On Sunday the Daily Mail outraged Celtic fans with a ridiculous report on the carnage at Sunday’s match against St Johnstone which may have been played in Glasgow or Perth.
Amid the anger there were also expressions of pity that a mainstream outlet would distort the truth so much in order to generate some hits and page views. There was hardly an aspect of the ‘report’ that stood up to basic scrutiny.
Celtic’s Supporters Liaison Officer didn’t miss when he set the record straight on Monday, taking the headline apart item by item. Some supporters shared the link to the Press Complaints Commission.
No apology or correction has surfaced, an apology would be straightforward with a donation to the Celtic Foundation closing the matter as an error of judgement.
The Mail hasn’t published a word of apology, Celtic haven’t followed up on John Paul Taylor’s tweet and remarkably the same publisher is included in Celtic’s daily feed of stories to fill pages and websites while there is no live football.
@KatieFee452 this is you? Dry yer eyes!! pic.twitter.com/EzodcXnUez
— Celtic SC©®™ (@Celtic67Fins72) December 27, 2021
It’s a wonder they didn’t add that they attacked the St Johnston bus. Its time we went after these liars and sue them for charging us for news that are nothing but blatant last week it was about dropping points at Ross County.
— charliemcginley (@charliemcginley) December 27, 2021
On Tuesday night for Wednesday morning Celtic fed their mainstream partners, including the Daily Mail, quotes about how Ange Postecoglou was leaving transfer business to Michael Nicholson who is apparently a driving force.
Celtic’s new CEO hasn’t even given the club’s in-house publications an interview to outline his plans and ambitions for his role. After 100 days as acting CEO he got the job on a permanent basis last week.
Last night Celtic’s media partners, including the Daily Mail, were handed comments from Postecoglou about Chris Jullien’s availability which filled some back pages and website screens.
Despite Sunday’s story it seems that Celtic are happy to assist the Daily Mail by keeping them ticking over with Celtic content during a three week break.
The decision to keep mainstream publishers ticking over is probably down to the club’s low profile Communication Manager, someone that seems locked in 2002 when newspapers, radio and television were almost the exclusive means of communication with supporters/customers. Times have changed but not attitudes inside Celtic.
Rather than prop up their media partners Celtic could publish the quotes about Nicholson or Jullien on their own website, deliver to fans directly without going through third parties.
The newspapers could lift the quotes from the club website and pass on to their own readers, online and in print.
There is also the radical option of dealing directly with what is known as ‘fan media’, a direction that Celtic seem to be reluctantly going down.
Two at a time they get invited in alongside the mainstream, one question then button it in a box ticking exercise.
It looks like Taylor’s reaction to the Daily Mail story was as meaningful as the reaction two years ago to Sky Sports’ translation of an interview with Alfredo Morelos.
After a token tut-tut it is business as usual with the club continuing on their blinkered policy despite alternative distribution options only a click or two away.
When you know no better you continue down the same path however we are constantly told by the Board that we have the best people in place but that is vlearly not the case with the media arm of our club.
I’m beginning to believe the only thing our lazy, good for nothing, Board would go tonto about would be £5 short in their pay packets.
It a scum board and a scum paper .
They make great bedfellows
An analogue club in a digital age. Nothing changes until Desmond is gone.