How Journalists Minds work

[StepOne]

Finn Russell pulling out of the Scotland squad 9 days before the start of the Six Nations is pretty big news, up here at least. Looks like a falling out with coach Gregor Townsend. So when the BBC headline an article "Russell is Scotland's only irreplaceable player - Gregor" you might think it would be an interesting read.

In fact, the Gregor being quoted turns out to be Colin Gregor, retired Glasgow Warriors player.

I understand click-bait headlines, but in this case they must have actually gone to the trouble of phoning Colin Gregor for quote purely because of his surname, rather than because he offered any particular insight into the story. And if you read his quotes in the article, you could have got them from any half-interested Scotland fan in the street.

The misleading headline only appears on the homepage (see link) - the actual headline on the article is more accurate in using Colin Gregor's full name.
Seems an even greater level of subterfuge than normal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland

StepOne.

[bungeejumper]

Meanwhile, some of us ignorant non-sports nuts also find ourselves scratching our heads about how sports journalists' minds work?

What exactly, we ask, are "the Scotland squad", "the Six Nations", or "the Premiership", "the Roland Garros", "the Masters", the "World Series" or the "Grand Slam"? You can bet your life that the journos will assume that you already know, but at least they might bother to mention what sport they're talking about? (Grand slam can be dozens of sports, apparently, and you just have to intuit whether they're talking about darts or golf or tennis or yacht racing, or bog-snorkelling, probably.)

Don't even get me started on lions, bears, wallabies or canaries, or hucksters or bucksters, or packers or steelers. I really can't be bothered to accumulate the vocabulary, which invariably leaves me stranded when the pundits open their mouths.

Have a good Saturday afternoon, anyway. As as Dave Allen might have said, may your golf go with you. Take it away, fellas, and don't bring it back.

BJ

[stewamax]

Meanwhile, some of us ignorant non-sports nuts also find ourselves scratching our heads about how sports journalists' minds work?

Quite. Join the (non-sporting) club.
When I collect my morning newspaper, the first thing I do is to bin the Sports and Fashion sections. This undoubtedly marks me out as either over-balanced or androgynous.
The second thing I do is to check the Obit pages to see if I am there. If not, I can have my breakfast.

The space-filling and pointless verbiage that fills much of the sports reports (and restaurant reviews!) is a waste of good tree, and in the eyes of my father I was a misfit because he was a sports journalist who had a profitable career writing such stuff.

[Lootman]

Meanwhile, some of us ignorant non-sports nuts also find ourselves scratching our heads about how sports journalists' minds work?

What exactly, we ask, are "the Scotland squad", "the Six Nations", or "the Premiership", "the Roland Garros", "the Masters", the "World Series" or the "Grand Slam"?

Which reminds me of a maths exam held at my school where one of the questions was about a football team but did not mention anywhere that a team has eleven players, which you needed to know to answer correctly.

The kid next to me had to ask the invigilating teacher how many were in a team, to much merriment all around. And we were a rugby-playing school.

Even pure mathematics requires a baseline level of empirical knowledge.

[bungeejumper]

The space-filling and pointless verbiage that fills much of the sports reports (and restaurant reviews!) is a waste of good tree, and in the eyes of my father I was a misfit because he was a sports journalist who had a profitable career writing such stuff.

My mother was a lifelong [expletive deleted] supporter, and she could never figure out how anybody could not have at least some sporting interest? (I had it knocked out of me at school by the thugs who used to masquerade as games teachers.) A bit of a pity really, because I have very strong arms and shoulders, inherited from my blacksmith ancestors, and I could probably have been useful on a rugby pitch if only I'd been able to catch a ball. )

Oh yes, there was one sporting attribute that I possessed. I could punch the living daylights out of anybody who tried to thump me. Bit of a waste, really, because I wasn't the aggressive type either.

Which reminds me of a maths exam held at my school where one of the questions was about a football team but did not mention anywhere that a team has eleven players, which you needed to know to answer correctly.

The kid next to me had to ask the invigilating teacher how many were in a team, to much merriment all around.

At least he had the wit to ask. In my school (100% rugger, and automatic detentions for anybody caught playing soccer), it was too easy to suffer in silence. I hope your friend did well in life.

BJ

[UncleEbenezer]

Even pure mathematics requires a baseline level of empirical knowledge.

Please don't confuse the noble art of pure maths with stupid exercises to infantalise our infants even as they aspire to grow up.

Does a football team have eleven players? I thought there were variants with a range of numbers (five springs to mind), and that the telly ones had much bigger teams with eleven out at any time but rotating those with ... I've no idea how many in total.

[bungeejumper]

Does a football team have eleven players? I thought there were variants with a range of numbers (five springs to mind), and that the telly ones had much bigger teams with eleven out at any time but rotating those with ... I've no idea how many in total.

Australian rules football has 18 on each team. And an oval pitch.

But even that pales into insignificance beside the Florentine version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeuU_Et7ezA .

BJ

[robbelg]

Meanwhile, some of us ignorant non-sports nuts also find ourselves scratching our heads about how sports journalists' minds work?

What exactly, we ask, are "the Scotland squad", "the Six Nations", or "the Premiership", "the Roland Garros", "the Masters", the "World Series" or the "Grand Slam"? You can bet your life that the journos will assume that you already know, but at least they might bother to mention what sport they're talking about? (Grand slam can be dozens of sports, apparently, and you just have to intuit whether they're talking about darts or golf or tennis or yacht racing, or bog-snorkelling, probably.)

Don't even get me started on lions, bears, wallabies or canaries, or hucksters or bucksters, or packers or steelers. I really can't be bothered to accumulate the vocabulary, which invariably leaves me stranded when the pundits open their mouths.

Have a good Saturday afternoon, anyway. As as Dave Allen might have said, may your golf go with you. Take it away, fellas, and don't bring it back.

BJ

Meanwhile in the main news items you get "Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister" and "The American President,Donald Trump". Sometimes though I suspect more people know what the Premiership is than know who the Prime Minister is!

And I'm quite certain that more people could name all the teams in the Premiership than could name 4 members of the Cabinet.

Rob