The print media.

[mickrev]

Its surprising to see that so many have rated the print media higher than any other media for eircom league coverage in the other thread there. I reckon the newspapers are the worst of the lot for promoting the domestic game.

The Sunday papers are the worst culprits with feck all coverage usually but the rest arent much better. Promoting the game has to start in the print media. I never see the point in giving out about the television coverage. The reason it is poor is because nobody is interested in watching the eircom league on their telly.

The cheapest and most effective way to gain more coverage has to be in the newspapers. It shouldn't just be match report after match report. There should be more features, opinion and comment. There should be interviews with the stars and so on.

The beauty of this website is that you can read other peoples opinions and get some sort of insight into whats going on at the various clubs and this has upped my interest considerably in the domestic game.

In fairness to Eircom Weekly, you can learn a lot more about the various players around the country from it than reading names from a match report in the paper.

[ger121]

The most amazing thing about the print media is that the so called english papers, The Sun & The Star give the el way more coverage than our own papers. How messed up is that

[tiktok]

I wouldn't come down too hard on the print media. No newspaper gives as much coverage to the EL as they do to the Premiership, but at the same time some do ok.

The Times and The Independent always have reviews (even if they are brief) of games played.
The tabloids, especially the Star and the Sun carry a good deal on games and do the transfer and rumour stories.
Then you have the local papers like the Echo and the Herald, both very good on the EL, nearly a story per day in both, even in the off season.

Write letters or emails to the papers complimenting them on good articles and critiscising them on bad ones, both show that there's an audience interested in those articles.

[Gary]

Originally posted by tiktok
Then you have the local papers like the Echo....... very good on the EL, nearly a story per day........even in the off season.

Are you on drugs Tiktok, or have I gone blinder, but apart from an occasional Dolan/Lennox interview, the echo is red raw useless when it comes to eL coverage. No insight, no nothing. The Darren Murphy story could be quite interesting, but the echo gives it all of 15 lines. Whats the story with Dave Warren? Why isnt the echo telling us that? Look at Ramblers. I dont think the echo mentioned the fact that Kabia has left and Hill got a new contract, that Willy Bruton has gomne to Waterford. The list goes on and on like.

Next u will be saying that Prendeville gives an an informed view on his radio show.

[tiktok]

Originally posted by Gary
Are you on drugs Tiktok, or have I gone blinder, but apart from an occasional Dolan/Lennox interview, the echo is red raw useless when it comes to eL coverage

I'll admit that I haven't seen it in ages (haven't been living in Cork) but I remember it being decent and I do remember a city story in there every day (even if i didn't always like the content), if it's changed that's a shame.

The Herald is good on the EL though IMO.

Didn't know about the sunday people, might have a look next weekend.

[Dricky]

Originally posted by tiktok
I'll admit that I haven't seen it in ages (haven't been living in Cork) but I remember it being decent and I do remember a city story in there every day (even if i didn't always like the content), if it's changed that's a shame.

The Herald is good on the EL though IMO.

Didn't know about the sunday people, might have a look next weekend.

The problem is el is demoted ofF the press bed if anything else comes up, I've gone through the paper before and found no el coverage in most papers the indo is the worst because when they have something it's normally old news and a comment about how bad the el is. If the GAA is on then it is very lucky if the scores are printed in some.

Next time you read the Indo check how much they write themselves and then check how many are off the wire.... they are the worst offenders.

AS FOR THE SUNDAY INDO DON'T EVEN START ME.....

When would you consider a few lines as good press coverage, and as for the Herald it has a habit of getting names wrong as well.


There are a few fans of the el that do get to say a bit in the papers but do you honestly think the would hold press for the el.... they would if it was Scottish or English footie.

[sadloserkid]

Originally posted by mickrev
The cheapest and most effective way to gain more coverage has to be in the newspapers. It shouldn't just be match report after match report. There should be more features, opinion and comment. There should be interviews with the stars and so on.

This is actually something that I'm covering in my thesis. I haven't got definitive figures yet but somewhere in the region of 50% of the stories relating to the English game in Irish papers have nothing to do with any given match. On the other hand at most 10-15% of stories relating to the eircom League fall into a category other than match review or match preview. So I totally agree with you Mick.

Also I now have 49 responses to my thread below and only need one more. Who's gonna make my day???

[techs]

A lot of the problem with coverage in papers is got to do with editors and how much space they want to give to the league. A lot of the editors haven't a clue or give a damn about the league. I know of one journalist that writes for a Sunday paper (who is a fan of the league) and would love to have more coverage of games but they are limited to what they are allowed to do.It's a shame because these papers class themselves supposedly as 'Irish'. In England & Scotland there are loads of clubs that have no Irish in their starting line-ups yet they get more space and coverage in Irish papers than our own league..What a joke.

