Irish Independent jouno Conor George gets caught rapih' [MOD WARNING POST 36]

[Jackass]

I'd also like to add that I think the word "Jackeens" is extremely insulting, derogatory and inflammatory. Hard to believe a national Journo uses it. I know Dublin GAA fans use it tounge in cheek towards the hatred of Dubs, but his Jackeen comment is the same as me saying "Right, off to Limerick, time for the pik**s" - equally as insulting imo.

ray jay

Otacon wrote: »

GT still gets mentioned, as does Frankie, as does Stephen Jones... I will not hold my breath TBH.

They're all much more significant figures in rugby coverage though. People already pay attention to GT and George Hook which is why it's annoying when they spout nonsense, but Conor George is unlikely to build much of a following if he keeps writing crap.

jamiedav2011

Otacon wrote: »

We have a two page thread here, as well as multiple other mentions of him and the Indo on this forum. Job done as far as he is concerned.

Well that depends on your view of what his profession should be focused on.

Personally I would prefer a journalist to offer reasoned, unbiased opinions, facts and excellent analysis, but that's a matter for a different day.

Otacon

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Well that depends on your view of what his profession should be focused on.

Personally I would prefer a journalist to offer reasoned, unbiased opinions, facts and excellent analysis, but that's a matter for a different day.

Not my view he needs to worry about but his editor's/the papers. Like you, I want a better class of journalist employed but that isn't what sells papers it seems, otherwise they would already be employed.

Gordon Gecko

I don't think Conor George's utter lack of knowledge and horrendously biased views are in any doubt, either on this thread or in the rugby clubs and schools around the country........BUT if I was a newspaper editor I'd employ him simply because the bile he writes is provoking discussion and getting noticed (albeit for the wrong reasons). After all, all publicity is good publicity.

Foxtrol

Gordon Gecko wrote: »

I don't think Conor George's utter lack of knowledge and horrendously biased views are in any doubt, either on this thread or in the rugby clubs and schools around the country........BUT if I was a newspaper editor I'd employ him simply because the bile he writes is provoking discussion and getting noticed (albeit for the wrong reasons). After all, all publicity is good publicity.

But is it really if it puts in doubt the quality of the rest of the paper? Honestly hiring someone so incompetent puts a negative towards the rest of the journalists at the paper. One thing to hire a well known pundit/ex-player/ex-coach who talks nonsense but to hire a never was who is terrible at their profession reflects very badly on the paper/editor.

P_1

Wow, now I can understand the logic behind a certain bit of tribalism when writing for a local/regional paper like the Cork Echo (big up the local heroes, boost sales etc...) but surely any sort of journalistic professionalism/ethics/common sense would tell you to nip it in the bud when you make it to the big leagues of the nationals.

TBH I'm surprised his articles get past the SubEd stage nevermind actually make it into print.

Higher

Foxtrol wrote: »

But is it really if it puts in doubt the quality of the rest of the paper? Honestly hiring someone so incompetent puts a negative towards the rest of the journalists at the paper. One thing to hire a well known pundit/ex-player/ex-coach who talks nonsense but to hire a never was who is terrible at their profession reflects very badly on the paper/editor.

I think that's the point to be honest. It reflects badly on the paper as a whole. If a paper allows its journalists to write on a topic, any topic, where the journalist in question clearly has an overwhelming bias then you'd have to question the integrity of the paper. You would certainly doubt the paper's claims to impartiality.

jm08

Higher wrote: »

I think that's the point to be honest. It reflects badly on the paper as a whole. If a paper allows its journalists to write on a topic, any topic, where the journalist in question clearly has an overwhelming bias then you'd have to question the integrity of the paper. You would certainly doubt the paper's claims to impartiality.

Only people involved in rugby who have to be impartial are referees and possibly RTE, the State broadcaster. Newspapers or journalists don't have to be impartial and are generally not.

Gordon Gecko

Higher wrote: »

I think that's the point to be honest. It reflects badly on the paper as a whole. If a paper allows its journalists to write on a topic, any topic, where the journalist in question clearly has an overwhelming bias then you'd have to question the integrity of the paper. You would certainly doubt the paper's claims to impartiality.

Well the press of this country is stacked with biased journalists, although perhaps not to the hyperbolic degree that Conor George is, so it's swings and roundabouts. Plus he gives us an excuse to have a good auld b*tch about rugger journos! :pac:

Benny Cake

Higher wrote: »

Absolutely disgraceful. This man is writing for one of the most popular newspapers in the country and he's completely biased in favor of Munster. The guy is a stain on Irish rugby and will undoubtedly contribute to increasing the divide between the two sets of fans. Does impartiality in irish rugby journalism even exist anymore with the likes of Lenihan, O'Brian, Hook, Sheehan, Ralph Keyes, Gerry Thornley, George Hook??

You must have been on your holidays the day the teacher explained "irony".....

Tox56

Benny Cake wrote: »

You must have been on your holidays the day the teacher explained "irony".....

Yeah but he's not a paid rugby journo in a national newspaper, you'd expect a little more from them.

