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Vale Sydney Morning Herald Rugby

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Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
From today, what used to be considered a decent, informative and useful coverage of Rugby Union in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) can be deemed dead. The patient has been taken off life support, the corpse is being prepared for burial. The parrot is dead.

I remember the halcyon days of the SMH coverage of Rugby from some years back. The depth and expanse of the coverage, well crafted articles that captured the spirit, colour and passion of the game. Skillfully written by journalists/ writers with a deep knowledge and passion for the game. That no longer exists - the ever decreasing numbars of SMH reader are offered some paltry cliched rumour mongering by some cynical Rugby-hating hack whose interest and knowledge of the game shows an immense depth to its shallowness.

We have entered the finals of quite a few sports at the moment. Including Rugby and these finals for Rugby include the Shute Shield and and the various finals in Subbies. Real grasssroots, real sport and an integral part of the sport. And what of these finals do we see in the SMH..apart from team lists for the televised ABC games none. Pages and pages of League, AFL, Soccer, the Delhi Commonwealth Games (and that will be an icon of nightmarish sporting irrelevance)...even harnass racing for God's sake. But little or no relevant Rugby.

If it was the Daily Telegraph we would expect this ommission, but it is a sad decline of the coverage in the SMH. And I don't necessarily follow the argument that it is a lesser sport and so deserves less coverage: look at League, it is slavishly supported by the press and thus gets ratings and is deemed a popular supporty...hell, even bear baiting with pre-teen children with mild personality problems would be popular with the same coverage that League gets. A self-sustaining parasitic (or more kindly symbiotic) relationship between the sport and the media for mutual benefit.

Nothing like this for Rugby. And with the decline of Rugby we also see the gradual decline in Granny. Out have gone the sub-editors with a functional understanding of the English language and in have come the new breed of self-important, politically correct, self-appointed founts of knowledge, opinion and morality who sit back arrogantly in their ignorance and view comment contemptuously on those who aren't part of their clique. Where Kyle Sandilands gets greater media coverage than floods in Pakistan and is a greater hero than "Diggers" being brought back in pine boxes from Afghanistan.

Really it is all qquite a pity. A shame. Oh well, rant ends, time to move on, for to paraphrase someone of old to dwell upon it may be uncomfortably and wrenchingly distractive, so" No, I will weep no more. In such a night To shut me out? Pour on; I will endure.....O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; No more of that."

On a lighter note I recommend the Shiraz from this mob. https://www.chapelhillwine.com.au/ - Dan Murphy's at Willoughy occasionally has it on special.
 

lincoln

Bob Loudon (25)
Could one of the senior members remind us how it is that mexican GG retains his position - I would have thought the anti-GG petition some years back would have rung the alarm bells at SMH, especially given the CEO was a World Cup winning captain.
 

observer

Tom Lawton (22)
I have for a long time been concerned about the writings of one of the journalists. He writes in a very negative way that is far removed from reality. The Wallabys are rated number two rugby nation in the world. I think that's a great achievement given the size of our population and the other sports we are in competition with for player numbers.


I seriously believe we are a good show for the World Cup next year but you wouldn't think so given what you read from this bloke.

Lachlan Turner made the news around the country and internationally when he won the Gatorade Bolt on Wednesday night. Where was the big story about him yesterday in the SMH. I couldn't find much on it in the online version. But look at the coverage it got in the Daily Telegraph and with over 100 readers comments on the yarn.

While I originally broke the story about John Grant joining the Sevens in G&G Rugby, the Tele followed yesterday's story with a yarn about John Grant and that he had been drafted into the Sevens squad post Delhi. But nothing about that in the SMH this morning.
 

Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
"I think Spiro Zavos is the best sports journalist by a country mile. "...granted, but the Rugby coverage from the SMH is still dire despite of his weekly efforts. (And these days he is much more visible at "The Roar"). It was once not like that, yet the paper still extends a claim that it "knows Rugby"....presumably trying to link to its (once) A/B demographics before on the back of budget cuts and excess journalistic largesse it went downhill.

To apparently almost totally ignore the Shute Shield at this time of the season belies any claim the paper may have of being Sydney's premier metropolitan paper. (And BTW it is not only in its coverage of rugby in Sydney it is quite ordinary, but various other areas as well.)
 

Iluvmyfooty

Phil Hardcastle (33)
May I make a suggestion that opinions and feelings need to be shared with the editors of this rag. Maybe a few emails and letters are in order to try and get things done.

