Herald Sun once again turns Saints' positive into negative.

[Austinnn]

So here we are again. Herald Sun's continuing campaign of hate against the St Kilda Football Club. Maybe we should have sat on Uncle Rupert's knee after all...

This time it's irrefutable. This story should be about the club tweaking the membership package to better serve both club and members. The quotes from MN back this up: He told the Scum:

"We did a body of research leading into some of the changes we made and there's been a lot of other benefits added into the package for members this year. A lot of those members were saying, 'Please don't send another scarf, I'm happy to buy one if we need one but I don't need another five scarfs turning up for the family'.''

This supports my personal feelings about the package. As I've stated previously I buy a membership to support the club, I don't really want a shed load of 2nd grade MadeInChina promo items like more and more plastic membership pouches, badges, scarves every single year. How many necks does the club think I have? I'm not a hydra. I can't be the only Saints member that thinks like that (thankfully even the readers comments back this up and after you sift out the pie trolls, it's clear most of the readers haven't been taken in by the HS's BS. However, feed this info to the HS footy team, and the following article is what comes splattering out the other end like word-coloured effluent into a big porcelain newspaper.

Now maybe MN is to blame, he's obviously used this to try and push his barrow that Etihad Stadium in unprofitable, I can't lay the blame entirely at the HS's feet. However, they do make a meal of the negatives here. Are there that many Saints supporters crying that the latest membership package doesn't include a scarf? Really? And the caption for the picture states; Saints fans will have to pay more than $30 for a members scarf next season. Maybe so but a regular StKilda scarf is $25, and what is a Member's scarf? Just a normal scarf with the name of the season on it? If you want to collect scarves like that, then paying $10 extra isn't so bad, surely? Not everyone who buys a membership to a sports club is a mercy collector, and do you imagine that sports clubs around the world offer stuff like that in their yearly membership package?

But the way this article sounds, you'd think that the club is depriving us members of oxygen, and we're despised by the club.

To illustrate what I mean, I've taken the liberty of coloring in sections of the text that the hacks have used to create a negative feeling, often from something quite neutral, and include commentary afterwards in brackets:


Saint scarves lost in Etihad black hole
by: Ewen McRae, Sam Edmund From: Herald Sun December 01, 2011 11:57am

ST KILDA'S poor financial returns from Etihad Stadium and the public relations disaster of last summer have been blamed (Very negative word. Implies guilt. How about 'used as a reason'?) for an expected multi-million dollar loss (Cheeky! 2 million is numerically multi million, but a bit misleading!) this year.

The loss has led the club to strip some of the benefits (remove too neutral? What about 'strip' or 'tear'?) - including free scarves - from next season’s membership packages.

Saints chief executive Michael Nettlefold said today the club was stuck "behind the eight ball" by playing most of its games at the docklands venue.

"It's no secret that the financial return from Etihad is a difficult one for clubs, I think that's well documented," Nettlefold said.

"The difference between MCG and Etihad returns on a like for like fixture is well north of $2 million, so we're at a considerable disadvantage by not playing games at other venues.''

St Kilda is expected to announce a loss of between $1.5 million and $2 million for the 2011 season, and the cutback on membership benefits is expected to save the club about $400,000.

Nettlefold said the decision to take the free scarf away was done following feedback from members, who said they didn't need a scarf, cap and T-shirt every season.

"We did a body of research leading into some of the changes we made and there's been a lot of other benefits added into the package for members this year,'' Nettlefold said.

"A lot of those members were saying, 'Please don't send another scarf, I'm happy to buy one if we need one but I don't need another five scarfs turning up for the family'.''

Despite the off-field issues and the recent departure of full back Zac Dawson (The off-field issues from 12 months ago that the club have spent the year admonishing for, but HS won't let go away?) , Nettlefold said the club was staying upbeat.

