Where to for quality Rugby journalism???

[ChargerWA]

I'm sure I saw him on another forum discussing the various merits of a rim fire vs centre fire rifle for personal protection and procuring game in a post apocalyptic world. I think he was fairly on the rim fire side, sure they aren't as powerful, but they are much quieter.

 

[ChargerWA]

And more to the point, what the fuck are the SMH editorial staff doing these days?

 

[Sandpit Fan]

And more to the point, what the fuck are the SMH editorial staff doing these days?

Driving taxis.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

and moonlighting as Tahs unpaid PR interns.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Fairfax employees went on strike this week over plans to retrench photographers and some other staff. It is obvious that the company has already got rid of its sub-editors if the latest effort by Matthew "I-played-Super-rugby-and-you-didn't" Burke is anything to go by:

"Deep down I think there is a good understanding of when to release the ball in a kicking sense." The very best time "to release the ball in a kicking sense" would be just before you put the slipper to it, but perhaps Matthew means "a good understanding of when to kick the ball".

"Foley, however, has been complimented by Beale very well this season." It could be that the Burkester was indeed impressed by the flawless prose Kurtley used in praising Bernard, but I suspect that he is not aware that there is a sounds-like word, namely "complemented", which would make sense of the sentence.

While on the subject of sentences making sense we have this effort: "A week of not playing rugby won’t certainly dent the determination of the Waratahs." Again it is entirely possible that our essayist really did mean to suggest that "a week of not playing rugby can't be guaranteed to dent the determination of the Waratahs", but it is more likely that what he meant to say was, "A week of not playing rugby certainly won’t dent the determination of the Waratahs."

Now if I were a Herald photographer being garbage-bagged out of the joint I'd be nice and filthy if they left Burkey still sitting at his desk with a look of smug self-satisfaction on his dial.​

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[en_force_er]

Fairfax employees went on strike this week over plans to retrench photographers and some other staff. It is obvious that the company has already got rid of its sub-editors if the latest effort by Matthew "I-played-Super-rugby-and-you-didn't" Burke is anything to go by:

"Deep down I think there is a good understanding of when to release the ball in a kicking sense." The very best time "to release the ball in a kicking sense" would be just before you put the slipper to it, but perhaps Matthew means "a good understanding of when to kick the ball".

"Foley, however, has been complimented by Beale very well this season." It could be that the Burkester was indeed impressed by the flawless prose Kurtley used in praising Bernard, but I suspect that he is not aware that there is a sounds-like word, namely "complemented", which would make sense of the sentence.

While on the subject of sentences making sense we have this effort: "A week of not playing rugby won’t certainly dent the determination of the Waratahs." Again it is entirely possible that our essayist really did mean to suggest that "a week of not playing rugby can't be guaranteed to dent the determination of the Waratahs", but it is more likely that what he meant to say was, "A week of not playing rugby certainly won’t certainly dent the determination of the Waratahs."

Now if I were a Herald photographer being garbage-bagged out of the joint I'd be nice and filthy if they left Burkey still sitting at his desk with a look of smug self-satisfaction on his dial.
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We live in a world where most rugby journos are ex-players and most coaches are ex-players (other than a few to creep out of your club Bruce).

It's a shame that the right to work in the business of rugby is earned by being a talented athlete in your twenties.

 

[Aussie D]

Not sure if this is the correct thread but felt the need to vent watching the game today. How many times does Gordon Bray need to make reference to the NRL in the coverage? For goodness sake people are watching rugby so how about talking it up.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Don't know about "quality" journalism, but the Terrorgraph's recent effort to copy and paste from the Gaggerland forums over the Scots v Newington game without acknowledgement of the source just reconfirms how lazy our so called journalists are, not to mention their editorial staff.

Little wonder that their sales and revenue figures are down.

 

[Pfitzy]

Considering most of news.com.au is lifted from elsewhere (Huffington Post must have been on special a couple of weeks ago) its no surprise.

Its chicken and egg: free news = less money = less investigative journalism.