Also maybe a few letters to the ARU wouldn't go astray also.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
most of the "journalism" in gaggerland would shit on what Growden and the other full time paid professional writers publish. The Gaggerlanders have real jobs, in contract to Growden et al, for whom "rugby journalism" is their job/profession. 'Ken sad isn't it that us bunch of part time "has beens who never were" are better than the full time professionals.

Rugby Journalism was one of the rant issues I raised in the "what I would do if I was JO'N for a day" thread.

It really is shithouse.
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
Well, you'll be pleased to know G&GR is covering the Shute shield finals this weekend, just like we did the Qld ones. Look out for a report on Mon.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Well, you'll be pleased to know G&GR is covering the Shute shield finals this weekend, just like we did the Qld ones. Look out for a report on Mon.

Right now SportsTAB are offering odds of $1.05 that the G&GR review of the Shute Shield finals will shit on the SMH review for both quantity and quality.
SPortsTAB are giving SMH (Growden) $17.50 to beat G&GR for Quality, $15.00 for quantity (200 word headstart for Growden), and $75.00 for the quinella of quality and quantity.

Apparently a very drunk Moscovite has bet $1 on Growden. No other takers.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I seriously reckon there are a few contributors here who could do the journalism gig full time if they so chose. What annoys me about our rugby and cricket press is how biased they are and how they either shout from the rooftops how great we are or that we're bloody hopeless.
 

Lance Free

Arch Winning (36)
The National Broadsheet (The Australian) shits over any Fairfax rag when it comes to rugby....or for that matter, anything else?

Wayne Smith is without doubt the premier rugby writer in Oz. And he does it without JO'N being his fizz....
 

TheRiddler

Dave Cowper (27)
Elfster, I was right with you in you original comments. Whilst sitting on the lav this morning (yeah, I know, scary thought), perusing through the SMH Sports/Business section (there's an oxymoron if ever there was one), I too was bewildered by the absence of any Shute Shield coverage bar an ad from the NSWRU. I think that situation alone describes why most of the readers of this forum would spend more time each day browsing through the various threads than they would do reading through the SMH in its entirety. However, the good burghers at Fairfax think the quality of reader is no longer important, its all about the number of eyeballs. As a professional marketer, let me tell you that is complete and utter bollocks and one of the main reasons you are seeing advertising revenue haemorrhaging from the mainstream press. I would rather spend my hard earn marketing $$ in areas where I know that I am going to be hitting a few people in the right target market rather than lots of people from all over the place whose main interest is in which Hollywood bitch is shagging which UK fuckwit.

All that being said Elfster, you then let yourself down by supporting Torn Hammy's fishing expedition proposing that Spiros Zavos is the best sporting journalist by a mile. What drugs are you on? I think that even Waratah Jesus has more journalistic integrity and capability, and dare I say inside knowledge, than Spiros. When was the last time either he, Guinness or The Pieman actually broke a story? When they actually penned a proper investigative journalistic piece? When they were prepared to put their name to an insightful opinion piece that cut to the chase and dispensed with all the chummy, nudge nudge excuses that currently masquerade as sports journalism. When they were so sure of their convictions and talent they took on the Sports Editor and demanded their brilliant piece of sports writing be run. You can only hide behind a Walkley Award for so long and its time these guys stood up and showed their true credentials rather than continuing their desire to be the worlds keenest ARU and RUPA muppets.
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
Anyone going to the Uni game live and want to submit a report? If so, PM me.


Riddler - I agree on your marketing bit, but it astounds me how much brands will spend with places like SMH, but won't touch a bean with places like GAGR. Poor
 

Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
Hmmm...just checked the SMH website. No news about the Shute shield game, but League gets a sh.it load of coverage.

Enough said. (And I won't get into some of their ridiculous articles they had today...comparing transport, specifically the appropriateness of bikes as a valid transport, between Amsterdam and Sydney. And according to their weekend magazine about youth on a review of Generation Whatever, one third of that generation are muslim or born of asian boat people, what a great statistical survey...or great if you want to push an agenda rather than report...ooops totally non-PC and it makes me appear more right wing than the Labor hacks that got rid of Kevin Rudd....but for f's sake if only that paper could employ some sub-editors.....
 

Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
The articles weren't there last night.....I probably should allow the journos some time off I suppose (and I would add some emoticom here if I knew how to do it). Though at the time the paper could give updates on the NRL, but not the Union. I may have been complaining too much...I blame old age. Or the impact of the combination of red wine and an Indian meal....what was I thinking!!
 
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