The Sun: An Enemy of Celtic and an Insult to a Free Press
Among journalists, there’s an unwritten rule. It states that you don’t attack one of your own. An attack on a journalist is an attack on press freedom in general.
However, its a rule that I, as someone who has been a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, and a Celtic supporter for more than 30 years, find harder and harder to adhere to these days.
Simply put, the behavior of some, especially in the Scottish tabloid press, makes me question whether I can even consider these people to be fellow journalists any more.
That The Sun once again scraped the very bottom of the cesspit that is right wing media in the UK this week, was hardly a surprise to anyone.
Their “hit piece” on Jeremie Frimpong had it all: unsubstantiated allegations, breaches of privacy, homophobia and sensationalism.
Despite numerous complaints and demands that the story be pulled, as I write this article, the story remains on the Scottish Sun website.
Frankly, I’m amazed it even made it online in the first place.
The story violated so many of the basic principles of good practice in journalism, principles that a first year cub reporter should know better than to violate.
It really saddens me to think that this story passed sub-editors and the sports desk without even one person stopping to question any of the defamatory nonsense contained therein.
But then again, we live in an age where someone can literally lie their way to the most powerful job in global politics. In a time when he who shouts the loudest gets the biggest audience, regardless of accuracy, The Sun knew exactly what they were doing.
In much the same way as they slandered the Miners during their opposition to Thatcherism in the early 80s, and vilified our brothers and sisters in Liverpool after the Hillsborough disaster, these scum have shown time and time again that the truth doesn’t matter when there’s a catchy headline to write.
I mentioned earlier that The Sun’s “story” on Frimpong was a “hit piece”. For the uninitiated, I’d like to explain a little bit more about what this term means, and how it pertains to Celtic in our relationship with the Scottish media.
A “hit piece” is a story or sometimes a series of stories, designed specifically to discredit or harm an individual or organization.
The infamous “Thugs and Thieves” headline the Daily Record chose to run against Celtic players back in the early 2000s is another example of this kind of media manipulation.
Its goals are simple.
The aim of a hit piece is to sow discord, generate controversy to sell more papers and also to distract from other, potentially bigger stories that don’t fit with a publication’s particular agenda.
For an example, look at the Daily Mail, and some of the nonsensical, totally irrelevant stories that find their way onto the front page whenever their beloved Conservative Party are in trouble.
Most “hit pieces” are political, but not always.
In Scotland, they are a useful tool for Rangers, and their servile goons at the Scottish newspapers. Why else do supposed scandals about Celtic, our players or our staff always emerge in the press in the run up to a derby or a cup final?
It is a subtle, yet very deliberate process, and with the ten in a row at stake this year, it will only get worse.
In much the same way as, hopefully, Trump’s lies in the US seem to have finally caught up with him, these “journalists” and the publications that give them a platform are headed for a reckoning.
Newspaper readership numbers across the board have been in decline for more than a decade, with online media stepping up to replace conventional print and broadcast journalism.
However, in Scotland, for the papers, it is far more desperate.
As of this year, whilst around 70% of adults in the UK as a whole read a newspaper on a daily basis, in Scotland this drops to just under 55%. This figure continues to drop year by year, with Scotland showing a steadier rate of decline than the UK as a whole. The daily readership of the likes of The Sun and the Daily Record is a mere fraction of what it was in the pre-internet era. Online advertising sales don’t even come close to plugging the funding gap this creates.
In short, newspapers in Scotland are a busted flush. This comes down to a combination of obvious political bias, lack of attention to local issues (the likes of the Scottish Sun and the Daily Record feel more and more like localized editions of The Sun and the Daily Mirror these days rather than actual, Scottish publications), and the fact that their football coverage just can’t help but favour one side over all others.
The lack of localization is another, often overlooked, problem that impacts football coverage.
Much of the coverage dedicated to Scottish sport isn’t determined by management in Scotland, but rather down south.
England is a far bigger country than Scotland, and although there’s no denying that football plays a huge part in the lives of millions of fans across the land, it isn’t a social institution on the same level that it is in Scotland. The English also love rugby, cricket, and a host of other sports.
In Scotland, its all about the football, for the vast majority of the sports-loving population.
In a demographic sense, this means, overwhelmingly, that Celtic and Rangers supporters are a hugely influential group. Getting as many fans of both teams as possible to buy your paper is just common sense.
However, the money men in London don’t understand this. Otherwise, they would take a more hands-on approach to ensure the coverage of Scotland’s two biggest clubs was far more balanced and fair than it currently is. Instead, they give their “reporters” free reign to be as partizan in their coverage as they like.
The dismissive arrogance with which they continue to overlook Scotland, and the necessity of catering their journalism to our unique societal make up will ultimately lead to their demise.
In the meantime, the “hit pieces” on Celtic will, no doubt, continue. However, it remains to be seen how much longer the hacks who write them, and the editors who approve them will continue to be employed.
Scottish tabloid journalism is in a death spiral, and few among the Celtic support will mourn its eventual passing.