BoysInBlue
Player Valuation: £50m
I've been meaning to create this post for a few days, but after seeing the latest drivel I finally felt compelled to do it.
For those that don't know, a few weeks ago the Liverpool Echo reached out to various Everton groups to try to get them on board for a fans discussion about the papers' coverage of Everton. I think many people would acknowledge that the paper does not treat Everton in the same way they treat Liverpool. There's a lot they can and should do to change their coverage; in fact they're currently reviewing their whole paper, as you will have seen from the #TellAli twitter hashtag, seeking feedback and ideas.
Anyway, long story short, several fans groups and representatives met the Echo's Dave Prentice and Greg O'Keefe. They discussed the papers coverage of the Blues, the lack of investigative reporting towards the Board and the club and the inner workings, such as the club's business performance compared to rivals. The basic gist of the criticism is that when Liverpool do 'poorly', the Echo is up in arms and undertakes a root and branch examination. When Everton 'do poorly', there is often a shrugging of shoulders and 'that's where you belong' attitude (more on this in a bit), along with zero criticism of the club and board for fear of repercussions.
A 75 minute podcast was recorded. The Echo said that they'd release it unedited. Some fans there recorded it too, so they too have full version copies. An agreement was made that the fans wouldn't release it before the Echo did. Two weeks passed by with zero mention by the Echo of what was happening. Eventually, yesterday the Echo released the podcast - edited down from 75 minutes to 20 minutes. The vast majority of the fans criticism of both the Echo and club had been removed. Intriguingly as well, the Echo added audio from a Cardiff-based EFC fan, who hadn't attended the meeting and whom nobody had met or heard of before, who overwhelmingly backed the Everton board and saw nothing wrong with the Echo's coverage. Apparently this was inserted to bring 'balance'. Whether or not this was done at the request of the club remains to be seen. It certainly explains the 2 week delay in releasing the heavily edited audio.
So, naturally, the fans are furious, and the Echo twitter has taken a battering over the past few days.
And then the Echo prints this:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/everton-where-should-be-11th-9396485?
What exactly is the Echo's problem? They basically begged the fans to discuss their issues to get EFC fans back on board with the paper. There was a frank and full exchange of views. Three quarters of what was recorded doesn't get released and the remainder is heavily edited with a pro-club agenda added. And then they print dismissive, non-critical garbage like this.
And they wonder why many fans won't buy the 'Red Echo'.
For those that don't know, a few weeks ago the Liverpool Echo reached out to various Everton groups to try to get them on board for a fans discussion about the papers' coverage of Everton. I think many people would acknowledge that the paper does not treat Everton in the same way they treat Liverpool. There's a lot they can and should do to change their coverage; in fact they're currently reviewing their whole paper, as you will have seen from the #TellAli twitter hashtag, seeking feedback and ideas.
Anyway, long story short, several fans groups and representatives met the Echo's Dave Prentice and Greg O'Keefe. They discussed the papers coverage of the Blues, the lack of investigative reporting towards the Board and the club and the inner workings, such as the club's business performance compared to rivals. The basic gist of the criticism is that when Liverpool do 'poorly', the Echo is up in arms and undertakes a root and branch examination. When Everton 'do poorly', there is often a shrugging of shoulders and 'that's where you belong' attitude (more on this in a bit), along with zero criticism of the club and board for fear of repercussions.
A 75 minute podcast was recorded. The Echo said that they'd release it unedited. Some fans there recorded it too, so they too have full version copies. An agreement was made that the fans wouldn't release it before the Echo did. Two weeks passed by with zero mention by the Echo of what was happening. Eventually, yesterday the Echo released the podcast - edited down from 75 minutes to 20 minutes. The vast majority of the fans criticism of both the Echo and club had been removed. Intriguingly as well, the Echo added audio from a Cardiff-based EFC fan, who hadn't attended the meeting and whom nobody had met or heard of before, who overwhelmingly backed the Everton board and saw nothing wrong with the Echo's coverage. Apparently this was inserted to bring 'balance'. Whether or not this was done at the request of the club remains to be seen. It certainly explains the 2 week delay in releasing the heavily edited audio.
So, naturally, the fans are furious, and the Echo twitter has taken a battering over the past few days.
And then the Echo prints this:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/everton-where-should-be-11th-9396485?
What exactly is the Echo's problem? They basically begged the fans to discuss their issues to get EFC fans back on board with the paper. There was a frank and full exchange of views. Three quarters of what was recorded doesn't get released and the remainder is heavily edited with a pro-club agenda added. And then they print dismissive, non-critical garbage like this.
And they wonder why many fans won't buy the 'Red Echo'.
