Rick Waghorn, a former Norwich Evening News football correspondent, has set up myfootballwriter.com, a site which allows football fans to follow and respond to what their local football writer is saying about their team as soon as it's written.
This means they get the latest updates, match reports, transfer rumours, national embarrasments (below), and all the rest, without waiting for the next edition of the local paper.
The reasoning behind this venture is that Rick's audience reached the point where they valued his views above those of the paper/broadcaster he writes for. Therefore when Rick parted company with the Norwich Evening News, his audience followed him to his new outlet...myfootballwriter.com.
You see, the journalist has effectively become a brand...potentially bigger than their paper/broadcaster.
Examples such as Robert Peston and Jeremy Clarkson seem to back this up. Peston is now generally accepted as the voice of the 'Credit Crunch', with some going as far as saying he was too in touch, perpetuating the crisis he was meant to be covering. And, argues Rick, the Telegraph's readers aren't interested in the paper's views on motoring, they're interested in Clarkson's views on motoring.
So, logic dictates that if one of these 'brands' parts company with their 'platforms' the audience follows.
We learned how Rick has since mastered the arts of broadcasting (by podcasting), distributing (by web-hosting), managing a community (his readers), twitter-ing, blogging, marketing, search engine optimisation, selling advertising space, hiring, firing and paying staff, managing finances and becoming the managing director of his business. All this on top of bringing his audience the latest news about their cherished football club.
Leaving the "Jack of all trades, masters of none" debate to one side, I'm not sure how accurate Rick's analysis of the brand issue is. Robert Preston is heavily associated with the Credit Crunch because the BBC provided him every possible medium available. He was able to break news of Northern Rock's collapse on TV, radio and online virtually simultaneously.
His contacts, which he spent over 20 years cultivating as a journalist and stock broker, and his talent as an investigative reporter, which was recognised by various awards during those years, meant that he got the story first. The BBC's ubiquity meant he was able to cover the story 'in 360 degrees' for a huge and varied audience.
To me the brands seem to be co-dependent. The reporter builds his reputation on the back of a big media outlet's. He gets access to relevant people on the basis of his association with the organisation, and whistle-blowers are more likely to approach a big media company with a story than an unknown individual. In return, the outlet benefits from the reporter's skill and professionalism. Their ability to tell the story impartially, accurately and quickly.
While in some instances there may reach a point where a journalist is respected enough by his audience for them to follow him to a different publication, the fact remains that the majority of journalists depend on the outlet to provide support, resources, and an existing brand reputation.
After all, if it wasn't for the Norwich Evening Post's advertising budget, Rick's face wouldn't have been on the hoardings at Carrow Road promoting his column to their fans, and he wouldn't have had the chance to build a following.
While myfootballwriter.com may yet thrive because it offers supporters a new, 24/7 way of following their local team, I'm not sure the majority of us will be able to build a sizable brand on the back of our web presence alone.
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