[IrelandUnited]

Here is how it works

1 English soccer
2 GAA
3 horse racing
4 Rugby
5 Irisah soccer

It seems that is what the public wantcos they keep buying it.

[sadloserkid]

Originally posted by IrelandUnited
Here is how it works

1 English soccer
2 GAA
3 horse racing
4 Rugby
5 Irisah soccer

It seems that is what the public wantcos they keep buying it.

Clearly the wonders of The Jam have bypassed some people here...

[IrelandUnited]

Originally posted by sadloserkid
Clearly the wonders of The Jam have bypassed some people here...

No harm in a bit of irony SLK but every word of my post is the simple truth. Once agendas are parked at the hall door the facts are as I've said. By all means struggle against the tide my friend. I admire zeal and spunk but you are barking at the moon if you actually thik my analysis in not true. Perhaps the people are sheep led to the Prem by the editors. You may be right but that is where they are willinghly led and where they want to go.

They do not have to read the papers. they choose to.

[sadloserkid]

Originally posted by IrelandUnited
No harm in a bit of irony SLK but every word of my post is the simple truth. Once agendas are parked at the hall door the facts are as I've said. By all means struggle against the tide my friend. I admire zeal and spunk but you are barking at the moon if you actually thik my analysis in not true. Perhaps the people are sheep led to the Prem by the editors. You may be right but that is where they are willinghly led and where they want to go.

They do not have to read the papers. they choose to.

I agree with you. They're also told and led to the conclusion that Kerry McFadden is a talented memeber of the musical community. Doesn't make it true.

[IrelandUnited]

Originally posted by sadloserkid
I agree with you. They're also told and led to the conclusion that Kerry McFadden is a talented memeber of the musical community. Doesn't make it true.

You are right SLK. But don't expect too much from the people of Ireland. they will let you down. Give them a successful international football team, or Irish rugby team, a successful county run in GAA or a big winner at Cheltenham and they'll be all out swilling pints and telling everyone how great soccer/GAA/racing men they are. next day party over they are back on the couch watching Corrie.

Now I admit I am a Man u fan but I probably go to more EL games than most of the people you meet and I'm amazed they can keep going on the support they get. The sad truth is the average attendance at the 22 clubs is about 1,000. Maybe 1,200 max. No more than 25,000 fans nationwide. the press know they can ignore that number without affecting sales.

I hope things improve SLK but do not allow wishes to fool you into thinking what is is not.

[brendy_éire]

Think everyone seems to agree that national papers are, on the whole, pretty pish when it comes to eL coverage. But what about local papers? We have the Derry Journal, which gives good coverage to be fair. During the season the back page is usually a Derry City article and quite often during the close season.

Same elsewhere? The Sligo Weekender gives good coverage of Sligo Rovers too.

[Schumi]

Originally posted by IrelandUnited
No more than 25,000 fans nationwide. the press know they can ignore that number without affecting sales.

But significantly more than that are interested to some extent in the league. Look at the cup semi that got a viewership of 190,000 or something.

[liamon]

190,000 may have watched the semi, but that doesn't translate into 190,000 who care enough about the league to alter their putrchasing pattern when down at the local newsagent. Simple fact is that the league isn't popular enough to warrant detailed coverage.

Which is sad, coz detailed media coverage is exactly what is needed to boost interest and get people to go to games. A lot of this goes back to the fact that the league doesn't have a tv platform to compete against Sky Sport's Premier-hype coverage.

Hopefully, the new club licences, summer soccer (on tv!) and an increase in the general standard of play willl bring in bigger crowds. It's not until this happens that well see an increase in media coverage.

[ger121]

Agreed liamon, however we as clubs need to do our part too, to make the el more attractive with better facilities and improved results in europe. These coupled with increased media and television coverage will go a long way to improving crowds and the perception of the eircom league.

[IrelandUnited]

Liamon is more or less spot on. as is Ger. It is not about huge argument or big strides. it is a step by step improvement. The truth is that the bibbest, oldest, richest and most watched soccer leagie in the world has a TV platform in this country every bit as strong as in its own.

That is not going to go away. I watch it an support one of its teams. many of us do and will continue to. However I am the floating voter typoe who would attenc more games if the fare waws batter organised and the league took itself serouusly. It is step by step. There will be no big surges. No 40,000 crowds at FAI finals or 500000 TV audiences but I feel sure 20,000 at finals and a decent TV platform is possible.