Press restrictions.

[Skinny Pete]

Good article
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/26/football-clubs-ban-journalists-newcastle-united?CMP=twt_gu

[DarloSTFC84]

Good article
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/26/football-clubs-ban-journalists-newcastle-united?CMP=twt_gu

Decent article that.

[BruceChatwin]

“Because they have their own websites and sometimes even their own television channels, clubs … are coming to see [papers] as commercial rivals,” says Edwards. “They want to direct fans to their own websites and apps because they want to make more money from the advertising.​ I think that is incredibly dangerous because, believe it or not, football fans are not stupid. The stuff that is put out on official websites is bland, sanitised and only focuses on the positive. Some clubs are even calling their press officers ‘in-house journalists’. They are not journalists, they are marketing or PR staff.”

Pretty good summary of the reasoning on both sides.

The question is whether direct revenue from in-house journalism/ the Fanzai app will be more financially beneficial to us than free advertising from coverage in external media.

[Batch]

suspect we won't be that profitable via advertising via fanzai. can't think they'd start to directly charge for it either as take up would be pathetic.

can only think we are some kind of loss leader, or that the app really is about control of content after all.

[DRS]

The thing i don't understand is what is it that people think they are missing out by the adver etc not doing the interviews. In recent years most of the content i have read has been from tyhe interviews conducted before/after a match, this is still the case.

All of a sudden people are acting like cooper and power used to sit there and divulge every bit of info to the reporters. If the press want to run stories they still can and still should 

[jayohaitchenn]

It was the media that made football all about money, they can hardly complain now it's come full circle.

[Berniman]

The thing i don't understand is what is it that people think they are missing out by the adver etc not doing the interviews. In recent years most of the content i have read has been from tyhe interviews conducted before/after a match, this is still the case.

All of a sudden people are acting like cooper and power used to sit there and divulge every bit of info to the reporters. If the press want to run stories they still can and still should 

We are missing nothing newsworthy at the moment, it's the off season.  What we will miss is the media asking the difficult questions that the fans are asking.  Can you see in-house media person in the club asking power why a player is not at training, or how much we got offered for player x?  Why didn't this player get named in a squad, or are we looking to strengthen by bringing a short term loan in when a injury occurs.

Of course we are not naïve enough to think that Cooper and Power are telling us everything, but sometimes a response of "no comment" or a narky avoidance are enough to tell you that there is no smoke without fire.

If you are happy with the club determining what you are, or not allowed to know, or are happy with just the same level of information that you get week in week out from the match reports then join fanzai and don't worry about the fact that anyone else has an issue with it.  Part of me wants to know more as I want to know what is going on at my club.  If I didn't I might as well go and support a plastic prem club and have the same level of interaction with them.

[DRS]

We are missing nothing newsworthy at the moment, it's the off season.  What we will miss is the media asking the difficult questions that the fans are asking.  Can you see in-house media person in the club asking power why a player is not at training, or how much we got offered for player x?  Why didn't this player get named in a squad, or are we looking to strengthen by bringing a short term loan in when a injury occurs.

Of course we are not naïve enough to think that Cooper and Power are telling us everything, but sometimes a response of "no comment" or a narky avoidance are enough to tell you that there is no smoke without fire.

If you are happy with the club determining what you are, or not allowed to know, or are happy with just the same level of information that you get week in week out from the match reports then join fanzai and don't worry about the fact that anyone else has an issue with it.  Part of me wants to know more as I want to know what is going on at my club.  If I didn't I might as well go and support a plastic prem club and have the same level of interaction with them.

This is my point though.Whether its the club doing it through Fanzai or the local press they have determained what news we get either way

[Reg Smeeton]

We are missing nothing newsworthy at the moment, it's the off season.  What we will miss is the media asking the difficult questions that the fans are asking.  Can you see in-house media person in the club asking power why a player is not at training, or how much we got offered for player x?  Why didn't this player get named in a squad, or are we looking to strengthen by bringing a short term loan in when a injury occurs.

Of course we are not naïve enough to think that Cooper and Power are telling us everything, but sometimes a response of "no comment" or a narky avoidance are enough to tell you that there is no smoke without fire.

If you are happy with the club determining what you are, or not allowed to know, or are happy with just the same level of information that you get week in week out from the match reports then join fanzai and don't worry about the fact that anyone else has an issue with it.  Part of me wants to know more as I want to know what is going on at my club.  If I didn't I might as well go and support a plastic prem club and have the same level of interaction with them.