"The mood of the clubs really positive, Scott Waters our new coach has had a really big impact already. The club is really quite buoyant,'' Nettlefold said

Paid-up Saints fans have received a free scarf with their membership for several years, but won't get one next season. (If by several you mean 2 or 3 then fair enough, but people usually use 'a few' for a number this small.)

Instead, the club is selling supporters a "Be the Future Member Kit'' at $39.95 ($34.95 for kids), that contains a scarf, cap and T-shirt.

St Kilda issued a press release yesterday stating the "restructure of fulfillment'' (Nothing makes something look more stupid than when you put weird words in quote marks.) will save $400,000.

The Saints admit (Again, guilt language) they're cost-cutting in the pursuit of greater financial stability. They say they are also acting on the feedback of fans.

Membership benefits vary greatly at different clubs. Hawthorn members get a free scarf as part of their standard package, Bulldogs fans a free members cap.

Essendon members get a cap and unspecified "membership pack''.

Collingwood hands out a bumper sticker and fridge magnet. (And the other 13 clubs? Probably jack s***. But don't compare us with them.)

[philtee]

The Herald Sun journo team are masters of using loaded language. Oddly this is one of the very things that journo students are
warned against as they strive for their degree. To be fair, The Age journos use the same technique when they think they're getting
their teeth into something. But IMHO the HS is always striving to get an emotional reponse from you from every
story - make you happy, sad, outraged, etc. Even the headlines are chocka with loaded words (and snappy puns). To be honest, the HS has
just about lost the ability to tell a news story in straight reportage. It's beyond them.

[Birdcage Hero]

HS is a joke. As a member I for one made a commercial business call to no longer send me a scarf and save the money. I was rapt to see the club listened as I made the same request last year and then you see the HS report once again a negative spin. It really pisses me off. Hope the saints listen to my other suggestion and that is not to send 4 seperate envelopes for my whole family who all have sererate memberships living at the same address, as the song says "from little things big things come".

[Austinnn]

HS is a joke. As a member I for one made a commercial business call to no longer send me a scarf and save the money. I was rapt to see the club listened as I made the same request last year and then you see the HS report once again a negative spin.

I felt exactly the same way. Happy that the club is listening to it's supporters and happy that common sense overruled the standard commercial thinking.

That's $400'000 that can spent to make the club stronger. The only people who this policy change effects negatively are scarf manufacturers!

Also agree with philtee; The Age are good at that loaded language style too, particularly Connolly. But no one colors their reports more than Murdoch's minions. At least The Daily Mail don't exist in Australia, (though they own the other 50% of Nova), they are truly awful at this sort of thing.

[kosifantutti23]

This story should be about the club tweaking the membership package to better serve both club and members.

Club tweaks membership package to better serve both club and members

I can't see that working as a headline in the Hun

[kosifantutti23]

Not a double post, I clicked quote instead of edit

[Austinnn]

This story should be about the club tweaking the membership package to better serve both club and members.

Club tweaks membership package to better serve both club and members

I can't see that working as a headline in the Hun

ha! Fair enough.

How about these beauties?

Saints streamline membership deal

Saints 2012 better deal for members

Saints listen to their members

Saints members say no to scarf

Saints count the cost of Etihad, scrap scarf

[Austinnn]

by the way I meant ATONE, not ADMONISH in the OP. Sorry about that.

[Launcestonsaint]

The Herald Sun will always report badly about us as we have a deal with the Age with our membership.

[desertsaint]

a fridge magnet and a sticker?
we can do that - well the sticker - grumps!
how about a headline - collingwood members get lucky dip leftovers again!

[bergholt]

So here we are again. Herald Sun's continuing campaign of hate against the St Kilda Football Club.

hang on, there are plenty on this site complaining about the change, so it doesn't sound like a particularly far-fetched interpretation.

the club had to expect some bad pr on these changes and i'm sure they did, which is why nettlefold is out there in the media a bit today.

