Local Media Coverage

[Itsthejoeker]

I've not seen a thread anywhere covering this, so thought I'd start one.

 

I was fortunate to thank both Geoff Peters @UpTheLeagueFox and Ian Stringer in Cardiff this weekend for their professionalism and coverage over the past few weeks, but my mumbled thanks just didn't cut it for me.

 

The coverage from media outlets so closely linked with the club has been absolutely phenomenal, they've provided us with the perfect representation we can all be proud of. As Rob Dorsett put it in his article this weekend, whilst events that have unfolded over the years have left many people speechless, it's been their jobs to find words, and in those words many of us have found solace through the raw emotion they have been delivered by helping us feel that we're not alone in what we're going through.

 

So here's to Ian, Geoff, Rob and those countless others who've represented our City so well over the last week and a half.

 

Thanks

Edited 5 November 2018 by Itsthejoeker

[Footballwipe]

As weird as it may seem, I've been working to archive some of the coverage from the last week. It'll forever be part of our history and some of the coverage we have received has been very sensitively presented and poignant.

 

Watching numerous television reports it has been great to watch someone like Rob Dorsett adapt to something way out of his comfort zone. A midlands football reporter taking on the task of covering a helicopter disaster and the subsequent grief of a city is no easy task, but I feel like he has done it with dignity and respect. Those frenzied early reports, especially live, you could tell were not easy to find the words. That's a tough ask for any hardened reporter.

[Voll Blau]

As with any big tragedy, it's those who know the places and people best who tend to offer the most accurate and most sympathetic coverage. Look at the Kerslake Report into the Manchester bombing - was damning of the nationals but couldn't praise the Manchester Evening News enough.

 

Fair play to our local journalists for how they've handled this, and no doubt how they'll continue to handle future developments with the inquests, investigations etc once the national media have long lost interest.

[Buce]

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

Edited 5 November 2018 by Buce

[Realist Guy In The Room]

7 minutes ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

 

Fvcking hell mate.

[ALC Fox]

1 hour ago, Itsthejoeker said:

I've not seen a thread anywhere covering this, so thought I'd start one.

 

I was fortunate to thank both Geoff Peters @UpTheLeagueFox and Ian Stringer in Cardiff this weekend for their professionalism and coverage over the past few weeks, but my mumbled thanks just didn't cut it for me.

 

The coverage from media outlets so closely linked with the club has been absolutely phenomenal, they've provided us with the perfect representation we can all be proud of. As Rob Dorsett put it in his article this weekend, whilst events that have unfolded over the years have left many people speechless, it's been their jobs to find words, and in those words many of us have found solace through the raw emotion they have been delivered by helping us feel that we're not alone in what we're going through.

 

So here's to Ian, Geoff, Rob and those countless others who've represented our City so well over the last week and a half.

 

Thanks

Here here.

 

They've been absolutely excellent.

 

I've read and heard more of Stringer's coverage than anyone else's and I think he's been superb in such difficult circumstances.

 

But the local media as a whole have been invaluable to us and have conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism and sensitivity.

[UpTheLeagueFox]

1 hour ago, Itsthejoeker said:

I was fortunate to thank both Geoff Peters @UpTheLeagueFox and Ian Stringer in Cardiff this weekend for their professionalism and coverage over the past few weeks, but my mumbled thanks just didn't cut it for me.

You were amazing and I thank you. I suspect my mumbled appreciation didn't cut it in response. We're all struggling but we're together, that's what matters.

 

1 hour ago, Footballwipe said:

it has been great to watch someone like Rob Dorsett adapt to something way out of his comfort zone. 

All of us sports reporters involved in the coverage have been a long, long way out of our comfort zone. None of us truly knew how to pitch the tone without going OTT or being disrespectful. We've just gone from the gut which is all you can do. Some will praise, some will criticise. Doesn't really matter either way. We've just tried our best. As I mentioned elsewhere on here, while it's extremely kind and humbling, I feel guilty getting praise because of the nature of the story.

 

28 minutes ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

I think that's very harsh. Ian has been hurting as much as the rest of us. I don't think there's anything contrived about his coverage this past week. He's been in the eye of the storm and broadcast from the heart. 

 

In times like these, people turn to their local BBC station more than ever and what he and his colleagues have done in the past week has been an essential service. We can’t reflect it in the same way on a national platform (talkSPORT or 5Live or telly) and never will be able to. BBC RL has been the city’s best friend this week, the one people turn to for coverage on local issues.

[Buce]

4 minutes ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

You were amazing and I thank you. I suspect my mumbled appreciation didn't cut it in response. We're all struggling but we're together, that's what matters.

 

All of us sports reporters involved in the coverage have been a long, long way out of our comfort zone. None of us truly knew how to pitch the tone without going OTT or being disrespectful. We've just gone from the gut which is all you can do. Some will praise, some will criticise. Doesn't really matter either way. We've just tried our best. As I mentioned elsewhere on here, while it's extremely kind and humbling, I feel guilty getting praise because of the nature of the story.