An interesting thought....to which I'd respond that it isn't your club. Traditionally, Town fans would have thought of it being their club....especially when shareholding was one share one vote, 1000 shares 1 vote. STFC though has like the wider body politic, mirrored the degradation of the concept of community into the concept of consumer.

So it's Lee Power's club....as a consumer you have the right to go plastic, a choice which increasing numbers take.  I meet all sorts who will go to some Town games especially when things are going reasonably well, who profess undying allegiance to an Arsenal, ManUre, Spurs or Chelsea, who seem genuinely perplexed that I have not a jot of interest in the Prem.

The only counterpoint to this thrust is the Trust, and as we've seen on here, it is difficult for them to make a case, without coming under mindless abuse from those who toe the neo liberalist line

[mrverve]

Who actually takes time to read the pre/post match reports anymore?? It's full of bland, generic, cliches.

The Adver/Flic/ whoever reports on Swindon will still be able to write/investigate etc.

[Skinny Pete]

People need to ask themselves what they think they are missing out on with this new media arrangement.

Anything other the usual bland pre-  and post-game comments are rare.

If there are shenanigans, of any kind, going on journos always had to sniff them out and that will remain the case.

The problem, from the club's point of view, is that it makes some people think there is something to hide or they are avoiding any embarrassing questions being asked.

Saying this, I still think it's entirely the wrong route for the club to be taking.

[singingiiiffy]

I think its all OTT. the adver etc still report on the club just take a look on their website. wiltshire sound is still a good listen on the way back from the match and you still have live twitter feeds everywhere should you need it. what has actually changed? for those dependant on the adver for ticket information etc, why does a press ban affect them printing information on this? It doesn't, and this is when we are out of season.

[Berniman]

This is my point though.Whether its the club doing it through Fanzai or the local press they have determained what news we get either way

Maybe you missed my point, or I didn't put it across very well.  It's not the level of news coming our way I am talking about, it the ability to ask questions I'm talking about..  The local press are more likely to do this than the in house journalist..

[michael]

The only way the club will ever make any money from the Fanzai app is to charge a subscription fee, shower it with adverts, or sell on the personal details of everyone using it. None of those are particularly lucrative for such a relatively small population size.

The suggestion that there is a financial benefit here seems a bit of a straw man to me.

[Berniman]

An interesting thought....to which I'd respond that it isn't your club. Traditionally, Town fans would have thought of it being their club....especially when shareholding was one share one vote, 1000 shares 1 vote. STFC though has like the wider body politic, mirrored the degradation of the concept of community into the concept of consumer.

So it's Lee Power's club....as a consumer you have the right to go plastic, a choice which increasing numbers take.  I meet all sorts who will go to some Town games especially when things are going reasonably well, who profess undying allegiance to an Arsenal, ManUre, Spurs or Chelsea, who seem genuinely perplexed that I have not a jot of interest in the Prem.

The only counterpoint to this thrust is the Trust, and as we've seen on here, it is difficult for them to make a case, without coming under mindless abuse from those who toe the neo liberalist line

Ah Reg, the old devils advocate..  I know it is not "my club" and again this is not the point I was trying to make..  However, I class Swindon Town as my club ( I have no shares and do not claim ownership) because I regularly invest emotion, time and finances on it.  I have been watching them since I was a boy and my mood is regularly determined by how they are doing.  I have a vested personal interest in what is going on at the club.

The point I was trying to make was, if I was supporting a plastic prem club I would probably get the same level of interaction and feedback (apart from I would see them on TV more) as it now feels like I am getting from my local club now, the one that I feel invested in.

I feel that is dangerous for a club the size of Swindon.  Interaction with the fans is more important for a club this size because part of the reason we support them is (apart from them being local) that we feel that we are more involved with the comings and goings (even if that is not the case).  Anyone who supports a plastic prem club knows that they have no influence at all because the club will get a natural influx of new supporters because of the nature of the "big league", so it doesn't matter to them if they lose fans because of the decisions that they are making.

Swindon fans have shown in the past that they can have an effect on goings on at the club, it's not very often that happens in the big league.

Still not sure that I have put my point of view across sufficiently, but well done for picking up on that part of my post, even though the point I was trying to make was something completely different