Do local newspapers cut it when it comes to news on your club?

[SOS444]

Hi all

Tim is currently researching a MA in Journalism at Leeds Trinity University, he has approached The Accrington Stanley Official Supporters Club to help generate interest in his survey.

He is doing a study on the importance of local newspapers in the coverage of their local football team in our case Accrington Stanley, we would be very grateful if you could spare some time to complete his questionnair.

Football fans and their Local newspaper Survey

Below is the article Tim has written which gives a brief explanation of what the study is about and what Tim I'm looking for:-

Do local newspapers cut it when it comes to news on your club?

This is a topic that intrigues me and has done for some time.

In a world of 24 hour sports news on Sky and up to minute news available at the click of a mouse on the internet, are local newspapers needed anymore?

When before eager football fans would be scrambling for their Saturday evening sports newspapers; the Green ‘Un, the Pink ‘Un and their local evening newspapers for the results, the news, the reports, times have now changed.

Why wait until Monday for that quote from your star striker on his 90th minute winner? Why wait until Monday to hear your manager squirm his way out of a sixth straight defeat? Why wait, when all this is available in a matter of hours.

Radio, TV, Internet, they all offer these things faster than ever before. One flick of a switch and you hear it all. One click of a mouse and you can see it for yourself on a website.

Knowing all of this, do we need the local newspaper anymore? Surely they are just behind the times now? Is it time to shake off the historical ‘back in my day’ connotations and just move on? What do they give us that official club websites don’t? What do they offer that a good fans forum doesn’t?

Local newspapers have a community link; they have been there for us since before all this technological revolution began. They look to deliver the news to us in the best way possible. Generations have bought their local paper because they want to know what’s happening in their lives, in their communities. Should something like this be just confined to the history books?

You tell me. Because researching this topic for my MA in Journalism has still left me undecided.

At this site Football fans and their Local newspaper Survey is a questionnaire about the topic. 10 questions about what you think about your local newspaper. Do you buy it? Do you read it online? Do you read it at all?! If you don’t why not and where do you go instead for your Accrington Stanley news? What could your local newspaper do better?

Be open, honest and truthful. Because if you’re not, then I still won’t know which way this is going to go.

Should we dump the local newspaper? Or embrace its history?

By Tim Steere

Thank you for your time.
Adele

[Pendle Red]

Done it, well worth taking a few minutes to fill it in

Thanks Adele

[Redash]

I too have done the survey, in short I reported the Observer as good, and the Lancashire Telegraph as bad at the end.

[VALAIRIAN]

Done

[ukcowboy]

Done also!

[maccawozzagod]

Originally Posted by Redash

I too have done the survey, in short I reported the Observer as good, and the Lancashire Telegraph as bad at the end.

I personally don't have a problem with what The Telegraph write. I find it remarkably refreshing that one of our local papers is willing to have a go at the club - and you have to remember that much of what they have for substance is avoidable, the control tower saga springs to mind. If the club were quicker to act on things, and quicker to issue their version of events then people would have far less to comment negatively about. When fans (or readers) only have third hand accounts of proceedings then they are left to form their own opinions, and they are usually detrimental.