Stuart Brennan. MEN.

[nijinsky's fetlocks]

I think the telling thing in all this is that City clearly don't give a fuck about it and as such, neither should we. If there was anything libellous I'm sure they'd be over it like a rash and from Stuart's earlier comments about not being in City's inner circle anymore, it sounds as though chips have been pissed on and the rewards of such are being reaped.

City are ploughing resource into our own website and Social Media output. I envisage our own TV channel at some point which will gives us the blue-biased news we crave and rendering the general media obsolete for meaningful MCFC output other than BT/Sky for live match broadcasts.

You never miss your water until your well runs dry.

*Note to reporters: get on message or miss the party.

Cracking post mr holic

Indeed it is.
Trust in the bow, for the bow knows.

 

[jrb]

Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

 

[stuart brennan]

Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

Don't think this is true either, jrb.
The MEN is these days, I reckon, closer to City than any national media. The strained times were due to the people in charge at both City and the MEN - since that changed, at both places, we have established a relationship more like the old days, when City and the MEN were on a very good footing.

 

[Matty]

Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

Don't think this is true either, jrb.
The MEN is these days, I reckon, closer to City than any national media. The strained times were due to the people in charge at both City and the MEN - since that changed, at both places, we have established a relationship more like the old days, when City and the MEN were on a very good footing.

One would suggest the names Tyrell and Makintosh are hardly heard with joy within the MEN offices!

 

[nijinsky's fetlocks]

Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

Don't think this is true either, jrb.
The MEN is these days, I reckon, closer to City than any national media. The strained times were due to the people in charge at both City and the MEN - since that changed, at both places, we have established a relationship more like the old days, when City and the MEN were on a very good footing.

No disrespect, as you have taken time out to explain the situation, but you wouldn't really say anything else other than that.
I should very much hope and expect that a Manchester newspaper is closer to the city's only football club than some convict or Rothermere-owned tabloid is, otherwise something would be very wrong.
City and the MEN may well be on better terms than previously was the case, and that is a good thing, but I'm afraid the paper still has a lot of bridge-building to do with longstanding blues like myself who remember the dark days when your coverage of City was bordering on mocking and ridicule.

 

[manimanc]

@stuart brennan...
Do you ever pull journalists from the red tops who write absolute garbage about city,the latest being the star saying aguero is off to real madrid??
All summer and nearly ever other week we had these red tops saying another player to be signing for utd tomorrow,next week..etc....and as we know only afro and elbows turned up after the stellar signings didn't,doesn't it embarrass you that this so called lazy journalism is allowed?
P.s i got no concerns with the m.e.n sports reports..:)

 

[Denis Law's Backheel]

Football fans want to feel superior about their football club, especially when compared to their neighbours and rivals. The media are aware of this very natural trait, as they are also acutely aware of their need to maintain a great degree of interest in their "product" in order to keep advertising revenues high and, ultimately, themselves in employment. It's only natural therefore that the MEN will pander to football fans interests, writing articles that play to the sensibilities of fans in order to attract them into reading the paper and, as a biproduct, getting "hits" on the various advertisments.

On the face of it this seems perfectly fine, however, in order to make one set of football fans feel superios there is a knock on effect of making the other set of fans, the rival set, feel inferior, and put upon. Now, in a one horse town, like Newcastle, or Leeds, that's fine. So, you alienate Sunderland fans. Big deal. How many of them will read the Newcastle Barechested Reporter anyway? However, in a town with 2 sizeable clubs such as Manchester, you're going to be alienatig certain sections of your readership by writing articles that make their rivals lok good, and them look bad. So, how do you deal with this? It's a simple solution really, find the course of least resistance, and go with that. Which group is it better to alienate? In Manchester's case it's clear, alienating the City fans is a far better idea than alientating the United fans, it's a simple matter of the maths involved. There are a decent amount more people who would claim to be United fans than City fans, so by alientating the United fans you'd have a greater impact on your readership than by alienating City fans. It really is that simple.

