In Club Journalism you always will come across difficulties posting and creating content. However as those within the industry say it’s all about being able to “adapt” to whatever is thrown your way.
Rangers FC: Mark Carrick (Graphic Designer)
“It’s very tricky, especially at a club the size of Rangers, when fans and even staff inside expect to win every single game.”
“An example of how tricky it can be is that we were losing at half-time against Celtic in our first game of the new year and we used the old halftime graphic.”
“So it wouldn’t have been launched if we didn’t win the game. So because we won the game, scoring three goals in the second-half and won the game we used the new graphic and launched it at full-time.”
“And for me that’s so cool, because at first you’re thinking of the graphic and content you’ve made you can’t really use, there’s a time and a place.”
“And obviously with us going into the tunnel losing, that is not the time.”
“And if we didn’t turn it around in the second-half we wouldn’t have used it at all, but thankfully the players brought it back and we got to use it which again was great for me.”
“The only real concern in my area is that sometimes the graphics are mostly always very pitch related. So that means whoever I’ll put on a graphic for, usually has to be performing well on the field.”
Mark further went on to say: “I mean very recently I was working on something but it looked as though it had the potential to be very limited.”
“So in the end to overcome that, I had to do a lot of photo manipulation and photoshop, just to try and present it in an as clean version for “Rangersy”, as possible.”
“We use that term a lot. Because you’re always trying to create things that look like Rangers Football Club as soon as you see it.”
Everton FC: Ross Hughes (Content Producer)
Everton’s Ross Hughes had a lot to say about how he as a Club Journalist deals with difficulties in his job and how he and the club adapt to those circumstances.
Ross said: “We have a staple of content at our club. If things are not trending and there’s nothing topical for us to post and it’s sort of a quiet day we will have content specifically to post on that day.”
“It’s simple content but it works. So with the Manchester United game there wasn’t anything trending or topical to post about. So to deal with that and counter that, we simply posted a classic goal from one of our previous games with them.”
“At the start of the year we also have a media day where we capture content.”
“So one thing we did with the players was, what is one thing we don’t know about you.
“That then is content that we can use at times when there is nothing trending and when it’s suitable to post.”
Aston Villa FC: Lewis Redmond (Club Journalist)
Lewis Redmond is a Club Journalist who works for Aston Villa FC, a club who are in the upper echelon of the Premier League therefore there is a lot more work to do and plan for. However, Lewis claims that understanding “reactivity” is one of the key roles as a Club Journalist.
“Sometimes creating content can be difficult. But we work week to week on planning content. We have things mapped out so we know what’s on the horizon, such as Emi (Emiliano Martinez) being nominated for the Lev Yashin trophy.”
“Or when we won in Lille, it was our manager’s 100th win so there was content to make around that.”
“It’s a case of trying to plan ahead as much as possible, however also understanding the principle of reactivity, football moves so fast and content can be ever changing. You never know what the next day will bring.”
Middlesbrough AFC: Dan Prince (Club Journalist)
When interviewing Dan I asked about content creation and specifically when/if as a Club Journalist you don’t get the content you are looking for, how they deal with that difficulty.
“If we don’t capture the content we’re looking for we adapt and you have to look for what else you can do — whether you put a few graphics out, or look into some stats from recent games or even contact a player separately to try and get some content in the form of quotes, that you can use in a graphic.”
“You have to try and adapt as best you can, and be flexible. Because in football, you can never really tell what’s going to happen next.”
“Something could be thrown at you which you completely don’t expect and you have to leave a little bit of leeway for things like that to happen.”
Carlisle United: James Gates (Marketing & Media Officer)
One of the more positive and optimistic views came from Carlisle’s James gates who said:
“For me, I don’t really struggle for content. There’s always something to work on — whether that’s looking back on the last game, building towards the next one, or things like kit launches, season tickets, campaigns like that. That’s just part of it.”