Why we’re being choosy about the pundits we’ll report on in the North East

Behind Local News
Sep 2, 2018 · 5 min read
Helen Dalby

ChronicleLive, the online home of the Newcastle Chronicle, prides itself on covering Newcastle United from all angles. That includes reporting on the views of well-known pundits, whose thoughts can often becoming huge talking points about fans. But don’t expect to see anything uttered by former Sky Sports pundits Richard Key and Andy Gray any time soon. Senior editor Helen Dalby explains why:


ChronicleLive has long prided itself on being the definitive, go-to source for Newcastle United fans to read everything about what’s happening at their club.

Our own writers and columnists publish a round-the-clock diet of news, opinion, analysis and interpretation on all things United, and last year we were proud to be named one of the most trusted sources of reliable football transfer news following a BBC review of which news outlets deliver the most accurate information.

But we’re not precious or exclusive: we know that fans want to read not just our views but be able to access a one-stop shop of what pundits and fan groups have to say, too. So while we like to lead the agenda, if someone on a major platform says something about Newcastle, we’ll report it and discuss it.

Andy Gray, left, and Richard Keys

In fact, the analytics that underpin the publishing rhythms of our newsroom mean that we know more about what fans want to read and when they want to read it than we ever have.

That’s one reason why we’ve introduced a new ‘Match of the Day’ shift for the 2018/19 season — changing our publishing schedule so we’re online as MOTD is broadcast, responding in real time to what’s being talked about on the show and on social media, while also monitoring wires for the transfer gossip stories likely to find their way onto news websites in the early hours of Sunday morning.

However, while we are in the business of generating an audience which we monetise by serving up messages from local and national advertisers, we’re not and never have been in the business of audience at any cost. The day-to-day terminology of our newsroom refers to page views, of course — we try to avoid outdated, reductive terms like ‘clicks’ or ‘hits’ — but also to richer metrics such as average engaged time.

Most importantly, all our writers work to a clear set of brand values which inform every editorial decision we make. Central to these is being Trustworthy, which means that we’re accurate, accountable, responsible and ethical, and that we don’t publish ‘clickbait’ content that promises much but delivers little.

So last Sunday night, after Newcastle’s defeat to Chelsea at home, football publishing editor Mark Douglas, whose responsibility takes in all things Newcastle United, got in touch to run something by me.

It’s routine for us to publish round-ups of pundits’ reaction, but for several weeks Andy Gray and Richard Keys had been taking pot-shots at Newcastle and manager Rafa Benitez on the beIN Sport TV station, which doesn’t air in Britain. Their comments had attracted a lot of negative reaction from supporters on social media, who resented Gray and Keys claiming to speak on their behalf at the same time as refusing to engage with an official fans’ group.

Mark knew there was audience to be had in publishing their quotes, but it was an audience which, he felt, might compromise our brand values. He disagreed so fundamentally with the lack of balance in their views and approach that he wanted to do something different. He wanted to write a piece saying that ChronicleLive was not going to give Gray and Keys further coverage until they demonstrated more balance and gave Newcastle United fans a proper voice.

That afternoon, Keys had taken to social media to suggest Newcastle fans would rather lose 5–4 than win 1–0 under manager Rafa Benitez’s tactics. This had been widely ridiculed, but the final straw had been Gray, who claimed to speak on behalf of United supporters when he said Benitez wasn’t giving the fans what they wanted.

This followed beIN Sport’s refusal to acknowledge an invitation from the Magpie Group — a new but organised collective of United fans — to talk about the situation on Tyneside to their TV audience. So it seemed that they were willing to tell Newcastle fans what they want or should want, but not to engage with them or allow them to represent their views.

It felt wrong. So we decided that until they reflect a better balance on the situation at Newcastle, we weren’t prepared to carry their opinions. We published a piece to explain this decision to readers. It’s fair to say that it got a mixed reaction, some fans welcoming it but others saying they felt we were trying to censure what was being written about NUFC.

It’s important to emphasise that censorship wasn’t the motivation behind the decision: the opinions and debates we report don’t have to be something we agree with. We’re journalists, not fans. We get the story from both sides, and we always offer a right of reply, no matter how unpopular that might be. We report the facts and we reflect balance.

Balance was what felt wrong here because it’s what was missing: how could Keys and Gray claim, repeatedly, to speak for supporters while refusing to acknowledge an approach from a group representing them?

It’s just not how we do things. Our digital platforms — website, app and social media — allow us to tap in to conversations and interact with fans more meaningfully than we’ve ever done before.

We have a relentless dialogue with Newcastle United fans and it’s made our football coverage more audience-focused, whether that’s working with Wor Flags, who asked us to support and publicise their movement, to holding a weekly live q&a online where we invite questions from fans about all things NUFC as well as answer queries about our own coverage.

There was also an excellent collaboration of working together with the club and supporters, which we did to mark the 125th anniversary of Newcastle United with a joint fan survey which used social media to crowdsource suggestions for the greatest ever XI men to don the black and white shirt.

There’s so much to be gained from engaging with fans — and claiming to speak for them without offering them a proper voice isn’t something we want our brand to be part of.

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