Will Australia's Bill Simmons please stand up?
February 28th 2011 09:34
I have a question. Name an Australian sports writer you follow religiously? Someone to hang off every word, who provides you with an almost unhealthy dose of anticipation and excitement in waiting for their next musings. A long lost soul mate you never knew existed.
I’m waiting….still waiting….. You can’t, right? It’s a crying shame that a sports mad country hasn’t produced a half decent original and entertaining scribe. We have the same old school writers, producing repetitive dribble in traditional formats binded by ironclad rules.
Look there are quality journalists around, quite a few actually. Caroline Wilson, despite all the hate she cops in the male dominated footy profession and the fact she resembles a withered pig lizard (she can’t really be under 50?), has unrivaled contacts deep inside the industry and usually can sniff a half-decent yarn. In WA, Sportsnewsfirst hack, formally of The Sunday Times, Kim Hagdorn is an effective newshound (we won’t hold it against him that he would probably sleep with his mum for a scoop). While in the cricket sphere, Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn are experienced reporters with intimate knowledge to provide comprehensive analysis of the hot issues in the sport.
But are any of them entertaining? No. Are they creative and think outside the box? No. Do they write with flair? No. Can you detect even an ounce of humour in their work? No. Do they speak to you? No.
To be honest, it probably isn’t their fault. They are seasoned journos, who mix from the inside and have to cultivate and ultimately protect their sources. I understand that. I’ve been there myself. That’s why they are journalists. Their job is to chase the news and present the information in an accurate and unbiased fashion. Then write it in simple dreary language to squeeze into the tiny space allocated in the sport section of the paper.
But where are the writers in this country? Peter Roebuck is a fine columnist, an intelligent soul with an immaculate love of the English language having studied law at Cambridge. His literary style is unparalleled in sporting circles but appeals to an older demographic. Do you really think Generation Y will read his Shakespeare-esque spiels?
Christian Ryan, author of the acclaimed Kim Hughes biography Golden Boy, wrote a whimsical blog for ESPN’S Cricnfo during the Ashes and could be an up and coming talent. More assignments and exposure for Christian is warranted.
But still the question remains: Why doesn’t a Bill Simmons, Scoop Jackson or, if we’re talking old school, Tony Kornheiser exist in Australia?
Sport columns in this country cover the same terrain. All the columnists regurgitate the same issues. Ben Cousins, Brendon Fevola, Ricky Nixon, etc. It is the same old shit. Before the season starts there will be the same boring top 20 players, top eight picks, blah blah….yawn…..zzzzzzzz…….snoozefest.
Why can’t anyone generate different angles, not just write the story of the day or coach x should be sacked or team x is premiership favourites. I want to read something I’m not getting anywhere else. I want to consume a different angle of a story/issue and digest it in an informative yet droll fashion. Papers and websites are copycats, by-lines aren’t required anymore because the copy is virtually identical across the board. Make me think, laugh and think yeah you argued the shit out of that point in an entertaining fashion.
New websites have cropped up but have, to date, miserably failed the test. WA-based LMSC started as a sports site from a fans perspective (sound familiar?) but quickly lost its mojo and went down the gurgler. Possibly because it was generating zilch traffic and thus zero dosh, it changed tact and went down the conventional route of being a news site. Yawn. Why would I read news on a website featuring writers still learning their craft at university? No credibility equals failed news site.
A credible news site WAToday, a dedicated Fairfax online service expanded into Perth to capitalise on a weak market in the West Coast.
While its sport section is informative, it has been a major disappointment for sport lovers yearning for a media company to rock the boat. Being a website surely provides ammunition to be adventurous, that’s one of the major benefits of the digital age. WAToday chiefs adamant to present sport as solely as news belong in the dark ages.
Sportal and Sportsnewsfirst (early days at this stage) are other sites failing to tap into the sporting stratosphere, which ESPN has so wonderfully captured, with its use of diverse and brilliant columnists, and evocative blogs, mailbags, podcasts, etcetera. An easy rebuttal would be: ESPN has more money than Bill Gates. Quite possibly, but take a glimpse at start-up websites such as Deadspin in America, funny and informative written by talented no name wordsmiths. They aren’t professional journalists but sport lovers who have the transcendent ability to make words glow off the page with their insightful and engaging writing.
Simmons, the master of writing from a fan’s perspective, has no doubt been imitated in America but his impact has been less noticed in conservative and backward Yo-Yo Land – or better known as the Land Down Under.
Perhaps a Simmons-esque writer exists but what’s the point if no media company has the guts to hire him/her. Australian media needs to wake up from its decade-long slumber and start appealing to the new digital age generation – a younger, savvier, more cynical and less tolerant consumer unwilling to accept tripe with its sports writing.
| 30 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
