During the Vietnam War, the military took to giving a daily briefing from a Saigon hotel.
Such was the nature of the information that they put out – pure propaganda often with no connection whatsoever to the real world – that after a while journalists turned up to mock the press spokesman Barry Zorthian, to his face.
The reporters called them The Five O’Clock Follies.
AP journalist Richard Pyle was so astounded, and appalled, by much of which he heard during these press events, where journalists would openly mock what they heard from Zorthian, that he later said that they were “the longest playing tragi-comedy in South East Asia’s theatre of the absurd.”
The Follies were a low point even in that era of misinformation.
We live in a world where journalists are ever more besieged by this nonsense though. Trump, Johnson and Truss told lies, and indulged fantasy, on a scale that Zorthian and those who sat at those briefings could never have imagined.
Zorthian would later complain that instead of the US Government being presumed honest until it could be proved otherwise, those briefings saw them judged as liars until they could prove they were on the level.
It’s a daft view to hold.
Journalists in the modern age would do well to think that way at all times and treat the job more seriously.
Scotland’s sports journalists are incapable of bringing that mind-set to bear when they deal with Ibrox, but they are capable of believing the worst about everyone at Celtic Park.
There’s a sterling example of it this very week, where Michael Beale’s patently absurd comments about the Ibrox players who are out of contract soon are contrasted with the way the media has chosen to cover the situation we are in with Juranovic and, if you believe today’s reports, Giakoumakis too.
It really is remarkable.
Celtic, we are told, think we’re doomed to lose two players because contract negotiations have broken down, although both of them are in the first year of five-year deals.
Does that make a bit of sense to you? Of course not.
If Celtic choose to sell that’s one thing – and both players are at the upper end of their maximum re-sale age group – but we are not going to be pressured to. Neither those players nor their agents could put Celtic in a position where we have no choice but to move them on for several years, but the press would have you believe that we’re in a corner here.
In the meantime, Beale is allowed to tell the same press corps that players who, come January, will have six months left of their deals and therefore are free to open immediate negotiations with interested parties, do not “hold all the cards” and the club itself is still in charge of this process. That this is manifestly untrue and actually completely ridiculous appears not to trouble the hacks who have accepted it without uttering a word.
These guys would have swallowed everything Zorthian told them.
Indeed, you get the impression that some of them would have sat, nodding, through Trump’s notorious COVID conference where he asked an incredulous scientist if injecting bleach might work as a cure.
Our media is a joke.
Beale’s comments yesterday were so ridiculous that there should be general mockery in the press. Instead the coverage is focussed on how the two might sign new deals, even as their current ones enter the final months … and Celtic? Our squad is coming apart at the seams if you believe the narrative now being spun, although we’re in total command here.
Not only does our media believe every word out of Ibrox, but they shamelessly spin every single thing that happens at Celtic Park.
They are a disgrace.
Sorry mate but they don’t believe it and that’s the problem. If they did it could maybe be excused as fan boy pish like any gullibilly would spout.
In fact they regularly and routinely print this stuff knowing it to be untrue, cynically exploiting their dumbass readers (those who can read) and that is inexcusable.
It’s ALL down to money and that’s ALL that matters.
Integrity? Fuck that. Professional pride? Fuck that as well.
Just keep buying the product and keep giving us your MONEY!
If they are on 5 year contracts, there shouldn’t be a problem.. so it’s up to Celtic, or Ange to come out and make a statement. If giakkoumakis contract is performance related, and he didn’t feel as though he is getting what he is due, then that’s were there could be a problem. I’m a massive fan of Juranovic, but the fact we are signing the Canadian boy, makes me think he has had conversations with interested parties. Only time will tell.
You have it absolutely spot on Tony B.
The only reasons that newspapers are clinging on is because of this pish. The media put out these falsehoods as it is in their interests to hold on to whatever mindless idiots and bigots that they can, as it transfers into cash. Ching, ching!
Their audience is effectively the mindless bigots, brexiteers and currant buns who believe all this crap and certain members of the senior citizen age group who were brought up with Britain and the Empire and the Monarchy.
They do just that! They keep buying the product and handing over the money.
Another way to look at it is that they are simply buying wee fantasy novels to give them nice stories to read and which keeps them happy. When the shock of reality eventually hits them, it could prove momentous.
The same club lie is at the root of all this propaganda. What is their opinion of the latest statement regarding the var issues at the motherwell game ? Any half decent journalist would drive a horse and cart through it.
I hope it’s true that the bawbag can persuade Moreorless and Kunt to sign new contracts. Silly billies
Ibrox has 2 weeks to direct the SMSM PR offensive – before their team has to actually kick a ball again.
2 weeks to talk up Beale as the Messiah.
2 weeks to talk down our club.
& 2 weeks to drum up sales in Ibrox merchandise for their unfortunate fans at Christmas.
It’s going to be a long 2 weeks of copying/pasting for the ‘journos’!
All the reported nonsense will simply build up unreasonable expectations in the new sevco manager – and in the team which won’t be strengthened in January.
We’ve seen this movie several times since 2012.
Leave them to it. 🙂
Remember when ‘ Ramsey’ was The Incomimg Messiah? Different Level? Game Changer? The Bar raised to new heights?
The Scottish Sports Press are a UK Wide joke.
Just wait until the Rangers sound ,sorry Sportsound get their hooks into it at the weekend ! Mac Intyre and co will be dripping in anticipation to what the Bealy boy has up his sleeve ….
Disnae get challenged by other media circles, so of course they print this stuff tae fleece the ibrox numbskulls and dedicated non-thinkers, who’ll eagerly take in just about anythin they tell them. Tho some of these over excited, so called ‘journalists’, actually believe their own crap, ah don’t doubt that for a second. Nae seperation from reality and complete fantasy where they’re concerned. Disnae seem tae affect them tho, soon as one period of hype bites the dust, its straight intae the next.
Nearly fell asleep at the start of your blog James trying to bring in Johnson Trump and Truss, didn’t think to mention the ultimate failures to the American people, biden and obama, the rest of your blog is spot on. Get away from this political pish.
Who fkn cares