 

I think that's very harsh. Ian has been hurting as much as the rest of us. I don't think there's anything contrived about his coverage this past week. He's been in the eye of the storm and broadcast from the heart. 

 

In times like these, people turn to their local BBC station more than ever and what he and his colleagues have done in the past week has been an essential service. We can’t reflect it in the same way on a national platform (talkSPORT or 5Live or telly) and never will be able to. BBC RL has been the city’s best friend this week, the one people turn to for coverage on local issues.

 

That’s fair enough, though you’re professionally compromised and not really in a position to say any differently, are you?  

 

I’ve a long memory when it comes to Stringer, and leopards seldom change their spots. 

 

 

[UpTheLeagueFox]

3 minutes ago, Buce said:

That’s fair enough, though you’re professionally compromised and not really in a position to say any differently, are you?  

I could've just said nothing.

 

I've been critical on here of how RL have handled things in recent years but he and his colleagues 100% get my support on this. RL have been excellent during their coverage as have the majority of outlets.

[coolhandfox]

55 minutes ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

I bit harsh, the man has been in and around the club, staff, and has more likely rubbed shoulder with the chairman on a number of occasions.

 

Whatever axe your got to grind with the bloke, now is the time to be united.

 

Everyone deals with this sort of thing in a different manner.

[1972 Fox]

2 hours ago, Buce said:

 

That’s fair enough, though you’re professionally compromised and not really in a position to say any differently, are you?  

 

I’ve a long memory when it comes to Stringer, and leopards seldom change their spots. 

 

 

I think you're being harsh on this occasion as the RL coverage from @Ian S particularly has been excellent and heartfelt.

 

However, I understand your sentiments as we as fans are still being deprived of RL interviews with our players because of him. The players boycott of him must now go back 4 years or more. This really needs to be resolved or Mr Stringer should move on.

[The whole world smiles]

3 hours ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

An unpopular opinion. Therefore you were brave to voice it. Fair play. I am usually a big stringer fan but i have to say i agree with you on this one there has been an uncomfortable level of insincerity, fake emotion and putting himself in the story.

[SheppyFox]

@UpTheLeagueFox is spot on ?

[Itsthejoeker]

If the tears I saw down his face on Saturday afternoon were fake then he’d be better off in a different profession. 

 

Not what I saw at all, I saw an emotional man, nothing else. 

[Raj]

3 hours ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

I met Stringer briefly on the Sunday after the crash. He'd basically been up all night and looked like he had. I thanked him for his efforts and said how hard it must be for him. He welled up.

It's easy to hammer the guy,but I think he's been phenomenal, professional and showing the emotions that we fans do.

Remember he isn't a trained journo so it comes from the heart which is what sometimes gets him into trouble.

We know and always except a level of professionalism from @uptheleaguefox

Geoff is not only a great journo with a good reporting voice but he's actually a very decent humble guy( I'm not @rselickickibg as I've nothing to gain from it)

Like I said in another post,we as city fans come out of this sorry episode united as one and with some pride with how things have been handled. The football club AND the football community as a whole have come out of this with credit. If Vichai is watching from above he'd be proud. Let's not spoil it with little dogs at people who are hurting themselves. 

[FilbertFrog]

4 hours ago, Buce said:

Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this but I have found Stringer’s reporting to be wholly insincere and his blubbing on air on Saturday seemed completely contrived to me. 

I was thinking this but felt it’s almost impossible to come to that judgement without knowing a person personally , as although it sounded a little faux it might be just how he comes across about everything that’s emotional , what I will say is moving that to one side his words and his efforts were outstanding , and given that it was radio and given that we don’t know him personally  the Benefit of doubt rule must be applied in this situation  

[Lovejoy]

Ian Stringer and Geoff Peters have been incredible these past 9 days or so. Journalists at their best. Both deserve the utmost credit, as do their teams.

[Vardinio'sCat]

12 hours ago, Footballwipe said:

As weird as it may seem, I've been working to archive some of the coverage from the last week. It'll forever be part of our history and some of the coverage we have received has been very sensitively presented and poignant.

 

Watching numerous television reports it has been great to watch someone like Rob Dorsett adapt to something way out of his comfort zone. A midlands football reporter taking on the task of covering a helicopter disaster and the subsequent grief of a city is no easy task, but I feel like he has done it with dignity and respect. Those frenzied early reports, especially live, you could tell were not easy to find the words. That's a tough ask for any hardened reporter.

 

Given they knew there were no survivors, very soon after the crash, they must have been doing mental cartwheels to find the right words.

[Gamble92]

Ian Stringer has been superb this week. In the past I think some criticism is justified but on the whole I think he gets a really rough deal from fans on here. 

 

Behind the commentator is a huge Leicester fan who clearly loves this club. This has affected us all. Striking the balance and finding the right words must be so difficult in those circumstances. 

 

On a side note regarding Geoff, i do think he used to feel a bit threatened when anyone from a bigger station used to come in to the studio haha. I remember him once calling him Statto just for doing a bit of research and giving some statistics

[UpTheLeagueFox]

9 hours ago, Vardinio'sCat said:

Given they knew there were no survivors, very soon after the crash, they must have been doing mental cartwheels to find the right words.