Benny Cake

Tox56 wrote: »

Yeah but he's not a paid rugby journo in a national newspaper, you'd expect a little more from them.

True, but it is a little ridiculous when posters are so outraged by bias across the media when they themselves are so clearly one-eyed...

Higher

Benny Cake wrote: »

True, but it is a little ridiculous when posters are so outraged by bias across the media when they themselves are so clearly one-eyed...

Last time I checked I wasn't a professional journalist writing in a national newspaper.

leftleg

Benny Cake wrote: »

True, but it is a little ridiculous when posters are so outraged by bias across the media when they themselves are so clearly one-eyed...

Again Higher is not writing long articles for the Indo for which thousands of people read and some are influenced by. Higher writes a couple of posts on boards. Hardly the same thing is it?

This guy George is paid to write impartial factual articles for the Indo, not biased one eyed rubbish, with his own sarcastic spin on anything non Munster related.

My point is you cant really compare Higher with Conor George.

jm08

Higher wrote: »

Last time I checked I wasn't a professional journalist writing in a national newspaper.

Simple. Don't buy the paper/service. Its irrelevant whether he is paid or not. For all you know, he could be paid by how many hits his article gets on their website!

leftleg

jm08 wrote: »

Simple. Don't buy the paper/service. Its irrelevant whether he is paid or not. For all you know, he could be paid by how many hits his article gets on their website!

And for all you know he could be an actual paid journalist (in disguise), why dont we just stick to what we have and not get into mights and might nots.

goreyguy

jm08 wrote: »

For all you know, he could be paid by how many hits his article gets on their website!

hilarious!

jamiedav2011

jm08 wrote: »

Simple. Don't buy the paper/service. Its irrelevant whether he is paid or not. For all you know, he could be paid by how many hits his article gets on their website!

He very well could be. This is common practice these days and judging by the trolls in the Indo comments section I wouldn't be surprised if they planted these too.

However, it's certainly not 'irrelevant', as this is one of the main newspapers in this country and a leading voice in Irish rugby coverage, and they're basically paying a troll to 'write' for them. I personally find that disconcerting, never mind misleading.

It's funny thought that most of these media trolls are from a Munster perspective. You'd think the 'D4 media' that we heard about from down south for all these years wouldn't hear of it?! Maybe the tide is turning!

.ak

Benny Cake if you don't have anything to contribute other than jabs at another poster then don't bother. Attack the post, not the poster.

Foxtrol

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

He very well could be. This is common practice these days and judging by the trolls in the Indo comments section I wouldn't be surprised if they planted these too.

However, it's certainly not 'irrelevant', as this is one of the main newspapers in this country and a leading voice in Irish rugby coverage, and they're basically paying a troll to 'write' for them. I personally find that disconcerting, never mind misleading.

It's funny thought that most of these media trolls are from a Munster perspective. You'd think the 'D4 meeja' that we heard about from down south for all these years wouldn't hear of it?! Maybe the tide is turning!

Fixed

tolosenc

jm08 wrote: »

Only people involved in rugby who have to be impartial are referees and possibly RTE, the State broadcaster. Newspapers or journalists don't have to be impartial and are generally not.

Ah! Howaya Conor?!

jacothelad

leftleg wrote: »

Again Higher is not writing long articles for the Indo for which thousands of people read and some are influenced by. Higher writes a couple of posts on boards. Hardly the same thing is it?

This guy George is paid to write impartial factual articles for the Indo, not biased one eyed rubbish, with his own sarcastic spin on anything non Munster related.

My point is you cant really compare Higher with Conor George.

Of course you can't. One is an insightful and interesting contributor to rugby in Ireland. The other is a man who must have difficulty getting around the Indo in his gigantic clown shoes. When George left Munster the IQ of the entire province doubled and that of Dublin halved instantly.

jamiedav2011

Just to put a close to this less than stellar of Irish rugby journalism, it looks like our mate Conor no longer writes for the Indo.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Just to put a close to this less than stellar of Irish rugby journalism, it looks like our mate Conor no longer writes for the Indo.

Really?

Buer

Hasn't featured for them in a week. He has removed the job description from his Twitter account also. Seems like the latest moronic comment was one too many for even those on Talbot Street.

CatFromHue

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Just to put a close to this less than stellar of Irish rugby journalism, it looks like our mate Conor no longer writes for the Indo.

How do you know?

P_1

Buer wrote: »

Hasn't featured for them in a week. He has removed the job description from his Twitter account also. Seems like the latest moronic comment was one too many for even those on Talbot Street.

Dare I ask what the latest moronic comment was?

durkadurka

That's how it looks. He hasn't written an article for them in a fortnight.
During a busy international window.

His linked in profile screams job application too.

He lost his source of scoops when ROG retired.

The last thing of his that I read was an absolutely pathetic attempt at pathetic fallacy ...
http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ill-have-no-hesitation-selecting-brian-odriscoll-if-he-is-fully-fit-joe-schmidt-29717360.html

thomond2006

Called the selection for the Australian match a "jokeshop". He made that comment around midnight and then deleted it the next morning.