But then, google made a shitload out of online advertising so you'd think the smart cookies in our media towers could do the same.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Mainstream journalism is assuming the status of a buggy whip industry so cutting corners is probably inevitable. The main problem with the emergence of niche journalism is that the internet developed on a no-pay basis and people expect to have access to online material free of charge. Printed publications are dying largely because of being crowded out time-wise. We spend so much time reading online.
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[Hugh Jarse]

Will the Journalism courses at Uni end up going the way of the Bachelor of Education? Perhaps they are already at that point.

Kids spending 3 + years of their life (and a fair amount of $) preparing for a role in a profession that does not have anywhere the number of vacancies to accommodate the number of graduates being churned out by the Tertiary Education sector.

 

[Braveheart81]

It's becoming an increasingly difficult industry. My cousin and her husband are both TV journos. My cousin is currently trying to work out a viable exit into another field.

I don't know if the popularity of the degree will decrease. It does provide skills that are useful in other areas like PR etc.

Just like people who don't have a journalism degree can end up as successful journalists.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Mainstream journalism is assuming the status of a buggy whip industry so cutting corners is probably inevitable. The main problem with the emergence of niche journalism is that the internet developed on a no-pay basis and people expect to have access to online material free of charge. Printed publications are dying largely because of being crowded out time-wise. We spend so much time reading online.
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I think that's on the money Bruce and the comparison to the buggy whip industry is apt. The technology around media now is such that the industry as we knew it before is gone or on its last legs. I certainly read the paper a lot less than I used to, even though we have The West, Fin and OZ all in the kitchen at work. Can't tell you the last time I bought a copy, it must be over a decade ago. Perhaps, as Hugh says, the journalism degree will be a thing of the past. I'm not convinced that's a bad thing.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Further to the point and back to rugby, I get nearly all my rugby related journalism right here at G&GR. There really isn't a lot of reason to go elsewhere these days. I don't see anything from the mainstream press that adds any more value than the analysis I see here.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Will the Journalism courses at Uni end up going the way of the Bachelor of Education? Perhaps they are already at that point.

Kids spending 3 + years of their life (and a fair amount of $) preparing for a role in a profession that does not have anywhere the number of vacancies to accommodate the number of graduates being churned out by the Tertiary Education sector.

I don't quite follow your suggested comparison of Journalism degrees - usually Media & Communications in Australia - and Education degrees. Education faculties are alive and well relatively speaking.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Just like people who don't have a journalism degree can end up as successful journalists.

Surely you're not thinking of Matthew Burke as an example, Bh.
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[Braveheart81]

Surely you're not thinking of Matthew Burke as an example, Bh.
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No, probably more people like Greg Jericho.

It's certainly an easier path if you've got technical skills (i.e. economics) behind you to give you an advantage a person with a journalism degree wouldn't have in the field.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I don't quite follow your suggested comparison of Journalism degrees - usually Media & Communications in Australia - and Education degrees. Education faculties are alive and well relatively speaking.

Agree that Education will not go the way of the trade of Cooper, Buggy Whip Maker, and Wheelwright, but there are some disturbing figures (if you are a current B Ed student) being reported that of the 34000 current B Ed students less than 1/2 of them will find employment in Education. So much for the "Clever Nation".

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

No, probably more people like Greg Jericho.

It's certainly an easier path if you've got technical skills (i.e. economics) behind you to give you an advantage a person with a journalism degree wouldn't have in the field.

It wouldn't disappoint me if that was the way things went: people with specialties outside of journalism learning to do the journalism bit. I used to read a lot of the technical and financial markets (and sport too these days) press but nowhere near as much any more. The people writing about those subjects in the mainstream media quite frankly don't know any more about a lot of these subjects than I do (often less, in fact) and one of the reasons I read these articles is to expand my knowledge. If I'm not getting that value, I'll look elsewhere for specialists in the field who do and now run their own media outlets.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Kafe: "Australia verse New Zealand" Obviously more familiar with Trans Tasman poetry than I am.
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