MANY of my fellow journalists would like to keep their industry to themselves, but they’re going to have to accept it is now open to everybody.
In the old days, when metal plates, newsprint and big whirring print towers were needed to be part of the media, the delineation was exact.
You had journalists and you had readers.
These days everyone can be a journalist. Maybe they can’t get a job in one of the established institutions, but they can do the job.
All you need is a computer and a desire to communicate an opinion. And boy are there plenty of those about.
The number of small satellite website blogs have exploded over the years. Most of the sport ones I have read are amateurish in varying degrees from toe-curling to plucky effort.
But some are exceptional, easily bettering many published in the paid-for media (this paper excluded, of course!) and helping to create a massive choice of quality opinion and analysis available for free.
Twitter is another area now available for people to communicate in a creative manner.
But while it is wonderful that everyone can put over their views to a mass audience, it also means that people have now got to up their game.
Gone are the days when clichés will do. Accusing a writer of lazy journalism is just lazy fanism nowadays – as are “you can’t have been at the same match as me” and “it’s people like you who give journalists a bad name”.
Whether amateur or professional, if you’re going to publish something make it original and accurate.
Like @andylewy who tweeted this absolute classic on Saturday after the teams for the Wanderers game had been announced: “Boooooo, no Mark Davies?? He’s clueless, I’m going home. I’m already at home, but that’s beside the point. Morgan Freeman out.”
And while I’m on the theme of quality control, the same goes for radio phone-ins.
I, and many like me, am sick of hearing Micky from Manchester saying Mancini’s lost the plot, and Lenny from London saying it’s time for Wenger to go.
Or, possibly the most preposterous of all, callers questioning David Moyes’ future as Everton boss.
It’s a daily club-in-crisis whinge-fest that panders to those who can’t take losing.
It’s one big open media world. Let’s make it a good one.
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