Well, sports media consumers, unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to do the Better Late Than Never column last weekend because I got sunburnt and felt pretty rough. But I am back for the Wednesday Briefing.
For this week’s briefing, I am going to write the stories I wanted to write for Better Late Than Never over the weekend. And since it is NRL Grand Final week, I’m going to make a special edition later in the week, like the NFL edition I did a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, go and grab your favourite beverage, sit back and relax, because this week’s Wednesday Briefing is going to be a good one.
You Can’t Do That!
I know that many people out there do have a good grasp of journalism, so you no doubt know what ‘off the record’ means. For those who don’t know, when a source tells a journalist something is off the record, it means the journalist can’t use it in their story. The information is mostly for the journalist’s background knowledge.
It is always a good idea to explicitly tell the journalist you would like to speak off the record.
I recently heard about two instances where people wanted something kept off the record but didn’t say so explicitly.
The first one comes from Graham Bensinger’s interview with Seattle Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald. A video circulated online in which MacDonald tells a story about Denver Broncos Coach Sean Payton and how they used social media videos fans posted from the Broncos training camp on Twitter.
Wild video got out where Mike Macdonald claims Sean Payton threatened to accuse the Seahawks of a ‘Spygate’ scandal because of Twitter clips pic.twitter.com/hScSy5rjwK
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 23, 2026
The Seahawks were understandably unhappy, and MacDonald said the story wasn’t intended for public use. Bensinger, however, said he had sent the complete interview, including the story, to the Seahawks PR department five days before it was published, and no one asked him to remove the segment. Read the full statement here.
This should be a learning experience for MacDonald, but I hope it doesn’t stop him from being open with the media moving forward.
In another off-the-record case, Matthew Elliot revealed the call he got from an angry Craig Bellamy after two journalists reported on information they had been told was off the record about the Melbourne Storm’s wrestling tactics.
Speaking as part of the Code Sports ‘Sacked’ podcast series, Elliot said that former NRL CEO David Gallop asked him to help educate the media about the grapple tackle. He reluctantly agreed and was told that it would be off the record. But the next day, two journalists decided to report on the teachings.
The Code Sports Sacked series is worth listening to, as we finally hear the thoughts and emotions of players and coaches who were sacked.
Down comes the Axe
The Guardian reported last week that the BBC is axing its sports bulletin on its news channel as part of major cost-cutting measures, with the lunchtime and overnight bulletins gone.
The BBC will make compulsory redundancies, including 36 job cuts and four senior producer roles. The cuts are part of a BBC-wide plan to save £500m, with 2,000 jobs cut overall.
It is believed that changing how sports are consumed and the rising cost of rights for sporting events are driving the cuts.
Long-running shows such as Football Focus have also been cut, and minority sports are also getting less coverage.
It amazes me how much money gets thrown around for sporting events, and yet every year there seem to be more and more job losses across the sports media industry.
ESPN announced several cuts this year, even as it paid Pat McAfee $62m.
Having been made redundant myself, I know it’s not fun, and I hope anyone who loses their job at the BBC lands on their feet quickly.
You’re Banned!
I know, I know, I said at the start that I was going to do a separate column for rugby league, but that will be the NRL Grand Final; technically, this is a UK rugby league story.
Rugby League journalist Steve Mascord recently wrote on his website, Rugby League Hub, that he was banned from covering the London Broncos semi-final against Oldham last weekend because of a story about former Media Manager Jake Watson.
In the article, Mascord said he received a message from Broncos Chief Operating Officer Joe Cramp that they could not accommodate him at the semi-final.
The story Mascord reported the week before was that the Broncos owed Watson £10,000 for a few months’ work.
Mascord’s story about being banned went up on September 24; on September 26, the ban had been lifted after owner Grant Wechsel called him at half-time of the Roosters vs Dolphins NRL game. Wechsel told Mascord that if the Broncos won (Which they did comfortably), he would be allowed at the next game as well.
However, Wechsel declined to comment on the Watson situation.
Politicians and sporting organisations have long restricted media access when they don’t like the coverage they’re receiving.
I have many thoughts on this issue, but now is not the time or place to air them. I was disappointed that a team I have a soft spot for, the London Broncos, would do this, but in the end, sanity prevailed.
Anyway, you should definitely read Mascord’s work and even follow him on X/Twitter.
That ends this edition of the Wednesday Briefing, sports media consumers. I will be back later in the week for more sports media news and missteps.
Until next time, take care.
Merce
