“W Connection is more popular abroad than in Trinidad and Tobago.” That’s the opinion of Connection owner/president David John-Williams speaking at a Building Relationships – Bridging the Media Gap forum hosted by the TT Pro League at the Hyatt Regency Hotel’s Jade Room on Tuesday morning.
It’s because of level media interest shown by foreign journalists towards the multiple-time Concacaf Champions League campaigner according to John-Williams, compared to the interest shown by local media.
Tuesday’s forum meantime is one of a series of attempts expected by the league in bridging the gap between local media and clubs.
League CEO Dexter Skeene said that the forum was “about understand where we are at and what we need to do”. He added, “…understanding the situations of each other, so we can serve each other better.”
In his opening remarks Skeene, a former T&T international footballer, said, “We see each other as integral to the success of sports, and in particular, professional football. It is for us to work together to bring football back to where it used to be and exceed where it used to be, in terms of standard of play, and the support that we used to have in the old days.”
Members of various media houses’ sports desks were engaged in discussions with club owners, managers and coaches, with the hope of improving the level of coverage given to local football, in particular, the TT Pro League.
“It is a fact that the media must come to you, but you must come to you as well,” said Radio Issac 98.1fm’s sports show host, Kern Tyson. “We are more than willing to have you.”
And while it was agreed that clubs must become more readily available to the media, John-Williams and Caledonia AIA boss Jamaal Shabazz remains adamant that “they don’t make journalists like they used too.”
The duo complained that international sport news usually floods the newspapers and television because of the “copy and paste syndrome”.
“There are so many stories that need to be in the media when it comes to football and in the TT Pro League,” John-Williams said.
He questioned, “How many know the story of Caledonia AIA? How many people know how Central FC became part of the league? How many people know about the successes of W Connection?
Connection boasts over 35 domestic titles enjoying its most recent last Friday in the 2013 Digicel Charity Shield which the club defended with a 4-2 win over reigning Digicel Pro League champions Defence Force, while Caledonia in recent seasons have powered its way to being one of the powerhouses of T&T and Caribbean football.
Central meanwhile are still relatively new to league, heading into their second season when 2013-14 kicks off on the weekend.
Connection and Caledonia are also presently representing T&T and the Caribbean in the 2013-14 Concacaf Champions League and will balance domestic and international duties this month.
John-Williams added, “I just want to say that we are your partners and we depend on you (the media) heavily to increase our visibility... to improve the crowds that are coming through the turnstiles… to improve the national product and to ensure that the industry remains alive.”
W Connection owner David John Williams expressing a point.JPGShabazz suggested, “Maybe I should stop coaching and start back being a journalist, because I am so fascinated by the amount of stories (available).
“I think the media must be the connect between the club and the people. This is not about (Public Relations) PR… I’m talking about genuine stories. I’m talking about real … real things that would sell that are newsworthy.”
The problem faced by clubs today wasn’t always the case highlighted the Caledonia coach.
“There was a time in the country when everybody knows who Everald ‘Gally’ Cummings was… who Steve David was… and it was not because of their ability to play. It was because of (Ralph) ‘Raffie’ Knowles, Keith Sheppard and all of them. When you look at the work Keith Sheppard did in the chronicles of the 1974 (T&T football) team… you know there were people who had a real passion for excellence in the media.
“It’s terrible now, to say the least,” Shabazz said.
“I’m not saying to make us something that we are not. But the footballers of yester-year and the runners of yester-year became icons in the minds of people not just based on their talent…but based on (reporters) going out there. Now with all this technology you mean the local coverage reduced?
“That tells the signal, even on television, that it has become so easy to just grab something from the net. How do our people become elevated? How does our in industry grow? If we have that mentality, that’s colonialism! The time that we spend on foreign content instead of going and watch (our) swim meet, going and watch (our) tournaments, and let’s get back to the Pro League, it’s amazing,” said the Caledonia coach.