How was Kevin Keegan dealt with by the Media from Friday 0ctober 6th until Monday October 9th 2000?

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How was Kevin Keegan dealt with by the Media from Friday 0ctober 6th until Monday October 9th 2000?

For my durational essay I decided to choose a story that both for fills the durational aspect and my own personal interest. I chose to focus on the defeat by Germany and subsequent resignation of Kevin Keegan. I will look at how 4 newspapers have dealt with Keegan using key media terms and recognising the different angles each newspaper has approached the story.

The four newspapers I have decided to look at are a calculated choice that should give a fair view of the English newspaper press.

I have chosen The Sun and News Of The World, The Daily and Sunday Mirror, The Guardian and The Observer, and also the Daily and Sunday Telegraph as my four newspapers. In this choice are two tabloids and two broadsheets this should give a good contrast and room for comparison. I also have included right and left wing papers however; the topic being sport this should not result to any major differences.

I chose The Sun as it is part of Rupert Murdock's media empire and it is also the most popular newspaper in Britain. The Mirror was chosen as the other leading tabloid. The Telegraph was chosen for it conservatism and also because it is a broadsheet and I finally chose The Guardian in contrast The Times because The Times is also part of the Murdock media group and therefore may be very similar to the ideas and views of The Sun.

The duration of the study may not appear that long however although the length of time is fairly short the story moves at terrific pace. On Friday people look forward to the game with a little patriotism and player profiles, Saturday is similar however, once Keegan has resigned there are several views about whether he should have resigned or not. What now for England and on Monday there is more difference as the weekly reporters can then spread their views. On the whole although it is only 4 days as every experienced sports writer will tell you a weekend is a long time in Football.

Friday 6th October 2000

One day before the huge game of England vs. Germany in the world cup qualifiers the focus is on the Players. David Beckham is pictured on the back of all four of my chosen newspapers. Two years ago Beckham was criticised and torn apart by the media for getting himself sent off against Argentina, and allegedly costing England the World Cup trophy. Now the press has turned full circle and he appears to be the hope of the nation.

You can see that the press does not think that Keegan is the most important aspect for England, a well-respected and successful manager such as Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger are always put before their team when it comes to big matches. Tactics are almost always mentioned when referring to Ferguson and Wenger however; Keegan is mentioned in some papers to be tactically naïve, a cliché that has followed him throughout his career. It is fair to say that if Keegan's tactics are wrong then the task is left to the Players to win it rather than managerial genius therefore they grab the headlines.
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Indeed you can take the impression that Keegan is not featured heavily in the papers on Friday because,

* He hasn't spoken to the press or,

* He is not perceived as a figure that will sell papers

The other big story surrounding the game is that it is the last major Football match to be held at the "old" Wembley.

Due to this Keegan gets no mention in The Sun or Mirror.

In the Telegraph backing up the idea that the players were seen as the most important part of the ...

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