Noel Thompson

[uselessfootballer]

Surely the best way for this to be dealt with is when contract negotiations are ongoing between the BBC and Ulster Council/Croke Park for broadcasting rights. Therefore we all should bring it to the attention of our respective county board reps to push up the line.
If the BBC want access to the grounds  and the games then a code of conduct should be in place, so that positive and negative reporting is balanced.
Coverage and comments such as last nights certainly makes the recruitment of kids from families that don't have a GAA background all the more difficult.

[5 Sams]

In fairness lads I think its a bit harsh having a go at Jerome over an off the cuff comment made by a dickhead like Thompson....there have been enormous strides made by the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation on coverage of our games in the 6 counties..Think of it like this....I played in McRory Cup Final in the early 80s....the result was mentioned as a "by the way" comment at the end of that evening's sports bulletin.....the rugby schools cup was the subject of extensive hihlights....now the McRory Final is covered live.....Quinn has been instrumental in the recent improvements and should get credit where its due...not lambasted for a comment by an arsehole he has no control over.

[SlimShady]

Then Jerome should have burst through the cardboard wall behind him, got him in a headlock and pounded the wee runts ass live on telly-now that would be worth the licence fee!!!



joke lads, joke-before ye start.

[Fr Ted]

Are you havin flashbacks to sunday slim

[SlimShady]

 

god bless ye father!

[6th sam]

1.We need to put our hands up,and accept that these dust-ups don't do our image any good.
2.The BBC's coverage of these negative incidents over the years,contrasts sharply with their continuing "and finally GAA " approach to any other aspect of reporting Gaelic games.
3.Noel Thompson's comments were in my opinion,inappropriate,unprofessional and judging from the reaction on this site ,inflammatory.

Solutions:
1.Treat internal disciplinary concerns with the same vigour as concerns over international rules violence.
2.Instead of gurning about the lack of coverage for Gaelic games compared to soccer,get our county,Ulster and national public relations people ,to do their job ,and actually promote our games in the media.Rugby coverage was always poor as well,but the we could learn alot from the way Ulster Rugby has promoted itself in recent years.It always amazed me to see how much advertising revenue Irish league clubs can generate-and I feel this is due to the preferential coverage they receive from the media,and fair play to them.It's time that our public relations men demanded a slice of that action,by actively and enthusiastically promoting our games,the way the soccer fraternity do.
3.The BBC and GAA need to sort the Noel Thompson issue out .

[ziggysego]

I hate to break it to you lads, but you're getting as bad as the OWCers and their "Fight back thread"

I really couldn't give to flying f**ks what Noel said about the game. It doesn't affect what I think of the game, what other gaa think of the game and any sensible non-gaa fan thinks of the game.

[passedit]

Ziggy you may not give a fcuk but i do, mainly because as uselessfootballer says

Coverage and comments such as last nights certainly makes the recruitment of kids from families that don't have a GAA background all the more difficult.

Things like this might not matter in Greencastle or other places where the battle for hearts and minds is won, they do where we're toiling. I accept that a large part of the problem stems from the GAA itself but it bugs the hell out of me when a whole organisation can be stereotyped the way Thompson did last night.

Wobbler do you honestly think that if this had happened at the Antrim County final that it wouldn't have made its way to our screens?

5sams as someone who grew up with Leslie Dawes and Charlie Witherspoon maybe mentioning the AIF after the tiddlywinks, i accept that things have improved immeasurably especially on the BBC, but like a lot of things in our lovely little entity, should we accept second best because it's not last?

edit sorry meant this to be in this thread in the first place but logged out 

[ziggysego]

That's a fair enough point passedit. Greencastle wouldn't really have the same problems has clubs from bigger towns and cities.

I would say you would be best contacting the BBC is highlighting this with them. Not in a "why us" fashion, but just to say it was very unbalanced and makes it difficult for your club and other clubs to promote themselves.

[SlimShady]

I refer you to the 5 days of coverage they gave the 2000 county final for the fight in it.

[thewobbler]

In response Passedit, do you believe that if there hadn't been trouble at the Cargin match, would brief highlights not have been shown anyway? BBC NI didn't send a camera up there just on the off chance that a fight would break out. It's not the fault of the Beeb that a goalkeeper ran 50 yards to throw a punch. Sure, they could have ignored the incident, but why would they?

As for your second place/last place comment, I would fairly confident that Gaelic Games received more dedicated coverage than any other regional sport on BBC NI during 2006. The Irish League and the AIL would love a dedicated Sunday night highlights package. I'm quite happy to see GAA remain the "and finally" on Newsline in return.

[Donagh]

As was suggested before, if anyone thinks we are being hard done by in terms of coverage the way to tackle it is by keeping a log of GAA items on the news for a few weeks and then approach them with it. I would assume the person to take it up with is the BBC Sports Editor (used to be Ed Smith – not sure if it still is).

As someone who would listen more to Radio Ulster than watch BBCNI, I don’t think we do too bad. If you don’t believe me compare the passionate and comprehensive coverage Gaelic Games gets on Sunday Sportsound to the dull, inane dirge on Saturday Soccer or whatever it’s called.

[passedit]

Wobbler if you look up the page you'll see that i have no problem with the reporting of the incidents and yes there would have been brief highlights of the match if no violence had occurred as BBC's ONE camera dedicated to gaelic games was in Casement park anyway. My beef was with Thompson saying that maybe there should be a monday feature on the GAA showing the boxing from the weekend. The inference being that these savages are at it all the time but we cant get round it all as we have to show 'highlights' from all the one man and his dog League games.

For the avoidance of doubt this thread was not meant as a pop at Jerome or Mark Sidebottom, I have nothing but admiration for all of the Championship team but decisions on funding of sports coverage does not lie with them. Which leads me to the second/final point if you really believe that 'regional' soccer coverage is less than 'regional' gaa coverage or even proportionate to their followings then we'll have to agree to differ on that point.

I agree with Donagh about making our views heard re disproportionate coverage because rest assured the BBC receive plenty of complaints when GAA is shown. The squeakiest wheel gets the oil.

[bennydorano]

Accusations of overreaction are way of the mark IMO, granted elsewhere within the corporation GAA gets a fair shake, but the glee that Watson (regularly) and Thompson (admittedly a once off)and their utv counterparts take in showing brawls during primetime news pisses me off.

Removing the macho/redneck attitude to fighting within the GAA would help too

[Cuchullainns Bhoy]

If you look at through a sporting perspective, BBC sporting programs give the GAA nothing in terms of other sports:

Season Ticket: Starts just after the GAA season for Counties draws to a close. If this was a true refection on sport in Northern Ireland then there shoudl be a continuous weekly programme to cover all sports all year round.

GAA Coverage: Last year a BBC spokesperson said that due to drop in ratings the GAA coverage would be limited to the Ulster Final and  All Ireland Final, so long as an Ulster Team was in competition.
I can remember the Ulster Final but in 2005, i think i had to watch the All Ireland Final on RTE? Why???

The BBC has hard workers like Jerome Quinn but as mentioned only one camea sent out to cover GAA Ulster Club Championship and every saturday every soccer match the length and breadth of NI. Why so many for soccer and none for GAA???

Its a disgrace and i feel this is BBCs GAA coverage is omething that Ulster Council should make on the agenda.