MOTD - Media Bias Against City

[leomcfc]

I've never been called a smart bitch before. I like it . . i think.
Off to Amsterdam shortly so will try to answer Leo's point as soon as i get a minute. Might have to wait until i get back!
Thanks for the welcomes. I honestly appreciate criticism when it is reasonable but can't be doing with the crazy stuff

Look forward to hearing it. I too am off to the dam . Will continue when I'm home when I'm fit to communicate again.
I am glad we are finally getting somewhere with all this as my personal anger with the MEN has gone on for far too long. As for a long time it was the only paper I trusted.
Obviously stuart cannot answer everybody but I also look forward to reading his response to the other stuff.
As someone has already said. Most on here have had something to say on here for a long time. Now is your time to stand up and get answers.
Safe journey to all blues coming to the dam. Behave as usual and let's not let down our football club.
Leo

[john68]

Stuart,
THANK YOU for hanging around and I sincerely hope that you are treated with patience and respect by all who join any discussion, Anti City media bias is a long held honest and genuine belief of City fans and any chance to clear the air is to be valued.

As the MUNICH issue is the current one, I am happy to go with that. Munich is not a term I personally use but because I know the reasons many thinking fans use it, I tolerate it. I was around in 1958 in Wythenshawe and saw the convoy of coffins pass my house. I also experienced the grief of Manchester and the sympathy shown by City fans at that time,much as both sides came together.

Prior to the Blackburn game, the term had been in use for a number of years by City and and used in terrace songs. Can you explain why the issue was raised at that particular time yet ignored in the years before? Our local paper had a chance to to celebrate City and chose not to do so.

Whilst City fans have several times been berated for the public use of the term and at the time of the 50th anniversary derby, were subjected to a long and largely insulting media campaign regarding our possible behaviour. At no time Have I seen any similar campain or regular criticism regarding the "Russian submariners", the "Turks carrying knives", "the death of Bill Shankly", "the Hillsborough deaths" nor "Heysal". Not until the recent court ruling have the Hillsborough chants been mentioned.

On the wider issue of Munich; Why have City fans been berated publicly by the paper, demanded City fans respect our neighbours, whilst the larger crimes committed by our neighbours in their treatment of some of those involved. (Jackie Blanchflower, Albert Quixall, the family of Duncan Edwards to name three), the commercialisation of both the 40th and 50th anniversaries, never been reported fully, nor challenged in the public domain of you local paper.

I personally find it infuriating that this lack of balance exists and has done so consistently over many years.

Thank You.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Mancio,

In your first post to Mr Brennan, you stated that you were Italian and only had a limited (English) vocabulary.

All I can say to this, is that I wish my Italian (or French for that matter) was as "bad" as your English....you do yourself a grave disservice, apart from which, your post was pretty good too.

With regard to the enduring media bias against City, I'd just like to quote the motto of the Italian World War 2 Battleship Vittorio Veneto, which seems appropriate for us somehow :- "Molti Nemeci, Molto Onore".

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Stuart,
THANK YOU for hanging around and I sincerely hope that you are treated with patience and respect by all who join any discussion, Anti City media bias is a long held honest and genuine belief of City fans and any chance to clear the air is to be valued.

As the MUNICH issue is the current one, I am happy to go with that. Munich is not a term I personally use but because I know the reasons many thinking fans use it, I tolerate it. I was around in 1958 in Wythenshawe and saw the convoy of coffins pass my house. I also experienced the grief of Manchester and the sympathy shown by City fans at that time,much as both sides came together.

Prior to the Blackburn game, the term had been in use for a number of years by City and and used in terrace songs. Can you explain why the issue was raised at that particular time yet ignored in the years before? Our local paper had a chance to to celebrate City and chose not to do so.

Whilst City fans have several times been berated for the public use of the term and at the time of the 50th anniversary derby, were subjected to a long and largely insulting media campaign regarding our possible behaviour. At no time Have I seen any similar campain or regular criticism regarding the "Russian submariners", the "Turks carrying knives", "the death of Bill Shankly", "the Hillsborough deaths" nor "Heysal". Not until the recent court ruling have the Hillsborough chants been mentioned.

On the wider issue of Munich; Why have City fans been berated publicly by the paper, demanded City fans respect our neighbours, whilst the larger crimes committed by our neighbours in their treatment of some of those involved. (Jackie Blanchflower, Albert Quixall, the family of Duncan Edwards to name three), the commercialisation of both the 40th and 50th anniversaries, never been reported fully, nor challenged in the public domain of you local paper.

