth is that we try to tread a fine line between the two clubs, but a lot of people only see what they want to see.

Stuart,

Firstly, fair play for coming on a City forum to introduce yourself. I imagine you have garnered some respect for that from some of the members, myself included.
I will admit that I gave up on the MEN a while back, as far as it's football coverage is concerned. I honestly thought that the sources inside the club of the MEN are no better than the sources of the nationals, and I wasn't a fan of the 'PR release' feel of some of the articles. I don't know a whole lot about the world of journalism and the pressures put on the writers, so I do not know if you have the ability to change this.

As someone alluded to before, City fans (since the takeover) are sick of the constant spin coming out of the club. With the sometime exception of Hughes, everything seems to be a well rehearsed speech that conveys no actual information. Alas, it seems that the powermen in football such as Chairmen, have turned in to politicians.

However, the time has now come where a new man is in charge of reporting on the club, at the most relevant and associated paper. You can choose to continue down the Bailey line of rewriting PR faxes and turning it in as copy, or you can turn it around and start reporting with a slightly cynical eye.

I cannot speak for other fans, but if I want a 100% pro City article, I will read the programme. As a self confessed United fan, you have the advantage that Bailey, and all of us don't have; the ability to look at the club from a truly neutral perspective and not become caught up in the fandom. This can lead to a non-aggressive look at the workings of the club. I would love to see you write a retrospective of the inner workings of the club in six months, compared to a year ago.

As Chris Bailey (so I hear) is now in charge of the media at the club, and we have a brand new PR man, perhaps the MEN will now start to penetrate further in to the club, and will be tipped at big stories before the nationals. I hope so.

Good luck in your new role. I hope you continue to pop on here, just to let us know that you remember we exist. As a previous poster stated, this is the biggest unoffiical Manchester City site on the internet, and will represent a decent cross section of the views of many City fans around the world. The ability to have a good relationship with your readers can only be good for yourself, and for your circulation.

This is not a free ride however. If you write bullshit, we will call you on it. I hear many, many old media outlets talking about how they can compete with the internet; this isn't a bad compromise. The MEN forums are far too heavily moderated to have any type of discussion. All of the admins and the moderators here are liberal with their censorship, and libel law will not apply. If the critique resorts to insults and repeating questions asking you to name your exact source or the like, we will delete it. Set out some ground rules, and members will generally abide by them.

On the other hand, you can continue the old way of doing things, reword PR statements and never visit here again, which is probably what will happen. The club is changing, and City fans are adapting to this slowly. I wonder how the MEN will adapt to this?

Thanks,
Damocles

 

[Boots_]

Has Chris Bailey officially started work at City? If not, would it be reasonable to assume the club would want to wait until their newly appointed 'Head of Media' was in position before announcing some high profile transfer activity? ;-)

 

[stuart brennan]

Thanks for your good wishes, and for the interesting points - I will definitely come back on here and keep an eye on what the fans are saying.
The poster who mentioned reporting on Tevez and Eto'o rather than Crouch, can I just say that the reason that happened was that there simply was nothing new to report on Tevez and Eto'o as far as I could establish either from City or from foreign sources.
Crouch was a new story - if I'd just repeated the Eto'o and Tevez stuff, I would have been criticised for repetition!
I'm fully prepared for the flak - let fly, it's all part of the game, and I've been copping it from both City and United mates for the past fortnight, in any case.

 

[Pollerz]

Thanks for your good wishes, and for the interesting points - I will definitely come back on here and keep an eye on what the fans are saying.
The poster who mentioned reporting on Tevez and Eto'o rather than Crouch, can I just say that the reason that happened was that there simply was nothing new to report on Tevez and Eto'o as far as I could establish either from City or from foreign sources.
Crouch was a new story - if I'd just repeated the Eto'o and Tevez stuff, I would have been criticised for repetition!
I'm fully prepared for the flak - let fly, it's all part of the game, and I've been copping it from both City and United mates for the past fortnight, in any case.

Just an idea not tryin to do ur job for you but would the men be interested to do an article on what the city fans think of the transformation of the club the indiferent media treatment we have recieved in comparison to say real madrid. i am aware you do blogs for this reason.. but if your having to dig up poor info on crouch for a new article why not try something like this. i know id like to read it or contribute to it.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

The poster who says that the MEN tries to belittle City, I'm just interested to know which stories do that?
Chris Bailey is a lifelong Blue, and proud of it, and the sports editor used to be a Maine Road regular I believe - though he keeps his allegiances close to his chest.
I certainly won't be belittling City, and have no reason to in the first place.
It would be stupid for us to belittle one of our two main selling points.
I can't spend all day on here, much as I would like to, but I am interested in your views.
Plenty of United fans think we are pro-City. In fact, the first time I spoke to fergie, in 2001, he blew his top at me and told me "Youse are all Blues at the Evening News!"
The truth is that we try to tread a fine line between the two clubs, but a lot of people only see what they want to see.

Amusing how none of our "Reds Under The Beds" posters have an answer to this, isn't it?

 

[Soulboy]

Thanks for your good wishes, and for the interesting points - I will definitely come back on here and keep an eye on what the fans are saying.
The poster who mentioned reporting on Tevez and Eto'o rather than Crouch, can I just say that the reason that happened was that there simply was nothing new to report on Tevez and Eto'o as far as I could establish either from City or from foreign sources.
Crouch was a new story - if I'd just repeated the Eto'o and Tevez stuff, I would have been criticised for repetition!
I'm fully prepared for the flak - let fly, it's all part of the game, and I've been copping it from both City and United mates for the past fortnight, in any case.

"Crouch was a new story"... but where are the quotes? Where is the new slant on it?

Just repeating stories from The Star and The Mirror is not journalism!

That's one of the biggest criticisms of the paper, in that they seem to only regurgitate national stories rather than having anything new.

If the local paper can't get the stories then that paints a sorry picture of the quality of the relationship.

I don't have a problem with a Manyoo fan covering City if they remain totally professional... but then again, should we apoint Paddy Crerand to present MCFC TV!

It's all about credibility and you really start from some way back off the pole position!

Best of luck.

 

[Balti]

Thanks for your good wishes, and for the interesting points - I will definitely come back on here and keep an eye on what the fans are saying.
The poster who mentioned reporting on Tevez and Eto'o rather than Crouch, can I just say that the reason that happened was that there simply was nothing new to report on Tevez and Eto'o as far as I could establish either from City or from foreign sources.
Crouch was a new story - if I'd just repeated the Eto'o and Tevez stuff, I would have been criticised for repetition!
I'm fully prepared for the flak - let fly, it's all part of the game, and I've been copping it from both City and United mates for the past fortnight, in any case.

Look at the article on your website on the red section. At the bottom of the Tevez article it refers to 'moneybags City'. That's a cheap shot. Well not so cheap actually!! I don't see the rags being referred to in the same condescending terms on articles on the Blue side of the site. Would be like saying that Tevez is looking forward to moving to Manchester say, as he's always fancied playing there. That sort of banter, jibes and petty insults that should be kept out of a serious journo's work. We can get that sort of stuff on here thanks. What would be nice from you guys is independent, well researched, well written pieces with relevant quotes where appropriate. Being a trusted source of reference if you will rather than just another source of idle speculation. I appreciate that it must be difficult but that's the job of a journo is it not? Otherwise it's time to pack up and leave the message boards to it. Which would be a shame.....

I wish you luck and congratulations for having the balls to come on here (if it really is you and not Carlito in disguise... ;-)