Rob's ThoughtsThoughts by the Chairman of the Australian Football Association of North America on Aussie rules football, life, TV coverage, the AFL, etc.TV Coverage on the Brink- March 24, 2004 For the benefit of the general audience of footy fans, many of whom (regrettably!) do not get our TV and Media newsletter, I am reproducing below the key section of our most recent issue published earlier today. Following that I will have a brief comment. UPDATE: A deal has been done to restore coverage. AFANA received notice from the AFL with the following message: "Fox Sports World is back on board for 2004, at the...http://www.afana.com/blog/archives/000042.html Sporting Culture- March 5, 2004 There is much to the culture of sport, particularly Australian sport, to like. In many ways it is the heart of "mateship". To share a kick, to rehash the most recent match over a brew, to yell at the "telly" when the umpire rules against your club, and so on. For those fans so far removed from Australia, it is through our families, local clubs and organizations like AFANA that we participate in this. There...http://www.afana.com/blog/archives/000041.html The TV Outlook for 2004- March 3, 2004 Updating my earlier blog on this subject and in anticipation of the release of a much delayed TV update, we have some new developments on the coverage front. It seems, just as a year ago, there is an issue about how much FOX Sports International (FSI) is willing to pay for shipment of the highlights and Match of the Week master video tapes from Melbourne to Los Angeles. As a result we have no coverage...http://www.afana.com/blog/archives/000040.html Melbourne Media Attitudes- March 3, 2004 Recently, journalist Martin Flanagan addressed the AFL club presidents and CEOs. An edited version of his speech is here::The meaning of football In particular, I draw your attention to these paragraphs: "The quandary facing Australian football is that we have a world-class game played, and followed, by only a tiny fraction of the world's population. That can work both for us and against us. The reason we weren't raided by Rupert Murdoch in the way...http://www.afana.com/blog/archives/000039.html |