I personally find it infuriating that this lack of balance exists and has done so consistently over many years.

Thank You.

Top drawer post old chap. Really want to see the response to this as its what I would have written could I actually type that well.

[Chinners]

Surely the obvious answer will be if it happens to non Manchester teams it gets ignored as the MEN are a <ahem> Manchester paper whilst those against .... you get the point. Top post thou John

[Mase]

Surely the obvious answer will be if it happens to non Manchester teams it gets ignored as the MEN are a Manchester paper whilst those against .... you get the point. Top post thou John

What about the Hillsborough chants by the rags that have been going on for YEARS! Istanbul banner. Or do they not count as they're not in Manchester?

[Chinners]

Thats what I ment, rags chanting about other teams mishaps don't count whereas anyone chanting about the rags (including us) do count and need to be highlighted ;)

[Burt]

Thank you for posting Stuart. I do hope that you digest fully what a few of the folk have said and have the respect to reply to them without skirting the real issues raised.

John68 hits the nail on the head with regard to "balance". Colin Bell is a very private person and he didn't come out of the woodwork voluntarilly prior to the Munich 50th anniversary game. As has been stated earlier, he was approached directly by the MuEN for his oppinion, so he didn't have much choice in the matter. The point is why was he approached in the first place? There was no need for it and the fact that the MuEN approached him speaks volumes with regard to their stance.

Where is the balance in never challenging the regular songs belted out by the rags practically every week about Heysel, Hillsborough, Turks with knives, Marc Vivien Foe's empty shirt, Russian submarines, just to name a few? Why does the MuEN not attack the rags for being so despicable Stuart?

Why do you think that loads of us on here clearly state that we have not bought your paper for donkeys years? Do you really think that we are paranoid and bitter?

Do you remember 1970 when we won the European Cup Winners Cup? There was an article about the size of a pastage stamp about our triumph in the MuEN yet there were a number of articles about the rags including the reserves!!!

The run-up to the Munich 50th anniversary was disgraceful. Intimating that City fans would ruin it and whipping up a load of shite against us. We all saw what happened, we were "IMPECCABLE" and that is the actual word used by the rags tannoy announcer after the game!

Now on a more important note for me and many other Blues. This is not meant as anything personal against you but how the heck can The Manchester paper employ a self-confessed former rag matchgoer as its City correspondent? I make no apology for saying that this is just not on. You can ramble on all day about how impartial you are and that your professional integrity has never been in question blah blah blah but paint it whichever way you wish.............it stinks! I don't think that this would happen in any other major city's paper. Not in Liverpool, Birmingham, London etc etc etc so why does it happen here in Manchester? Are we really that short of City journalists? I think not.

[stuart brennan]

Fair play to Stuart Brennan for replying to the various criticisms.

Imo, as I posted earlier, on the whole he's done a good & fair job reporting on City, but not the same same kind of job as he did when reporting on Utd, where he was part of the Pravda machine.

Probably that's a subconscious thing, but imo it's true nontheless. The traditional big 4 types get a better press for their peformances as their fans expect it.

And that's how I think it works in the media; it's not a concious effort to do City down, (well it is with a few people but not the majority) it's a case of pandering to the mentality of certain clubs. If Stuart had reported on Utd coming back from a goal down, with ten men, he would mark them higher. When he was the Utd reporter, he gave them the same kind of marks as the current bloke does, ie; an average Utd performance ranks higher than a top notch City one.

It's the same with the Liverpool & the London media mafia.

They always deny this, and then they do it again.

Brennan is much better than most tbf.


Spencer on the other hand..

If I was part of the "Pravda machine" at United, why was I made persona non gratis at Old Trafford, for my honest reporting of the Glazer takeover and the formation of FC United. I won the Football Supporters Federation's football writer of the year award for that stuff, but seriously pissed off a lot of people at United, including Fergie.
This is what I mean by people only seeing one side of things. Why do you think Utd fans think we are biased towards City? Because they only see the "negative" Utd stuff we do, and ignore the positive stuff.
Some of you lot do the same, but in reverse.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Fair play to Stuart Brennan for replying to the various criticisms.

Imo, as I posted earlier, on the whole he's done a good & fair job reporting on City, but not the same same kind of job as he did when reporting on Utd, where he was part of the Pravda machine.

