BBC - Be A More Positive Influence

If you work for the BBC especially in connection with Scottish football then this page is for you, but in particular if you present or produce TV and Radio programmes that cover the game.

If you disagree with what this site says about BBC coverage then stop for a moment and consider what this page has to say before you reject the suggestions out of hand.

All professions have groups of dedicated individuals whose aims are to raise the bar in terms of professionalism within their chosen discipline or group so that this group can recognised as the corps d’elite within that profession.

Thinking that you are the best and striving to be the best are two different things.

This site challenges individuals to look at themselves and ask if they could do more to help Scottish football, and yes, much of the site is aimed at fans or would be fans. But it needs more than just their efforts. It needs everybody to help.

So what can you do?

The pages of this site may be critical of your efforts but they are also challenging you to do a better job. You after all, criticise managers and players, all in the spirit of impartiality, so that people know what’s going on. So why should you not come under similar scrutiny and share some of the blame for the ills of the game?

What’s it got to do with me?, you might ask. Are you simply being smug or are you a true professional unafraid of challenge and dedicated to the highest standards?

Help Change Scottish Football don’t doubt for a minute that you believe that you are. Well in that case – challenge yourself and challenge those around you.

How can you do your job in a different way, and still remain impartial, but at the same time also help Scottish football toward a more successful future?

If you don’t have the answers then don’t expect to find them here. You people are the experts. It’s your ‘Day Job’ after all, so start talking to you colleagues. Get some real internal debate going. Get together on a regular basis. Generate ideas and a culture that is open to criticism. If you are not too chicken to become the next Dave Lee Travis or a succession of those like him, challenge your British Broadcasting Corporation Mandarins to be less English Broadcasting Corporation when it comes to the iniquitous coverage of football in Scotland.

Ask yourself if you are presenting a positive image of Scottish football or a negative one and whether that image is down to you and how you do your job.

You have to report on negatives but try to minimise the damage that this does.

Really try and understand how your presentation style impacts on the image of Scottish football. You are both in this together and what then happens to you if it all goes belly up?

Are you putting people off coming to matches or is there anything you can do to make things more attractive? Your programme content, might appeal to a dwindling fan base but what about those potential fans who don’t currently attend? What do they think of your coverage?

Giving Scottish football a helping hand is not a violation of your stiff upper lip BBC ethics. Sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander, so think about all those job opportunities that you will miss out on by not helping elevate Scottish football’s popularity and earning potential.

And when you give a voice to others, ask yourselves how they are impacting on the image of Scottish football? Would they be inclined to complain less or feel less frustrated if your programmes were more informative and had a wider coverage?

Why can’t there be some Documentary style programmes that really delve into a topic? What about doing some research work amongst the general public and see if there are any trends as to why people don’t want to come to Scottish football.

“There is a whole lot more on the Scottish football menu than the big two. From the SPL to the juniors, the game offers lots of dishes”

Not on the BBC it doesn’t, pal. Some of you may be trying but not nearly hard enough.

© www.helpchangescottishfootball.co.uk