The decision to put Scott Brown in front of the cameras for yesterday’s Lennoxtown Media Conference was a sign Celtic’s PR team may know what they are doing after all.
Granted a silence is golden approach is normally the preferred tactic for anything approaching a controversial subject when it comes to Celtic communicating with the media, but to take such a tact yesterday and have a press conference where questions were met with a sullen silence would have been a bit unusual and a story in itself.
The next best thing however is to send in your captain to approach the questioning with a straight bat and create as anodyne a question and answer session as you’re ever likely to see.
I don’t think it was Scott Brown’s turn to face the questions yesterday, I’m certain that unwanted rota shift was probably due to fall to someone else. I think Celtic second guessed what was coming and decided Scott Brown was the least likely to have the slip of the tongue, far less vulnerable to creating unwanted headlines ahead of an important match on Sunday and the political powderkeg of and international pandemic.
Despite a barrage of questions predominately about the same thing-coronavirus-Celtic’s captain didn’t give them an inch.
Brown often looks like he’d rather be in the dentist chair than do these media gatherings – he cuts a different figure far when it’s the in-house Celtic’s media team he’s speaking to – and yesterday was no different. In fact that very approach was successful, as a lot of the press left bereft of the quotes and soundbites they tried to engineer, and boy did they try, painstakingly so. I’m sure there have been detectives investigating offences that have been less pushy on their suspects than yesterday’s single line of questioning.
“They have to give us the league we’re miles ahead.” Nope didn’t get that one.
“Scott Brown agrees title race to be null and void.” Nice try sidestepped again.
“I don’t think players should be placed in vulnerable position by playing games of football in front of crowds.” None of my business chaps. Next.
Again all sidestepped with the consistent message. “I’ll take advice from the club and the club will take advice from the SFA.” Got it?
No wandering into the murky world of politics, no mention of when would be suitable time to stop playing and certainly no opinions on how the season should progress, if it should continue and how the trophies should be dished out if the whole thing has a halt called to it.
Scott Brown will have his opinions like all of us but he wasn’t having Celtic linked in the press to his own personal viewpoints cut, pasted and twisted at the hands of the usual standard of hack sports journalism in Scotland. He was leaving the pandemic to the professionals.
When it was clear Scott Brown wasn’t changing tact, where were the questions on the game itself? It was, remember, still on at that stage.
Have a watch yourself. Even when we eventually get off the subject of coronavirus the questions revolve around the last encounter, why Celtic improved since 29 December.
Questions on Sunday’s scheduled encounter (now postponed) are few and far between. What we get instead are questions to get the Celtic captain to proclaim if Celtic win on Sunday the league is over, Celtic are on a revenge mission, or even better to claim the implosion of ‘the’ Rangers has gifted Celtic the title.
Once again Scott Brown didn’t fall for any of that and fans aren’t interested. We don’t want sensationalist headlines to fill the column inches of newspapers, most of us stopped buying years ago because they were full of engineered nonsense like that every week.
This pre-arranged narrative is tiresome for supporters. This Media Conference was for Celtic fans to hear the Captain’s thoughts on this game, the tactics that he may face, and the individual battles he and his teammates may encounter. That is what the Celtic Support what to hear the captain speaking about at times like this but he can only answer the questions that are asked.
And we know who are asking the questions.
It is clear nowadays that the press sees these media briefings as their opportunity to engineer a quote into a story they’ve already decided to run with, rather than go in with an open mind and see if a story develops naturally.
Last night The Celtic Star published a fine article around how the world of media has changed, specifically around Celtic in the last decade or so, and how Celtic are somewhat behind the curve.
Media Conferences like yesterday show this tired approach serves no-one that matters to us, Celtic the club, the players, the management, even the board and of course you and me, the Celtic Supporters. The players and managers interviewed are suspicious and wary of every line of questioning, the press themselves aren’t there for any other reason than to push their own agenda and all the while the ones who get short changed are those who are supposed to be getting their information via the press. The fans.
