Rodgers doesn’t miss. That’s one of the things I’ve always admired about him—his sharpness and his deft handling of the media. During his last stint here, it was clear his patience with certain journalists had worn thin, his tolerance for their antics gone. It hasn’t taken him long to return to that same stance, an attitude laced with a certain underlying disdain.
Rodgers knows precisely what these people are.
Last season, there was an incident that summed it up perfectly: the manufactured controversy surrounding his comments to BBC Scotland’s Jane Lewis.
That episode saw him face absurd accusations of sexism over a completely harmless remark, exposing how some had their knives out, ready to strike at the first opportunity. If he’d ever forgotten the lengths to which these people would go—which I doubt he had—that moment must have refreshed his memory.
Yesterday, in the press conference, he was asked if he felt he’d silenced his critics south of the border, and without missing a beat, Rodgers made a point of highlighting that many of his critics are here in Scotland too. He wasn’t referring to those who conduct themselves professionally and offer critical assessments—he meant the ones who don’t even attempt that.
Let’s be real: we’re dealing with three kinds of people here, and only one of them is worth our time. Permit me, for a moment, to speak plainly about the mainstream press.
I don’t despise the mainstream media.
In fact, I have more faith in it than a lot of my peers and many of our fans, and more than plenty of people in society do. I know there are outstanding journalists who hold power to account, people who deal in facts and can view issues with depth and analytical clarity. While much of public discourse is bogged down in simplistic, black-and-white terms, there are reporters who see the nuances, who bring depth and perspective to their work.
But I reserve my disdain for those who aren’t up to the job—those who should never have been in journalism in the first place, because they contribute nothing. My real contempt, though, is for those who know better but refuse to uphold the standards of their profession, people who wear their ignorance proudly and pretend it’s insight. For them, I have nothing but scorn.
This is a critical moment for our planet and our species. We need the media to rise to the challenge—to be better, to be brave, to tell the truth even when it’s hard. Instead, many have become gossip merchants, peddling disinformation and wilfully spreading lies. Too many are afraid to confront power and expose the truth.
The sporting press in Scotland is split into three camps. The first includes honest journalists who, even if they’re not the best at the job, still act with professionalism and integrity. I may not agree with some of them, but I know they’re genuine, and I respect that.
Then there’s the second group—the nakedly biased.
These individuals might try to disguise their partiality but most of the time they are spinning PR or defending their favoured clubs. They’re comfortable pursuing agendas and spreading lies as long as those lies target the “right” people. These people align themselves with clubs and individuals they want to impress and are basically serving two masters, neither of which is the readership.
In this, they have much in common with the political press, which is almost universally partisan.
At least, amongst the mainstream, there’s some commitment to fact and logic, a desire to address real issues rather than wage endless culture wars. There are papers, like the Daily Mail, which simply exist to push a curtain twitching politics of grievance and division … I can’t stand them.
It’s no secret that newspapers have ideological slants, and nearly every national columnist has a certain bias. I don’t mind that—what bothers me is when bias is dressed up as neutrality. When those who are ideologically driven start dealing in lies and disinformation, that’s where I draw the line.
Then there’s the third group—the worst of the lot.
If my issues with the second group are serious, my problems with the third are profound. These are the clickbait merchants, the cut-and-paste hacks and the Jayson Blairs and Stephen Glass types who, if they can’t find controversy, are perfectly happy to invent it. These aren’t critics—they’re fiction writers, plagiarists and trolls.
They stir up drama simply to watch it explode, content to sell out their profession for clicks and views, or to promote their own legends. I despise them and the media culture they’ve helped create.
Rodgers knows there are honest journalists out there—professionals who write balanced stories and offer genuine analysis. He may not always agree with them, but he respects their opinions and their integrity. However, he’s also acutely aware of those who are hell-bent on damaging this club, the ones who will seize any opportunity to make mischief and who seem to take perverse pleasure in putting him and Celtic in the crosshairs.
Yet I think it’s the third group—the scandal-mongers and clickbait purveyors—that Rodgers is really addressing. These people aren’t interested in truth or reality. They’re interested in creating chaos, manufacturing stories, and playing at being shock jocks. Even the biased reporters, for all their flaws, ground their attacks on something based in reality, however tenuous. But these trolls? They have no leg to stand on; everything they do is warped and unfounded.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m as tired of the biased journalists as I am of the trolls. But it’s in the third group that we find the true disgraces: people like Boyd, Keevins, Keown, Leckie, and their ilk. These are the ones who sharpen their knives and lie in wait, eager for any chance to twist the blade. They’ve built so-called “careers” on this behaviour.
And Scotland has more than its fair share of them, just as there are plenty south of the border—the Jason Cundy’s and their ilk, spouting ignorant, hysterical nonsense untethered from reality.
Rodgers knows who they are.
He’s dealt with them for years, and now he’s sending a clear message: he saying “we understand each other, but I’m done playing nice.” He knows what they’re up to, and he’s not going to entertain their nonsense for a moment longer. From now until his last day at Celtic Park, Rodgers will ensure they’re embarrassed, humiliated, and made to eat their words time and time again. His patience with them has run out, and he has no intention of pretending otherwise.
You should have just named the daily record James, that rag was built entirely for these dirt scrapers.