Identity: This is an article which deals with Arsene Wenger's recent Champions League pre-match press conference. The event took place on Monday afternoon, 18th of February and the content was published a short time after.
The article is by 'The Mirror' a National British tabloid, it is available on the official website, Mirror.co.uk.
Representation:
The first thing we see when we look at the online article is a picture of a seemingly contrary looking Wenger preceded by the headline,
"Wenger meltdown! Furious Arsenal boss rounds on reporters over new contract 'lies' in stormy press conference."
From this a vivid picture of a 'furious' manager is painted by Cross.
Words such as 'snapped', used 7 times in total, insinuate that Wenger "appeared to lose the plot."Journalist, John Cross, who wrote the article, suggests "It was the most angry many regular Arsenal Observers had seen Wenger and raises doubts about his state of mind before such a big game."
In the provided video, we do not see, and barely hear, what the journalists are saying. From what we do hear, they have a very public sounding voice, making it impersonable to listen to. Based on the four minute video, there is a gender balance in the room as questions are asked by female as much as male.
Production:
The encoding process is influenced by Arsenal's recent down turn in form, causing some Arsenal fans to become dissatisfied with their manager. As a result, any news in relation to Wenger at the minute is topical and will sell advertisement space. Video footage of the press conference is used to set the tone of the quotes in the article, despite the fact the footage does not include the majority of quotes mentioned in the text. Most of the quotes used in the text do not reflect the tone of the provided footage.
The decoding occurs from the comments section provided under neath the article. Comments from the public provide a good balance between dominant, oppositional and negotiated views towards the articles preferred meaning.
Dominant view: "He's lost it big time. How can a story about him getting a new contract turn the fans against him ?"
oppositional view: "Sadly some of the press trough brigade predictably take advantage & publish total fantasy stories plucked out of thin air. Today though Arsene Wenger, justifiably angry about trouble making press rubbish regarding new contract reports, returned fire."
Negotiated view: "if only he´d found his gangster mid season! your half past your sell by date,the honorable thing to do would be to fall on his sword not see the remainder of his contract out!"
Regulation:
All Print media is self regulated by the PCC(Press Complaints Commission).
The PCC consists of 17 members, 9 independent of newspapers and magazines 7 Senior editors from national and regional press. This self- regulation allows for print journalism to control what its allowed to write.
‘Realities’ that may not be pushed:
Although Wenger may have lost his cool, it wasn't the alleged 'meltdown' the content suggests. Before the Press Conference journalists are reminded by the Press Officer, of clubs involved, they are only permitted to asks questions in relation to the upcoming match. In this case most journalists chose to ignore this. Wenger didn't do himself any favours by dignifying such questions with answers. What the video footage does not show is an articulated Wenger addressing a German speaking journalist in her native language, smiling at what she had to say. This perhaps would contrast the preferred meaning that Wenger "Appeared to lose the plot."
Whenever Wenger appears 'angry' or 'furious', it is to answer questions non-related to the press-conference. When it is suggested he 'snapped' at one journalist, the full length footage shows Wenger using a sarcastic tone in addressing the journalist in question, who in turn laughed. This is not shown in the video provided with the article.
The content's insinuation is that the Arsenal players may not be in the right frame of mind
"Mikel Arteta looked very uncomfortable sat to his left at the press conference."
This perhaps is taken out of context given most players are traditionally uncomfortable when on media duty.
I finish by briefly comparing this press conference to Alex Ferguson's pre match Champions League press conference a week earlier. The very first question goes off topic and United's press officer, Karen Shotbolt, does not allow the question to be answered, cutting the journalist off. The start of this press conference also highlights the amount of people present at the event. Ferguson repeatedly looks at the wrong journalists when answering questions, just as Wenger did.
It is not important for the press to try and provoke Ferguson because his job is safe. Wenger's job may not and they know any controversy surrounding the Arsenal Manager will sell.
No comments:
Post a Comment