Have a look at the press conference and have a read of that Celtic Star article published last night. If these media gatherings are to be in any way relevant to Celtic supporters the time has come to look at who attends and who gets to ask the questions.
Revisiting @CelticFC PR Strategy – Operation Null and Void as coronavirus used to stop 9IAR…https://t.co/GhUoM9s7uR @videocelts @CelticBlog2018
— The Celtic Star Editor (@CelticStarMag) March 12, 2020
Celtic Fans media is now a major way Celtic fans get their information on the Club, yet when it comes to access to Celtic they are massively under-represented. That is down to Celtic. Questions on players, tactics, training are largely ignored yet that’s what we as fans want to hear about.
It would also make those hacks (who currently have safety in numbers and hunt in packs at these Media Conferences) with their agenda’s sit rather uncomfortably in their chairs if they thought their questions would actually be challenged or the following days reports looked ever so different to the slant they put into print.
A great deal of Celtic fans media is no longer the fanzine style approach that many on the Celtic board probably think it is.
In the past few weeks The Celtic Star has stood up for Celtic when faced with an unbalanced and agenda driven attack on the club from Alex Thomson and Channel 4. We’ve had the brave Malcolm Rodger’s Crowd funding initiative to take legal action against the Scottish FA on behalf of all the victims encouraged and supported.
We have pushed for the survivors of historic child sex abuse not to have their stories weaponised in the media or on the terraces. We’ve pushed for the SPFL’s acceptable behaviour statement to be amended so songs around child abuse are also outlawed. All at the same time as promoting Celtic wherever and whenever we can as positively as an independent site can. Publishing exclusive pictures of the demolition of the old Celtic Park and the building of the new Paradise, and the outstanding historical pieces from Matt Corr and David Potter, all the while keeping Celtic fans up to date with everything going on at Celtic FC.
Latest from @Boola_vogue…And they gave us James McGrory and Willie Hughes (and check out the sectarian abuse dished out to an Irish @CelticFC keeper at Tynecastle in 1936 and what happens next – shocking!)…https://t.co/ajxDdzmXJ6 @cfcliamk96 @Highland__paddy @joebloggscity
— The Celtic Star Editor (@CelticStarMag) March 13, 2020
The other Celtic fans sites will have their own stories to tell and should be listened to. The combined audiences of the Celtic fans media are staggering and maybe Celtic need to pay attention to where the support goes to get its online news on the club.
Yes we will question and of course we will give our opinions but we will always have Celtic FC and what is good for the club at the heart of all of that. That’s a good thing right?
Perhaps it’s time the hard work and dedication of Celtic fan media and was recognised by the club and we can get our questions answered. Access to a now hijacked, outdated and agenda driven Media Conferences would be a good starting point. Yesterday showed change is needed.
It might just be that a Media Conference where supporters get to hear first-hand the thought of the players and the manager would no longer be so irrelevant or manipulated. It might even be something to look forward to for everyone involved. Well almost everyone.
🚨THE PRESS GANG 🚨
🎙️The Press Gang – Neil Lennon
📝 Unedited audio from today's Press Conference.
🗣️We had @LewisLaird01 in attendance as they discussed the unprecedented events taking place in Scottish football.
👉To subscribe follow the link https://t.co/RgNCYvF7Hc pic.twitter.com/A1d9aoan0w
— 90 Minute Cynic (@90MinuteCynic) March 13, 2020
The earlier article pointed out that the Daily Record and Sunday Mail are now shifting approximately just 10% of what they were selling the first time Celtic won 9-in-row.
Ask yourself this, when was the last time you bought a newspaper? Then ask yourself if you’d prefer to see Scott Brown talking to the usual bunch of hacks with their agenda driven questions or for the Celtic captain to be speaking to the various Celtic fans sites that you know and trust much more than the other lot?
Why doesn’t Celtic invite all the various Celtic fans media sites, podcasts etc to a meeting to discuss these issues. Or given the current coronavirus crisis, contact the sites online and get the feedback and ask for everyone’s view. What have they got to lose?
Niall J
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