It's hard to have too much sympathy for him, he was his own worst enemy with the stupid remarks on twitter and how he handled the Jamie Heaslip comments that he (to paraphrase) accepted were on his Twitter account. Amazing that the Independent even hired him given his comments about the same paper a couple of months previously on Twitter.

Podge_irl

P_1 wrote: »

Dare I ask what the latest moronic comment was?

I presume the Joe Schimdt "jokeshop" comment

Buer

P_1 wrote: »

Dare I ask what the latest moronic comment was?

He posted the below on his Twitter one night last week. Not particularly bad but just ridiculously naive from a national journalist to make such a divisive comment. He deleted it pretty quickly but nothing is deleted on the internet.

‏@conoreligeorge
It's difficult not to wonder if Joe Schmidt is having a laugh with selection v Australia. Jokeshop

Podge_irl

I was genuinely amazed the Indo, rag that it is, hired Conor George (particularly after his hilarious comments about it being so shockingly Leinster-centric). Not surprised he is gone.

P_1

Buer wrote: »

He posted the below on his Twitter one night last week. Not particularly bad but just ridiculously naive from a national journalist to make such a divisive comment. He deleted it pretty quickly but nothing is deleted on the internet.

True, it's one thing for us to post something like that here but something totally different when you're a writer for a national newspaper and Twitter is used as a means of publication for said newspaper

irishbucsfan

Maybe he'll go back to the Echo. His articles were crazy there, but good for a bit of masochistic entertainment.

Swiwi.

Whatever you think about CG, my main bone of contention with him is that - as far as I'm aware - he has no rugby background. Whatsoever. Before anyone gets too excited, he's not on annual leave, or some other simple explanation?

Rightwing

The standard of journalism, sports and across the board is woeful. No wonder the sales are in the dumps.

durkadurka

Swiwi. wrote: »

Whatever you think about CG, my main bone of contention with him is that - as far as I'm aware - he has no rugby background. Whatsoever. Before anyone gets too excited, he's not on annual leave, or some other simple explanation?

Have a look at his linked in


https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=141173831

irishbucsfan

Swiwi. wrote: »

Whatever you think about CG, my main bone of contention with him is that - as far as I'm aware - he has no rugby background. Whatsoever. Before anyone gets too excited, he's not on annual leave, or some other simple explanation?

There aren't many Irish rugby journalists who do have rugby background.

Swiwi.

durkadurka wrote: »

Have a look at his linked in


https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=141173831

I'll have to take your word for it, I'm too uncool to have a linked in account

durkadurka

irishbucsfan wrote: »

There aren't many Irish rugby journalists who do have rugby background.

Farrelly had a rugby background. Didn't make him much better.

So does Hook!

durkadurka

Swiwi. wrote: »

I'll have to take your word for it, I'm too uncool to have a linked in account

Yeah. All the madsers are on LinkedIn ...

Rightwing

durkadurka wrote: »

Farrelly had a rugby background. Didn't make him much better.

So does Hook!

So does, Ward, Toland, Quinny, Francis, that's the way the trend is going.

Swiwi.

durkadurka wrote: »

Farrelly had a rugby background. Didn't make him much better.

So does Hook!

Yeah, but even if I don't always go along with their views, at least they're formed out of rugby up-bringing...

...rather than using google to see what other people are writing and cutting and pasting it into an Indo article. I could never take CG seriously, and then of course his foolish tweets were the icing on the cake.

CatFromHue

Does Brendan Fanning have a rugby background?

I'm not sure but I would read his articles. Gerry Thornley used to be good too until he got too close to the players and management and I don't think he's a rugby background.

Having a rugby back ground is not a pre requisite for me to be honest.

durkadurka

Swiwi. wrote: »

Yeah, but even if I don't always go along with their views, at least they're formed out of rugby up-bringing...

...rather than using google to see what other people are writing and cutting and pasting it into an Indo article. I could never take CG seriously, and then of course his foolish tweets were the icing on the cake.

For your amusement here's a quote from his LinkedIn

• Excellent working knowledge of social media, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

awec

Too many journos here have their own agenda that they are pushing. For CG that was ROG - and once ROG retired CG became a bit of an irrelevance.

Devastating news.

Means I'll need a new sig :pac:

Podge_irl

Swiwi. wrote: »

I'll have to take your word for it, I'm too uncool to have a linked in account

Well that's cause people in your profession have an incredibly cushy number :P

I don't have an issue with a journalist not having a "rugby background" per se. CG is just an incredibly non-astute observer of the game.

Swiwi.

CatFromHue wrote: »

Does Brendan Fanning have a rugby background?

I'm not sure but I would read his articles. Gerry Thornley used to be good too until he got too close to the players and management and I don't think he's a rugby background.

Having a rugby back ground is not a pre requisite for me to be honest.

It definitely is for me. Sure if they are just regurgitating soundbites etc any journalist will do, but for a proper analytical piece I like someone who has a bit of knowledge: hence I would always read Brian Moore for example.