[sunsaint]

So here we are again. Herald Sun's continuing campaign of hate against the St Kilda Football Club.

hang on, there are plenty on this site complaining about the change, so it doesn't sound like a particularly far-fetched interpretation.

the club had to expect some bad pr on these changes and i'm sure they did, which is why nettlefold is out there in the media a bit today.

absolutely, how in any sense is stating the obvious a hatchet job?
if you dont want a scarf, fine, take it back to the club, donate it to StKilda Mission, use it as a dogs play toy...
but what about the sense of tribal belonging, the colours, a universal symbol of contribution
+40k stkilda supporters waving theirs scarves after a goal, not just the sterility of a warm seat under the roof of the dome
I would love to know the percentage of members that didnt want their useless scarves, as I feel that it certainly isnt in the majority
In my case as an interstate member, I dont mind the financial contribution even tho you never see games, so I appreciated the token gift of a scarf.

[saintly]

So here we are again. Herald Sun's continuing campaign of hate against the St Kilda Football Club.

hang on, there are plenty on this site complaining about the change, so it doesn't sound like a particularly far-fetched interpretation.

the club had to expect some bad pr on these changes and i'm sure they did, which is why nettlefold is out there in the media a bit today.

absolutely, how in any sense is stating the obvious a hatchet job?
if you dont want a scarf, fine, take it back to the club, donate it to StKilda Mission, use it as a dogs play toy...
but what about the sense of tribal belonging, the colours, a universal symbol of contribution
+40k stkilda supporters waving theirs scarves after a goal, not just the sterility of a warm seat under the roof of the dome
I would love to know the percentage of members that didnt want their useless scarves, as I feel that it certainly isnt in the majorityIn my case as an interstate member, I dont mind the financial contribution even tho you never see games, so I appreciated the token gift of a scarf.

i don't know about anyone else, but ever since they were offering the free scarfe and hat, i have picked it up once. I only need one scarfe and one hat.

As it is i have 2. last years, and one i bought several years ago which i am still happy with. personally i don't want a free scarfe and hat every year. maybe every 3 or 4 years.

rather have the fridge magnet!

[saintly]

So here we are again. Herald Sun's continuing campaign of hate against the St Kilda Football Club.

hang on, there are plenty on this site complaining about the change, so it doesn't sound like a particularly far-fetched interpretation.

the club had to expect some bad pr on these changes and i'm sure they did, which is why nettlefold is out there in the media a bit today.

absolutely, how in any sense is stating the obvious a hatchet job?
if you dont want a scarf, fine, take it back to the club, donate it to StKilda Mission, use it as a dogs play toy...
but what about the sense of tribal belonging, the colours, a universal symbol of contribution
+40k stkilda supporters waving theirs scarves after a goal, not just the sterility of a warm seat under the roof of the dome
I would love to know the percentage of members that didnt want their useless scarves, as I feel that it certainly isnt in the majorityIn my case as an interstate member, I dont mind the financial contribution even tho you never see games, so I appreciated the token gift of a scarf.

i don't know about anyone else, but ever since they were offering the free scarfe and hat, i have picked it up once. I only need one scarfe and one hat.

As it is i have 2. last years, and one i bought several years ago which i am still happy with. personally i don't want a free scarfe and hat every year. maybe every 3 or 4 years.

rather have the fridge magnet!

[Bernard Shakey]

$400,000 for some scarves from China? What a load of crap.
The club is having a lend and I don't really care about scarves.

[bergholt]

i don't know about anyone else, but ever since they were offering the free scarfe and hat, i have picked it up once. I only need one scarfe and one hat.

i never picked mine up. last thing i need is more crap to fill my house.

[Moods]

The Herald Sun will always report badly about us as we have a deal with the Age with our membership.

Sorry, but I don't believe that for a second. Very cynical I reckon.

[SainterK]

$400,000 for some scarves from China? What a load of crap.
The club is having a lend and I don't really care about scarves.

This.

It's not about the scarves, it's about the scarves.

