A regional daily sports reporter has been banned from following outspoken former football star Stan Collymore on Twitter after revealing that he was to be axed by Match of the Day 2.
Andy Richardson of the Birmingham Mail revealed on Tuesday that Collymore had been “quietly dropped” from the show by BBC bosses, despite having previously been asked to appear as a pundit.
However Andy then found himself blocked from following the former Liverpool and Aston Villa star on Twitter, having messaged him for a comment.
Explaining the decision, the footballer-turned-broadcaster said he did not “appreciate cold-calling via Twitter by journalists”.
Responding to a question about the move on the website, the ex-England international added: “Blocking is a free choice by anyone. My agent details are visible.”
Andy himself commented on Twitter: “I can’t follow @StanCollymore and his in depth analysis of football and politics anymore as he has blocked me #spoilsport.”
Collymore had tweeted in May that he had been told he would appear on the sister edition of the BBC’s flagship football programme this season.
At the time he told followers: “Delighted to have been asked to guest on BBC MOTD 2 next season. Radio schedule willing. Come on!”
However the Mail reported this week the ex-striker would not be appearing on MOTD2 in the foreseeable future.
A BBC spokeswoman told the paper: “There are no present plans for Stan to appear but we are always in contact with potential guests about ad hoc appearances.”
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I have been closely following the whole ‘Collymore on MOTD or not?’ saga.
My heart goes out to Andy and anyone prevented from following someone significant on Twitter.
It certainly puts my worrying about Syria, Iraq and global warming into perspective.
Imagine if this happened to everyone in the media? We would never learn what Wayne Rooney thought about this international crisis or that significant breakthrough in science.
Or for that matter, local journalists would have to go and see the family of a victim of tragedy for a comment instead of relying on
the ubiquitous, but always moving… #RIP bro, cuz there’s another star in hevan tonite
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It gets worse, Confused. A lady I know decided she didn’t like me any more and unfriended me on Facebook. Outrage! Not only that, but she then unfriended everyone she knew was my mate. And they had done nothing wrong! Just wait till the press gets hold of that.
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Spot on confused. Twitter and Facebook has made reporters very lazy.
I squirm when regionals and weeklies reel off lines of Twitter feed.
It looks so desperate.
I have no sympathy for this hack. He should get out more.
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Blocked by Stan Collymore on Twitter…tragic.
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I like the dinosaurs on here who don’t think twitter is a legitimate journalistic tool.
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And it’s impossible to set up another Twitter account and follow Stan from there, isn’t it?
The fact Stan’s gone off on one is a good tale to football fans though. Like it.
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I grieve for this poor bloke, who will no longer have access to Collymore’s brilliant insight, stunning maturity and incandescent brainpower. How will he ever be able to do his job without Stan’s incomparable input?
Which brings me to an important point about TV football commentary. Why are all panels made up of ex-footballers? With one or two obvious exceptions, they are dimwits without an entire functioning brain between them. They are so intellectually lacking that they’re unable to formulate thoughts properly and end up babbling platitudes and inanities.
It’s a fallacy to imagine that someone who once played football is bound to be a great pundit. Most of them are an embarrassment, unable to think or speak intelligibly, and woefully lacking in analytical skills.
It’s time TV dropped its ‘celebrity’ obsession and employed proper journalists with something more than wood chippings between the ears. In that way, viewers would get the insightful, articulate punditry they deserve.
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Agree with Paul. Twitter is a hugely important tool for any journalist now. I also don’t think the story was claiming to be on a par with Syria. What a silly thing to say. It’s interesting that any figure would be on twitter so vocally yet block someone for asking a question.
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Digital Derek
‘Twitter is a hugely important tool for any journalist now.’
I rest my case.
But would also just add… A comment from anyone about anything that adds to the reader’s knowledge of an event is valuable no matter the medium. But, taking the recent death of a celebrated film director as an example, column inches were given over to regurgitated tweets from his fellow actors, directors and Z-list celebrities and Stephen Fry along the lines of ‘so sad to hear about..’ ‘he was a legend..’ ‘he will be missed..’ Well, I could have said that!
The challenge with Twitter is, and I think it does have many positive uses, it is now the first and the only tool too many journalists reach for.
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I think I need to put right a few comments made on here about the legitimacy of the Stan Collymore story and the role of journalists these days in the newsroom. Yes it is right that journalists like myself avidly follow Twitter feeds and Facebook posts for stories. I was probably later to this than most journalists but realise the importance of social media in gathering stories in the modern era. Celebrities such as Stan can give us easy pickings by making controversial comments which can be turned round very quickly for a digital story. But while I do write stories from social media my days can be varied. I am not glued to Twitter feeds all day. Spotter you say I need to get out more. Well I spent a whole day yesterday out and about covering a murder in Smethwick carrying out traditional news gathering like the good old days. The Birmingham Mail prides itself in coming up with excellent exclusives and journalists at the paper use not only social media tools to do this but traditional contacts. Journalists are given the time to work on good exclusives and not expected to stay in the office all day churning out press releases. Thanks Digital Dave and Digital Paul this story was never meant to be on a par with other more important world matters but this story was top of the list on our digital chart beat today for some time with thousands of page hits so it is certainly of interest to readers.
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Well said Andy – there’s still room for all kinds of journalism – the traditional sort, eg pounding the streets, as well as the more modern kinds. The foolish journalist is the one who ignores ways of finding stories. Not to mention the fact that anything poking fun at the humourless, self deluding and downright nasty Colly on twitter (to read his feed is to feel very depressed) can only be a good thing.
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Andy Richardson …. please, Stan Collymore is not a celebrity.
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I’m all for newsgathering by whatever means necessary, but always while bearing in mind the axiom that news is what someone DOESN’T want you to know, and everything else is propaganda.
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