Probably that's a subconscious thing, but imo it's true nontheless. The traditional big 4 types get a better press for their peformances as their fans expect it.

And that's how I think it works in the media; it's not a concious effort to do City down, (well it is with a few people but not the majority) it's a case of pandering to the mentality of certain clubs. If Stuart had reported on Utd coming back from a goal down, with ten men, he would mark them higher. When he was the Utd reporter, he gave them the same kind of marks as the current bloke does, ie; an average Utd performance ranks higher than a top notch City one.

It's the same with the Liverpool & the London media mafia.

They always deny this, and then they do it again.

Brennan is much better than most tbf.


Spencer on the other hand..

If I was part of the "Pravda machine" at United, why was I made persona non gratis at Old Trafford, for my honest reporting of the Glazer takeover and the formation of FC United. I won the Football Supporters Federation's football writer of the year award for that stuff, but seriously pissed off a lot of people at United, including Fergie.
This is what I mean by people only seeing one side of things. Why do you think Utd fans think we are biased towards City? Because they only see the "negative" Utd stuff we do, and ignore the positive stuff.
Some of you lot do the same, but in reverse.

Stop being a politician and answer the questions that fans are putting to you ffs !

[Mase]

Why do you think Utd fans think we are biased towards City? Because they only see the "negative" Utd stuff we do, and ignore the positive stuff.
Some of you lot do the same, but in reverse.

Which negative pieces on the rags are you talking about? Your coverage of their sick "Istanbul" banner at the Leeds match?

I can honestly say if I worked as a writer reporting on anything City wise and they stopped me, people at the actual club stopped me, it wouldn't change my love for the club I've followed my whole life.

So how can we as City fans expect you to report unbiased on all things City? Unless you're saying you were never really a proper rag?

[Hazy2]

The manager of MUFC does dictate what is reported about his club, he scares the press and bans the rest, A local paper does what it is told when it is told. The MUEN along with Shaun Custis to name 1of his press soliders,write in such a manner it brings a smirk to my face. For Stuart, or anyone with half a clue to suggest otherwise is tosh. Our owner uses our own website to speak to us directly, Our Manager speaks with the Press who have all the balls in the world to work the time amongst themselfs, The manager of MUFC deals with the press who sit and await Ming to speak how he sees fit, the inner circle spin away all sorts of tripe. MUEN Fair my arse.

[stuart brennan]

Got a few minutes before I have to head off to the Arena for City's training session, so will briefly try to answer some points.

In terms of Hillsborough chants, here is what we ran in the MEN on Sept 14, 16, 17 and 18.


http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ich-chants

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ick-chants

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ool-chants

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ool-chants

If we had run four articles in five days about Munich chants, some of you would have called it a "campaign".
I also roundly condemned United fans for the "Murderers" chant and the "Always a victim" one, on a podcast around the same time, and said it was simply not an excuse to claim that the first referred to Heysel and the second to Suarez. In the climate of the Hillsborough report, it was unacceptable for Utd fans to chant anything that could even be construed as referring to Hillsborough.
In my opinion the same goes for chants referring to Utd as Munichs.

s for us giving minimal coverage to the ECWC win, I find that very hard to believe, although I would have to go to Manchester Central Library's archive to check it out.
We had a full time City reporter at that time. Would we send him to Vienna to do two or three paragraphs.
On Blue Moon, someone "remembered" that when City were in the second division we only ran match reports of one or two paragraphs. I was at the MEN at the time, and that was utter nonsense - our City coverage was equivalent to Utd coverage to the extent that the sports editor use to measure it with a ruler and record it, so he could quote the figures to City fans who rang up because they perceived bias.

Burt, As for my Utd background affecting my ability to do the City job, I disagree utterly. You will find the same situation up and down the country, contrary to your belief that it wouldn't happen elsewhere. Dominic King, a lifelong Liverpool fan, used to be Everton correspondent at the Echo, and there are countless cases.
In terms of me getting the job, Chris Bailey took voluntary redundancy and joined City, and legally the MEN could not employ anyone from outside to do the job, as they were making redundancies. They had to pick the person they felt was the most appropriate and experienced, and they picked me, knowing that my past allegiances would not affect my professionalism.
I believe there were a couple of City fans within the MEN who put in for the job, but they lacked experience, and from a practical point of view you should not underestimate how difficult it is, on a match night, to file a 1,000 word match report within five minutes of the whistle, plus the match ratings, then file a 500-word piece on manager quotes, and a 300-word piece on player quotes. It is very close to being impossible to do - try it some time, when watching a match on telly.
I have done that for years, and the others hadn't, so one consideration was that they needed someone who would hit deadlines - it costs the paper thousands if deadlines are missed.

