Rangers & Media: An Opportunity, Not A Nuisance

[andy steel 0]

This bit from the club statement yesterday got me thinking this morning:

 

But we must also stress we cannot waste time responding publicly to every blog or ridiculous claim against this Club. Also, there is a dangerous proliferation of anonymous obsessives on various social media sites and we will not give them any credence.

 

That's just exactly what the club DOES need to be doing, at least in the short to medium term. Fans cannot trust any media outlet at the moment, but sad to say we can't trust the official club channels either given the contradictory stories which emerge from week to week or even day to day.

 

We're desperate for at least one source which we can rely on for facts and honesty. The natural body Brits turn to for that, the BBC, long since became a laughing stock when it came to covering Rangers to the point where even the most vicious caricature fails to reflect the imbalance and blatant untruths they peddle: while newspapers are locked in a last ditch battle to stay alive and see Rangers as good meat, with any sort of basis on accuracy a long way behind big headlines.

 

The support is split down to the level of the atom on the issue of bloggers and websites, with agendas here and agendas there. I think this reflects both the traditional independence of mind of the Rangers fan; the traditional thrawn nature of the Rangers fan (surely Europe's most moany fans since time immemorial); and the unwise decision of some many bloggers and sites to bring their baggage along for the journey.

 

On that point, the much desired Unified Theory of Supporters' Representation will only come along, I think, when a group of fans who eschew any mention of the baggage comes forward. Anything else just creates division - avoiding which is hard enough when walking the tightrope that is representing people who pretty much feel they can represent themselves!

 

But back to Rangers and reacting to the media fenzy around the club. It may piss people off who would have to deal with it, but two or three months of reliably demolishing fantasy would create a reputation for honesty and integrity. There is the knotty issue of being bullshitted from within, but should that happen an apology with a fairly clear explanation of why would limit the damage.

 

If this sounds a bit like a job application, well it probably is. I think many many fans would be willing to crawl over glass on their knees to help the club they love, for minimum wage too (if Charles is reading). There's no shortage either of people on this board alone whose prose would put any of the current crop of mediocrity 'writing' for the papers to shame, if they had any.

 

We have no one else to turn to at the minute. If even the club aren't going to bother themselves dealing with the cobblers which attached itself to our ankles, we really are in for it. Rather than disdaining to deal with this shit, it offers the club a chance to build a reputation. Will it take it?

[Zappa 0]

Unified Theory of Supporters' Representation

 

That's a belter Andy!

 

I actually think you'd have to be an expert on black holes and vortex mechanics to unify our support.

[amms 0]

All Rangers in-house media is very unlikely to be critical of the board far less the team. If Rangers decided to open their in-house media to people who were independent of mind it would be brave and very forward thinking. I'm not convinced either of those virtues exist at the top of our club just now.

[54andcounting 0]

I don't buy newspapers but I know what they write because I'm on here...I don't watch BBC Scotland news either but again I get updated on a regular basis on here, it's not a problem - if it was I wouldn't come on here, in fact I'm guilty of posting up links myself.

 

What the media says about us shouldn't be a problem to us the average fan...if it is a problem don't buy the rag and don't join a Rangers forum.

 

The anti-Rangers brigade can all go fuck themselves...and a certain Mr English must be first in the queue.