Media favours the big guns
Hey Flavours...
Looking into the PSL click link www.psl.co.za I have come to the conclusion that certain teams are favoured by the media spectrum as opposed to some other teams. How many times do you get to hear about teams like Mamelodi Sundowns view link...www.sundownsfc.co.za, Kaizer Chiefs view vie link ... www.kaizerchiefs.com and Orlando Pirates view link www.orlandopiratesfc.com in the media when there is going to be a game, signing of new players, contract renewals etc??? I bet a lot hey but the "smaller" teams as they are called you will know such by chance. Others will argue that the successes of the team makes the media ticks and their targeted publics wants to know only about them. In South Africa the biggest weekly soccer publication which is Soccerladuma you will find that 70% of their content is shared amongst the big teams. Is this fair on other PSL teams?
Who to blame?
One can blame the media alone but also one has to look at the communication practitioners of the other teams. Are they doing enough to get their teams exposed in the media? We only know of few PROs for some PSL teams, again they belong to the above mentioned teams. Laziness is a dominating factor to most teams not having enough media coverage. Teams need to hire qualified Public Relations Practitioners in order for them to generate publicity. Let me take for instead Maritzburg United FC view link...www.maritzburgunited.co.za is playing Celtic you will not know of the game until you check the PSL website for fixtures. Again you will find that 80% of the games that get broadcasted throughout the season are those games which are deemed "Big games". Who is to blame again for that? In my opinion I think teams must start working hard on getting their teams out there to the people. I mean they are forever complaining of playing in empty stadiums, stadiums conditions etc. We all know a team is a team because of its supporters. I urge all the Media, Communication, Public Relations practitioners of these teams to start taking their jobs seriously so that we part ways with the blame game and play the real game. Where do you think some of these teams are getting it wrong? Your views?Thanks for the read flavours lets get talking...
Next post coming soon.
yes i agree with you that only big teams get media exposure but the truth is that smaller teams dont have supporters compared to bigger teams in the psl
ReplyDeleteExactly that is why the small teams need to hire proper Media relations practitioners to help build their brands.
ReplyDeletewell the big teams are the ones that bring a lot of money to the psl and a lot of international media attention to our psl so the small teams must work hard to prove them right.
ReplyDeleteI hear you at Mkhuseli it makes sense in a way so I guess the small teams will reamin just where they are.
ReplyDeleteit has been like that,and it will always be like that.if your underdog , you has to work your lame arse up to get to the top. Hard work always pays off people, this what we call you reap what you sow, it's not hte matter of favouritism
ReplyDeleteWell I think it's unfair for small teams to be underastimated because they also deserve their recognition and shine. Have to agree with you on that!
ReplyDeleteThis is not fair at all because it says a lot about lack of developmement and empowerment in this country which disriputes the name of this country by practising exploitation.
ReplyDeleteIt goes to show as mentioned above that certain teams benefit from the media. The small teams are partly to be blamed as they are not doing anything to salvage the situation. With regards to what Molly and Mapeseka have just mentioned. Thabelo still I say it is unfair beacuse all these teams are playing in the same league therefore they should be treated equally.
ReplyDeletemmmh nice point view there, plus too its amazing how ladies support our south african football dis days, credits goes to you there hey, back on ur topic i think its not neccesarily the team who is at fault but i think the blame has to go to our sabc also known as south african broadcasting corporation who censor everything to an extent a soccer match and the talent being captured. Meaning like obvoiusly South Africa in most countries is known for their football plus to top it all up we just held a World Cup few years go which must also count because like people really enjoy going out watching football at our new magnificent stadiums e.g kaizer chiefs vs pirates games you hear about them a month before they play but why not the other teams? So like i think they do not get much exposure as the two giants teams, for instance you will not hear a game of maritzburg united vs tuks as much as the two big teams ive just mentioned on top so i think sabc must also work on that so that even prp's will know how to collaborate with them and take it from there..!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your view Mxolisi you have said a mouthful. The broadcasters are to blame too. If they can work on that I believe this whole debacle can be sorted out.
ReplyDeleteThe media is all about business 'Zipho and to keep their business running they need to publish stories that sell. Nobody wants to hear anything about Chippa United, Tuks, Golden Arrows and all the rest of them small teams. Like the football teams, the media are also competing amongst themselves for top spot and to do that they have to cover the "big guns" as best they could. That's just the way it is the world over...and I don't see it changing.
ReplyDeleteOscil I hear you. You have raised a very valid point right there. I guess it is all about pushing sales for these publications and high ratings for broadcasters.
ReplyDeleteThe big question here becomes, does good PR lead to teams having a lot of surplus? I doubt that. The only problem is that the so called small teams do not treat their teams as a business rather just a team. That is why they find it difficult to even keep sponsors. I think other than having good PRO(which I don't dispute) I think they are to have proper PR strategies me give u an example on my argument on of number of supporters vs the size of the team. Yes the media does play some part in perpetuating it, take Chippa United for example, at some it had a lot of ppl interested in them. Well their PR strategy they had was Mpengezi breaking some records, that did not have anything to do with their PRO. Now good strategy could have helped them to ride on that PR glory but failed.
ReplyDeleteSorry I meant"The big question here becomes, does good PRO lead to teams having a lot of surpotters?"
ReplyDeletemedia focus only on newsworthy, less people are interested on developing teams and wana know about their favorite teams
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight Vulisango...but then again it comes back to my issue of good PR that is good Strageties as you have mention. Their job titles come with such. They have to be the ones who come up with those campaigns that will help their teams to get noticed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that the big teams get more media attention than the small ones. But its all about what the small teams are doing wrong. I mean if the the smaller teams made an effort big enough to be recognized by the media and the people than they would not be complaining about playing for an empty stadium. All the smaller teams need a great Public Realations Practioner to help them with their publicity and getting their team`s names out there.
ReplyDeleteOkay Mzisa what you are saying exactly is that we should forget about the small teams whereas the PSL consist of 16 teams?
ReplyDeleteRefiloe I further agree with you on what you have said. How is the media going to publicise the teams when they are not even making an effort? I still say they need good Public Relations Practitioners to help them rebrand.
ReplyDeleteThese small teams don't want to spend money, firstly they hire second hand coaches, then the players themselves lack confidence because they feel intimidated by the big teams which leads to them always losing, what they need to do is be willing to spend money, hire a good team to take care of their pr and marketing.
ReplyDeleteThe "small teams" have to prove themselves if they want to gain the same media coverage, get the same amount of supporters they need to and generate and put their names out there as well. This all leads back to hard-work, nothing worth having comes easy.
ReplyDeleteGugu and Itumeleng I hear you that is why getting good PR and Marketing structure is the root to solving this problem.
ReplyDeleteMziphos these small teams should start by by getting people to the stadiums before they can dream of being handed the publicity enjoyed by the Big 3. the Big 3 can fill any venue in the country at any given day...can your Marietzburg United fill in Orlando Slaghuis(stadium)? No?
ReplyDelete