Here’s how it works. Celtic invite along the mainstream media pack to the various media conferences that happen just about every week. There are usually a couple before every game and again after the match.
The hacks get to ask the questions and in doing so they set the agenda. They can also choose NOT to ask questions and often Celtic supporters are left frustrated at the questions that have been asked and sometimes the ones that have NOT been asked.
Sometime Ange Postecoglou doesn’t like the way these proceedings are going and he’ll hit back at the hacks. The BBC Reporter after Celtic’s 2-0 win over Ferencvaros was almost distraught at the thought of talking about a Celtic win that afternoon and ended up on the wrong side of the Celtic manager and indeed his own colleagues who admitted he’d had a nightmare. Ange calling them out for calling the league early was another example.
However the agenda had been set. Celtic post their Mainstream Media Conference video on You Tube and usually around 25,000 supporters watch it. The quotes are taken by the newspapers, the television companies and their websites broadcast what was asked and the answers given and Celtic fan media sites try to report on this, having of course been denied access to the proceedings and therefore been unable to influence agenda settings.
One thing to note is that these hacks hunt in packs. They will huddle together to decide on what is going to be asked and what the follow-up will be and these tactics can force through their objective.
An insightful chat with Ange Postecoglu & fan media representing MT90M @celticfanzine this afternoon in the build up a big semi final weekend – covering leadership on & off the field, Japanese football, the supporters & much more🎙
Thanks to @422Kerry for setting it up 🍀 pic.twitter.com/kTp8RsHxDC
— Erin Boyle (@_Erinboyle_) November 15, 2021
The Celtic Fan Media sites – like this one – will report on all of this and will try to bring some balance, enlighten supporters to what is going on and stand up for Celtic as and when required. Others lazily just copy and paste from the Daily Record every morning and serve up as sloppy seconds to their readership, and in doing so reinforce the hacks agenda.
Today something changed. There was a fan media conference yesterday – which has taken many months to organise – and Ange Postecoglou sat and spoke to the Celtic Fan Media including The Celtic Star for around an hour. That’s three of four times as long as the hacks are usually given.
We asked Ange for a comparison between Scottish football and Japanese in terms of the standard of football, the culture and the reporting and he gave us a detailed and interesting answer as he did to each and every Celtic fan site represented, including podcasts, video channels and websites.
READ THIS…“I didn’t get invited to people’s house in Japan,” Ange Postecoglou tells The Celtic Star
You probably have seen some of this on social media yesterday and today. However the point worth making is this – the questions were asked by the Celtic fan media ie Celtic supporters and answered in great detail by the manager of Celtic Football Club, Ange Postecoglou.
These questions set the agenda, the answers make the news and if you look across the newspaper websites this evening you’ll see that they are all reporting on what Ange Postecoglou had to say to the Celtic fan media.
In one stroke we’ve flipped this around and the agenda is now a CELTIC agenda and not as is pushed by the BBC and others an anti-Celtic agenda.
Here’s an example but there are many others…
LOST BHOY Real reason James McCarthy has struggled to make Celtic impact pinpointed by Ange Postecoglou reports David Robson at Scottish Sun…
….Speaking in a fan media conference, he said: “I don’t like making excuses for players. They understand the responsibilities that they have.
“Especially guys like McCarthy, and Giorgios Giakoumakis is another who falls into that category. We signed them when they had already left their clubs. They hadn’t done a pre-season and they were training on their own.
“The difference between them and Kyogo, Jota and Carter-Vickers…all these guys that hit the ground running came in very early and had pre-season with us.
“But James and Giakoumakis came in late and hadn’t done pre-season. Any footballer will tell you pre-season is the most crucial part of the year so we’ve just got to be patient with them. They’re both training hard. They’ve had some little injuries which isn’t surprising because they haven’t done pre-season.
“We train hard. The intensity in training is super tough and it takes time to adjust to that. James will get an opportunity and I’m sure when he does he’ll show his quality.”
Postecoglou also spoke about the club’s infrastructure and his transfer plans come the January transfer window.
“We went through the initial window bringing in the right kind of players for the football we want to play. That was important, it was a busy period as was well chronicled.
“We’ve also assessed the organisation in terms of the staff and infrastructure. We brought Anton McElhone in and he’s been a fantastic addition. Before that I was very comfortable with the staff I had here and their ability to work and set the environment like I want.
“There’s no doubt going into January we have some work to do on the playing roster, in terms of depth in certain areas. We still need some work on the structure in terms of recruiting and scouting. That will be the next focus for me to make sure that we get the right people in that area. That’s the next step for me in January.”
That’s just one newspaper, the same thing is happening at them all. Have a look. The important thing to note is that the questions came from Celtic supporters and the answer from the Celtic manager – so zero anti-Celtic bias prevalent. How good is that?
Across the city theRangers are charging £25,000 for media access. Now Celtic have found a way to communicate directly with the support without the need for the mainstream media – indeed they are now reporting on what was said at the the fan media events.
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why are these hacks so two faced. they report about THE RANGERS being a new club which walter smith & donald findlay stated so those two respected people and THE RANGERS supporters into the bargain. so why knowing it’s a complete lie do they say in the same breadth that 55 has been won in their 150 year history. they should be sackied for this and or be taken to court and sued. BUT we all know this will never HAPPEN