It soon began apparent there would be no survivors on the helicopter but it would've been wrong to speculate who was on board. We made the point that Vichai was at the game (and his son wasn't) and that he usually arrives and leaves on the helicopter. We were highlighting the dots without joining them together. Also, we didn't know if there were any fatalities on the ground itself. (Thankfully there were none.)

 

In the immediate aftermath, when we were all dazed and confused and upset, we had to deal with the story with as much sensitivity as we could. As a professional, you try and reflect on the magnitude of the situation without going OTT. This was extremely difficult for all concerned. It was clearly a tragedy, the darkest day in our history. 

 

I have enormous respect for my colleagues for how they handled things. From my own point of view, I struggled with the right words. I still struggle now. Some people will approve of what we've done as a profession and some won't. It's fine. It's all about opinions. And in the context of the tragedy it really doesn't matter either way.

 

PS. In life, I search for positives: 

The city has united.

The football family has rallied around to show us love.

We've been able to tell the world how amazing Vichai was.

[MPH]

I have a new found respect for local radio/ journalism  from this tragedy.

 

as Geoff  has mentioned about seeing positives in this- radio DJs/reporters can often be seen as faceless and just having a voice- you don’t often get to see their personalities and even see into their lives or get to find out who they are and consider their thoughts and feelings as they DO have to be professional.

 

this has changed all that. It’s given us a taste of their own vulnerability. They are real people. They are local and they have thoughts, feelings and emotions. They are real people and I have actually found their raw emotions relatable. It’s helped to know that the people we are listening to and seeing KNOW the pain we have been going through as they have been going through it too.

[TheUltimateWinner]

I'll admit, I've never been the biggest fan of Stringers commentary, but like others have said, he deserves the utmost respect for how he has handled this entire situation. He hasn't speculated, he's been acurrate, he's been respectful and he's provdied first-hand accounts of how Vichai connected with the foxes family.

 

From listening to BBC Leicester intently throughout the whole ordeal, he's been nothing but genuine. 

 

Also again echoing what others have said, @UpTheLeagueFox you've been a credit to the Leicester family throughout this. 

[fleckneymike]

Although I’ve had my reservations about some of the coverage, I do think it is unfair to level personal criticism at presenters. By all means criticise the content or delivery but not the person. 

 

The local media have worked incredibly hard to deliver content that is well outside the comfort zone of their usual content or coverage. The developing nature of the story does require a careful balance between leading the narrative and reflecting it. They won’t always get it right, but then again they never were going to.  Being constantly surrounded by grief and solemnity will take its toll on the presenters and that must make it hard to remain both involved and detached. 

Edited 6 November 2018 by fleckneymike

[Vardinio'sCat]

On 06/11/2018 at 11:19, UpTheLeagueFox said:

It soon began apparent there would be no survivors on the helicopter but it would've been wrong to speculate who was on board. We made the point that Vichai was at the game (and his son wasn't) and that he usually arrives and leaves on the helicopter. We were highlighting the dots without joining them together. Also, we didn't know if there were any fatalities on the ground itself. (Thankfully there were none.)

 

In the immediate aftermath, when we were all dazed and confused and upset, we had to deal with the story with as much sensitivity as we could. As a professional, you try and reflect on the magnitude of the situation without going OTT. This was extremely difficult for all concerned. It was clearly a tragedy, the darkest day in our history. 

 

I have enormous respect for my colleagues for how they handled things. From my own point of view, I struggled with the right words. I still struggle now. Some people will approve of what we've done as a profession and some won't. It's fine. It's all about opinions. And in the context of the tragedy it really doesn't matter either way.

 

PS. In life, I search for positives: 

The city has united.

The football family has rallied around to show us love.

We've been able to tell the world how amazing Vichai was.

 

Sounds like a really difficult balancing act during that initial period. When there were no reports of casualties being taken to hospital, it was fairly evident what had happened, but it's the tiny bit of hope that really hurts.

 

The modern 24 hour news cycle puts tremendous strain on everyone close to such a big story. I'm sure it was almost impossible to feel happy with whatever you said. As a listener/viewer, I think all the LCFC 'specialists', whoever they worked for, did a sterling job. In these situations, I don't think the onus is on polished broadcasting, but more about getting the facts and emotions out, and that certainly came over pretty clearly.

 

We all would have given anything to not go through what happened, but at least most of us had choices about how public or private that should be. At some points I just had to avoid the media for my own mental wellbeing (such as it was), so thanks for keeping going. My gf is a therapist (who read your post), and she says remember to be compassionate to yourself, we don't doubt you did the best you could, as did so many that night, and during our nightmare week.

 

Through the pain, we are really proud of our club and city at this moment, the bond is the closest I can remember. We are also proud of those that told the world of Vichai's impact on Leicester. The extended pieces in the days following were deeply moving, and usually pitch perfect. In these circumstances you find out who really knows the club.

 

Best wishes going forward.

 

 

 

[dayday]

Just a word for itv central news, there coverage has been brilliant of the recent events.