[felix]

Im not complaining im from Tassie i need 2 scarves

[PaytonPlace]

As a person who indulges in media and PR (I say indulges in, I mean work in, see, spin already) the Herald Sun is now basically an online forum.

What they do is put something out as a position (Lara Bingle is a bitch, Megan Gale is horrible, St Kilda are a rabble) and their feedback and the comments on their website etc will justify their future position.

So for instance, let's say as an example Nick Riewoldt tells an off color joke at a supporters function. If there's no feedback or everyone tells the Herald Sun to lighten up, their editorial position will be "what's wrong with people! Why can't we learn to laugh!" - if everyone is outraged Kyle Sandilands style, it's a big story and they man the pitchforks.

It's pure populism - internally, they call their columnists "opinion shapers"...I think Suzie O'Brien said in a column "my job is to shape public opinion, but also to reflect it" - polar opposites you would think, but integral to their strategy.

In this case, what do you think people will grasp? Financial realities or an emotive picture of a fed up looking family (who are only 20% likely to support St Kilda) with no scarf? They don't know, they haven't got a position themselves, they haven't got the feedback yet.

Point being - don't give them the oxygen of publicity, it's a newspaper with no journalistic merit at all.

And lest I start turning into Bridget from The Gruen Transfer, I'm personally unfussed if I get a scarf. What scares me is the idea that if your membership is up and you get no benefit from it because your profit margins are so slim, more scarfs equal a loss. How do you make money?

[Megamaguire]

It's the easiest story in herald bun summer footy season.

Sledge the Saints. Yee Haa !!!!!!!!!!

Luckily we don't regard it as surprising or particularly worth commenting on accept to say 'There they go again'.
I 100% expected another batch of negative St.Kilda stories throughout the many monthes of the footy off season and they deliver right on cue again- beautiful.

On a serious note i was pleased that Nettles at least raised the issue of St.Kilda's crippling rip-off contract with the Dome authorities.
As much as i like the venue given the fact that both St.Kilda and the Hawks were driven out of Waverleyby the AFL i think the AFL have completely resigned from their responsibility to St. Kilda. The AFL are not doing near enough to guarantee a base line of support in helping keep our club financially afloat.
It may not suit the AFL but they should be buying out the Dome asap and not regarding it as acceptable to leave those teams playing there dangling.

I know the Saints play well there (ignoring the loss to a well drilled Swans outfit a few monthes ago) but in terms of financial stability the club must get as many MCG games as it can each and every year from now into the forseeable future.

It's incredible that with the sniping that perennially exudes from the feral bun and the AFL sitting on its' hands while the Dome rip-off merchants rob us we still made 2 grand finals in the last 3 years.

GO SAINTS!

[HSVKing]

'Please don't send another scarf, I'm happy to buy one if we need one but I don't need another five scarfs turning up for the family'.

This is where I laugh at his comments though... You picked the scarf up at the game/club etc it wasn't sent to you.

May want to research before making yourself look stupid Greg!

[Q5]

See, I DO have a problem with the 'repackaged' membership - for the membership, seat, SC, it costs me on average $50 per game and that doesn't include transport/parking or food (which I rarely purchase). I don't have kids, don't go to the family days, don't go to the Victory Room after a game.

My membership has gone up in price this year, but I am getting less for it. I realise the club cannot cater to everyone's individual requirements, but given it is OUR money, the club could have at least contacted the members first with their plan, or offered alternatives so that you could vote on it.

They say it's a saving of $400k, but I'd like to know how much the fancy membership ad cost them to make...

[skeptic]

Maybe the best outcome would be a free scarf and beany for first year members


I've been a member since 97 and don't need really bother or care about the scarfs.

Got my G/F to sign up last year and liked the fact she got a scarf for it... she won't need one this year though

[degruch]

I don't care who words what how...it's a positive that I don't have to find room for another freakin' scarf! BS is onto it too...$400k is just a number someone has yanked out of their nether-regions. If it's not, we are being seriously gouged on scarf supply by...you guessed it...Communism!!!