Given all of that, it's hardly susprising that, as City fans, we feel we are being given the rough end of the wedge here. Yes, in order to redress some sort of balance, I'm sure, on occasion, there are articles that United fans wouldn't be too happy with, however I'd strongly suspect, in a reversal of the fans situation, there are far fewer United stories like this than there are City ones. It's not just a MEN phenomenon, it's in the national press too, and also it happens within the TV media. If anything the MEN is less guilty of this kind of behaviour than most, probably due to the greater proportion of it's readership that would be classed as City fans than a national paper such as the Sun, or Mirror, or indeed SKY Sports News. So, yes, we do feel a touch hard done by, and I believe with legitimate reason, to suggest otherwise is a little insulting to our intelligence, whilst I accept we view things with a certain bias towards City it's not so much as to cloud our judgement in it's entirety.

Reasonably argued viewpoint, Matty, but still flawed.
To be honest, you give us too much credit for being Machiavellian!
We don't set out to alienate anyone, although sometimes our articles do upset both clubs, and the supporters of both clubs.
The bottom line is that we simply set out to cover the two Manchester clubs even-handedly. There are occasional errors by individuals at the MEN, myself included, which could be read as bias, but there is usually a far simpler explanation.
The problem lies not in what we write, but in the perception of it. As I said, Fergie was convinced we were a Blue paper, and that affected our relationship with United. He was wrong, just as those who think we are a Red paper are wrong.
The only debate that ever takes place about this subject in the MEN office is a bid to make sure we give even coverage, both in terms of space and content.
It is a very busy newspaper, with nothing like the number of staff we used to have, so to suggest we sit around devising ways of palling up to United and doing City down, is ludicrous.
City monitor our content, and I can tell you that they are more than happy with it. Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years, but they are now very good. You may have noticed that City advertise with us - would they do that if their research didn't tell them City fans, and potential City fans, read the MEN?

Oh yes Stuart, I can see the debate that you quoted now....................rag staff INCLUDING the rag City journo (you) having an even debate eh?!

Don't piss down our backs and tell us it's raining fella. It just doesn't wash at all I'm afraid.

This latest article about the Germans and showing Boateng instead of Bert of Uwe just smacks of the bitter rag shite you peddle once again.

I find it despicable the that you come on here and say things like "simpletons" to us Blues. You wouldn't say that to our faces would you cos you know that you would get short shrift and rightly so.

 

[jrb]

Relations have been a little strained at times in the past few years

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

Don't think this is true either, jrb.
The MEN is these days, I reckon, closer to City than any national media. The strained times were due to the people in charge at both City and the MEN - since that changed, at both places, we have established a relationship more like the old days, when City and the MEN were on a very good footing.

If that's true, then I'm glad to hear it. I'm happy that our local paper is now on speaking terms with the club again.

Hopefully the MEN will do some in depth articles regarding City in the future. How about an update on the new Training Academy. Plenty has changed since the MEN's last piece/article on it. I'm sure your readers, blue and red, would be interested. Not to mention the Glazers and Woodward. ;-)

 

[paulchapo]

Newspapers are in their death throes anyway,at least the ones in print are.With 24/7 news online and on tv,the printed editions people buy are really yesterdays news.I know most can be read online now,even the MEN and these are usually updated quickly as events change,so why would people buy outdated versions?

Some online versions are going to subscription,like the Sun and the Times but there are so many excellent free websites out there i don't see this venture being successful for long either.

The internet has been brilliant in smashing the cartel and allowing the ordinary fans a voice and to share views instantly.The media bullies days are numbered and as that scrote Murdoch said when he smashed the print unions,''That's progress!''Karma indeed.

 

[aguero93:20]

You have to wonder why? :-/

And not for one moment do I expect Stuart to take this any further.

Unfortunately the MEN is getting squeezed to death. From City's in-house media team/department, by journalists(Henry Winter, etc) and papers who City prefer to deal with, and by other websites like News Now and bloggers.

It's a vicious world out there in cyberspace.

Don't think this is true either, jrb.
The MEN is these days, I reckon, closer to City than any national media. The strained times were due to the people in charge at both City and the MEN - since that changed, at both places, we have established a relationship more like the old days, when City and the MEN were on a very good footing.

If that's true, then I'm glad to hear it. I'm happy that our local paper is now on speaking terms with the club again.

Hopefully the MEN will do some in depth articles regarding City in the future. How about an update on the new Training Academy. Plenty has changed since the MEN's last piece/article on it. I'm sure your readers, blue and red, would be interested. Not to mention the Glazers and Woodward. ;-)

woodward should be busy learning about basque tax law and player valuations, he's obviously not got a clue.