As a Wellington Phoenix fan, I was saddened to see the eventual bankruptcy of Terry Serepisos after a long battle with outstanding debts of around $200 million. And obviously I feel for those creditors who are now scrambling to get their share of his former empire. And
as a regular Media Watch listener, I can�t help but reflect on the
media�s coverage of this saga, in particular because a number of Yellow
Fever fans have expressed annoyance overage the coverage by the Dominion
Post and Matt Nippert from the NBR. Concerns were first raised when Matt Nippert tweeted this back on the 17th of November 2010 (https://twitter.com/#!/MattNippert/status/4826916292923393) which read �As one of many purveyors of journalistic smack, I consider Serepisos a tall poppy who's ripe for lopping�. Surely not a wise move if you want to retain your journalistic integrity. This
tweet was quickly followed up by a second tweet suggesting that the
Dominions Post�s coverage of the saga was less than perfect (https://twitter.com/#!/MattNippert/status/4829496867815425). It reads �My personal guess is they've [Dominion Post] been saving a "Phoenix Returns to Ashes" front page for some time�. As for the Dominion Post, I noticed this morning that have a section of their website dedicated to him (see https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/search?k=Terry+Serepisos&label=Terry+Serepisos). Perhaps
he is thought of as an election issue this year. Now I agree that the
demise of Terry is newsworthy, however I query whether a story (see https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/5676418/First-Serepisos-loses-the-Phoenix-then-his-shirt)
about Terry having this clothes seized as part of receivership deserved
to be a) newsworthy, and b) on the front page of the Dominion Post as
it was. Cleary the Dominion Post thinks so because today they have run a second story covering Terry�s shirts (see https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5697275/Would-you-pay-for-Terrys-seconds). And then there was an article about someone who may, or may not, had punched Terry in a Wellington Bar (see https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5415934/Serepisos-Nobody-hit-me). Again, is this newsworthy to be plastered on the front page? Almost
all of the Dominions Post�s articles have been written by Dave Burgess,
a former All White, who often scans pages of various threads in the
Yellow Fever forums to find quotes from people hiding behind pseudonym. I could just being a little precious and biased given my love of football and the Phoenix, but I do have some backing. The editor of The Wellingtonian questions the coverage in this editorial early this month (see https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/opinion/5541822/Wellingtonian-Editorial-Serepisos-saga-needs-balance)
where he states �There seems to be an element of smirking by members of
the public and certain media outlets about his financial woes�. Either
way, I�d imagine Terry would have been grateful if he was offered a
puff piece like this one from Campbell Live last night (https://www.3news.co.nz/Allan-Crafar-reflects-on-life-on-the-farm/tabid/367/articleID/227709/Default.aspx). In it Tristram Clayton interviews Allan Crafer, another business man in receivership over $200 million of debt. Go the Phoenix! Dale Warburton Wellington
Here is a copy of an email I sent to Radio NZ's media watch programme...
As a Wellington Phoenix fan, I was saddened to see the eventual bankruptcy of Terry Serepisos after a long battle with outstanding debts of around $200 million. And obviously I feel for those creditors who are now scrambling to get their share of his former empire.
And
as a regular Media Watch listener, I can�t help but reflect on the
media�s coverage of this saga, in particular because a number of Yellow
Fever fans have expressed annoyance overage the coverage by the Dominion
Post and Matt Nippert from the NBR. Concerns were first raised when Matt Nippert tweeted this back on the 17th of November 2010 (https://twitter.com/#!/MattNippert/status/4826916292923393) which read �As one of many purveyors of journalistic smack, I consider Serepisos a tall poppy who's ripe for lopping�. Surely not a wise move if you want to retain your journalistic integrity.
This tweet was quickly followed up by a second tweet suggesting that the Dominions Post�s coverage of the saga was less than perfect (https://twitter.com/#!/MattNippert/status/4829496867815425). It reads �My personal guess is they've [Dominion Post] been saving a "Phoenix Returns to Ashes" front page for some time�.
As for the Dominion Post, I noticed this morning that have a section of their website dedicated to him (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/search?k=Terry+Serepisos&label=Terry+Serepisos). Perhaps
he is thought of as an election issue this year. Now I agree that the
demise of Terry is newsworthy, however I query whether a story (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/5676418/First-Serepisos-loses-the-Phoenix-then-his-shirt)
about Terry having this clothes seized as part of receivership deserved
to be a) newsworthy, and b) on the front page of the Dominion Post as
it was. Cleary the Dominion Post thinks so because today they have run a second story covering Terry�s shirts (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5697275/Would-you-pay-for-Terrys-seconds). And then there was an article about someone who may, or may not, had punched Terry in a Wellington Bar (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5415934/Serepisos-Nobody-hit-me). Again, is this newsworthy to be plastered on the front page? Almost
all of the Dominions Post�s articles have been written by Dave Burgess,
a former All White, who often scans pages of various threads in the
Yellow Fever forums to find quotes from people hiding behind pseudonym.
I could just being a little precious and biased given my love of football and the Phoenix, but I do have some backing. The editor of The Wellingtonian questions the coverage in this editorial early this month (see http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/opinion/5541822/Wellingtonian-Editorial-Serepisos-saga-needs-balance) where he states �There seems to be an element of smirking by members of the public and certain media outlets about his financial woes�.
Either way, I�d imagine Terry would have been grateful if he was offered a puff piece like this one from Campbell Live last night (http://www.3news.co.nz/Allan-Crafar-reflects-on-life-on-the-farm/tabid/367/articleID/227709/Default.aspx). In it Tristram Clayton interviews Allan Crafer, another business man in receivership over $200 million of debt.
Go the Phoenix!
Dale Warburton
Wellington