Anyhow, have to go now, the Arena is beckoning

[Alex Sapphire]

Thanks for taking the time Stuart. I remember you did the same when you got the job and you were clear and upfront about your allegiances then.

Some misremembering going on here to suit a position taken that we will never be fairly treated.

agree 100% about the chanting. All of it

and who is "23 post " leo is who's come on here and got a little fight going.
Not one of ours

[leomcfc]

Thanks for taking the time Stuart. I remember you did the same when you got the job and you were clear and upfront about your allegiances then.

Some misremembering going on here to suit a position taken that we will never be fairly treated.

agree 100% about the chanting. All of it

and who is "23 post " leo is who's come on here and got a little fight going.
Not one of ours

I joined a good while back. Yes usually I like to sit back and watch the debates.
But on this occasion I feel very strongly and expressed my views. And judging by the other posts, many feel the same.
It wasn't me who approached Stuart and for a long time iv seen all these comments in different threads.
If I have offended anyone then I apologies. This was not my aim. This is just something I feel very strongly about .
If I have broken any rules feel free to take my account away.
And I certainly don't want to be 'one of yours' .
As I said, if I'm in the wrong I apologies. It was not my aim to 'start a fight' .

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Mancio,

In your first post to Mr Brennan, you stated that you were Italian and only had a limited (English) vocabulary.

All I can say to this, is that I wish my Italian (or French for that matter) was as "bad" as your English....you do yourself a grave disservice, apart from which, your post was pretty good too.

With regard to the enduring media bias against City, I'd just like to quote the motto of the Italian World War 2 Battleship Vittorio Veneto, which seems appropriate for us somehow :- "Molti Nemeci, Molto Onore".

Beautifully put.

[Mase]

I joined a good while back. Yes usually I like to sit back and watch the debates.
But on this occasion I feel very strongly and expressed my views. And judging by the other posts, many feel the same.
It wasn't me who approached Stuart and for a long time iv seen all these comments in different threads.
If I have offended anyone then I apologies. This was not my aim. This is just something I feel very strongly about .
If I have broken any rules feel free to take my account away.
And I certainly don't want to be 'one of yours' .
As I said, if I'm in the wrong I apologies. It was not my aim to 'start a fight' .

You wanted questions answering, just like most of us, and yet they still haven't been answered. If they're going to let rags on board then you are well within your right to ask questions.

[Mase]

Mancio,

In your first post to Mr Brennan, you stated that you were Italian and only had a limited (English) vocabulary.

All I can say to this, is that I wish my Italian (or French for that matter) was as "bad" as your English....you do yourself a grave disservice, apart from which, your post was pretty good too.

With regard to the enduring media bias against City, I'd just like to quote the motto of the Italian World War 2 Battleship Vittorio Veneto, which seems appropriate for us somehow :- "Molti Nemeci, Molto Onore".

Soccs and him get in to one little domestic and you try and snake your way in!

[leomcfc]

<null>

Thanks for that. Iv been going back through my posts looking where iv been wrong. Maybe a touch aggressive at first? To be honest iv seen worse. Lots worse!
Anyway ill say again. Alex, it wasn't my intention to start a fight. I just feel strongly about this. Last night I said to Stuart , if iv picked up wrong info on my travels I hold up my hands.
I know there's not many but check my old posts. Iv praised to site !!

[DoomMerchant]

Thanks for taking the time Stuart. I remember you did the same when you got the job and you were clear and upfront about your allegiances then.

Some misremembering going on here to suit a position taken that we will never be fairly treated.

agree 100% about the chanting. All of it

and who is "23 post " leo is who's come on here and got a little fight going.
Not one of ours

Couldn't have said it better myself.

This is a place reserved for intelligent debate, plus the posts i make.

Welcome Stuart...pop in here and share some stories and ask some questions. You'll find a few dozen folks here worth stoking some conversations with who may actually help you craft some elements of your day to day gig as you cover the best club in all the land, etc. etc. etc.

cheers