SENTINELCELTS

Maybe youve noticed , maybe you havent but there has been a subtle yet large shift in Sports Media world .
That world was always sewn up , as you know , by ex players . The media looked no further and if that player had managed at one stage also then beautiful, bag him up for a show. It didnt matter if he could commentate , the fact that he was well known in football circles was enough .
Backfired many times . Henry sounded almost stupid in his Sky Sports million pound role.

I am delighted to report that particular trend is ending !
Tv,,,Many will have heard and seen the female commentators and co presenters at the World Cup and that is the most obvious forum to notice change . But it has permeated different areas of media and the change is profound . Two football men on the mic is gone and has in the main been switched to an ex pro with a media presenter who has been tailored to the role .
The public win in this situation but it wouldnt have changed if it wasnt asked for .
I myself have emailed Espn in the past to have “ controversial Irishman “ Tommy Smyth thrown out of the studio before he drives everyone off the game with his prehistoric jibe “ And he bulges the back of the oul onion bag ! “ which only he thought was funny . The average fan wants to hear better than he can hear in the pub and if you have paid for a journalist’s view then it should be better than anything a “ layman “ can produce right ? They arent “ experts “ like their title claims if they dont teach you anything .
The female presenters in particular excelled and raised eyebrows with their knowledge of the sport. Theres are some excellent female sports journalists and they are helping to raise the bar across the board. They are no there for the eye candy factor thats for sure.

The Blogs,,,Is the quality of paid journalists in main stream media sites soo much better than the more prominent bloggers that the hacks deserve six figures for it . No way, not in my book. Just looking at Celtic cyberspace there are many bloggers with a hell of a knack.
Now obviously I dont know anyones blogging habits ,,which site you check first and how often etc ,, but ask yourself when it comes to your team are you reading non pro opinion the most or paid opinion ? Im telling you and Im sure many have noticed , many bloggers can and do leave the media trailing behind in the rear view. Thats another reason why print is dying.

Podcasts,,,If youre not aware its a huge area of media , one that Im very fond of as it can provide a familiar accent and a bit of banter with your footie news . There are many and again a mix of professional and amateur .
If you didnt know which was which and I forced both types upon you I think you would have a very hard time choosing who the amateurs were.
In recent years I have witnessed probably the best two amateur podcasts become soo popular they went fulltime at it . Through hard work I assume and a slice of planning and luck, normal football fans now get paid to talk fulltime about their team,, how cool is that !
A city wide radio broadcaster picked up one show for their drive time slot ,, fantastic free advertising plus an admission that its on par with regular paid broadcasters. They have went from strength to strength since and I highly recommend checking them out , free of course .
www.theanfieldwrap.com
The other one successfully tours and does live shows with two its presenters being incorporated into other professional podcasts with ease despite no on paper training . They have lit up the show and I would say raised the bar actually .
Again this comes highly recommended should you wish to kill time with some footie chat .
The football ramble . https://radiostakhanov.com/footballramble

Looking at the overall picture seems it no longer good enough to just wheel in a face / name , they must have substance for their time in the spotlight of any type of media . Amateurs and Women are pushing out the old traditional fayre normally served up .
This also confronts another myth , the old do you not think someone that has managed and played knows better than you myth . Thats clearly been shown up with them out on their ear in favour of a “ No One “ . Maybe they actually do know more about the game but just cant express it but no one will be convincing me because youve been involved in the game you know more about the sport overall. Maybe the ins and outs but I doubt that most would dazzle me with in depth knowledge. Many are millionaires also and it doesnt really matter if they dont challenge themselves or dont give 100% . Just listen to some ex pros for a minute ,,, many are terrible . I would rather mute it than listen to Mark Lawrenson and I might well be in the majority on that.
Sunday columns are traditionally the cream of the crop right ? If you read that article does it stand waaaay above something you might read during the week from one of the more eloquent bloggers for instance ? No it doesnt , not at all.

The No One’s are here , get used to it !

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