Robbo Endorsed Caroline Wilson steps down as CFW at The Age

[Adelaide Hawk]

I can understand why someone in Caro's position as the Age head football writer wouldn't go to post match pressers but I would have thought under the circumstances surrounding the saga that Caro would have said nup this is my chance to press Hird and if he goes to water then I can bag him or he can be straight with me confirming or disputing what has been written.

Depending on how the pressers went it might have taken some of the heat out of the issue and I suspect that Hird would have taken the opportunity to argue the point with Caro, as you wrote Stevo and Connolly are not heavy hitters wheres Caro has shown she can be.

Caro's a hard hitter when talking to a camera, or putting words into print, Face to face, different story, which is probably why she didn't attend pressers. Giving an opinion is what she does, debating is not. In a sense, lacking courage of her convictions.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Jake Niall...that’s a blessing as we don’t have to see his head on TV anymore. Good writer though and good choice.

He has a great head for print media.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Highlight probably being the fact she was right about the Essendon saga from day one.

And the fact she was wrong about wanting to ship us off to the Gold Coast.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Caro didn’t need or desire to be loved or hated, only respected, and even the harshest of intellectual critics couldn’t deny her that respect. She was the only one left in the AFL media that asked the tough questions and kept asking them even it made her unpopular. The rest of the Fairfax and News journos are sycophants. Puppets of the AFL who refuse to challenge the League’s excess. Let’s not forget that in 2004 the AFL employed just 83 people. In 2011 it grew to 219. Then last year it had ballooned to 670! Most on monster salaries. On revenues of just $550m. You couldnt find a more bloated company of its type in the world. But Caro challenged the AFL. Challenged the culture. Challenged the inconsistencies. She was a news breaker and a good if not great writer. When was the last time Robbo broke a big story? And his writing, well, let’s just say some of his predecessors in that Great Press Club In the sky would be turning in their grave. At News you are taught to write to a 12 year old’s comprehension. Think Robbo skipped a few classes and settled for a 9 year olds.

The AFL industry is much poorer for Caro’s windback. We need more courageous, more tenacious, more provocative journalism to keep the bast@$%s honest. We don’t need fewer Caros, we need more.

You write that as if you're too naive to realise that Caro was the AFL mouthpiece for years and years on many issues.

 

[Dadadadaaaaaa]

Good riddance, about time she took the hint. Guess she's finally sick of writing mean and nasty articles about most of the AFL clubs for the last 20 years.

That article had to be written by her because no one would wrap Caro up like that unless it was herself, its funny how we can't see the author either.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Tracy Grimshaw comes to mind as does practically anyone who has ever hosted those tabloid current affair shows.

She's just the talking head at the desk, she doesn't formulate the crap.

 

[Beerfish]

We get it,he is dead to you lot and likewise,he feels the same about yous

Eh post needed a Steven Toast gif that didn't exist.

 

[citizen-erased]

When she write, I read.

Well done Caro on a great career as Chief Footy Writer.

Highlight probably being the fact she was right about the Essendon saga from day one.

An above average journo prepared to tackle the big issues head-on. Such a shame so many out there had issues with her just because of her gender and never truly appreciated her writing.

And no, I am not Caroline.

i dont really care about her coverage of the essendon thing. We did wrong and she wasn't alone in going after the club.
But she isn't a good writer. Not many sports journo's are
not many Journo's are either i suppose.

 

[Stax on the mill]

i dont really care about her coverage of the essendon thing. We did wrong and she wasn't alone in going after the club.
But she isn't a good writer. Not many sports journo's are
not many Journo's are either i suppose.

That’s a bit unfair. What about Robbo?

 

[citizen-erased]

That’s a bit unfair. What about Robbo?

I'm convinced he doesn't write his articles.
I don't see how he can given I've barely seen him finish a sentence on 360.
Gotta be a ghost writer....not a good one though

 

[RustyHawk]

Good that she is gone. Sick of reading or hearing from her that if the story was incorrect, it was someone else's fault or any criticism was sexist and bullying.

Just waiting for her to resign or not be offered a new contract on Footy Classified. Could she & Eddie really work together now Gary has gone?

 

[Stax on the mill]

Good that she is gone. Sick of reading or hearing from her that if the story was incorrect, it was someone else's fault or any criticism was sexist and bullying.

Just waiting for her to resign or not be offered a new contract on Footy Classified. Could she & Eddie really work together now Gary has gone?

Hopefully Eddie can arrange for her to be “boned”.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Good that she is gone. Sick of reading or hearing from her that if the story was incorrect, it was someone else's fault or any criticism was sexist and bullying.

Just waiting for her to resign or not be offered a new contract on Footy Classified. Could she & Eddie really work together now Gary has gone?

Wait. Is Eddie replacing Gaz on Footy Classified?

 

[FrustratedTiger]

Caro's a hard hitter when talking to a camera, or putting words into print, Face to face, different story, which is probably why she didn't attend pressers. Giving an opinion is what she does, debating is not. In a sense, lacking courage of her convictions.

That's like saying Alex Rance lacks courage because he doesn't attend the forward line and kick goals. There are game day journos who report on how many kicks a player gets (a role Caro she performed in her younger years with the likes of Dixie Marshall that was a game changer for women in her industry) and those who are investigative journos. Caro's latter career is one of them. She attended many of the pressers involving head office, sacked coaches, the Essendon doping palava etc. She left asking coaches after the game the dumb questions to the younger brigade at the beginning of their careers. Ask Gil or Dimitriou if she lacks courage.

If all the journos were blokey sychophants like Robbo or RoCo, there would be no accountability in the game. The game is much poorer for the likes of Caro and Patrick Smith taking a step backwards

 

[Kismet]

Wilson's coverage of the Carlton salary cap debacle was far ahead of any other reporter at the time. Yes, I hated every article, but she was correct the vast majority of the time.

Not interested in puff pieces about my club to make me feel better when there's s**t going on.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Will she bring in the lawyers?

 

[RustyHawk]

Wait. Is Eddie replacing Gaz on Footy Classified?

Somebody has to replace Gary now that he has left the 9 organisation & other events have occurred........

 

[Rod Stroker]

Will she bring in the lawyers?

One bottom feeder calling out another. Hilarious.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Somebody has to replace Gary now that he has left the 9 organisation & other events have occurred........

I would have thought the natural progression would be Damo, given he was in Gaz's chair for it last year.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Good riddance I say.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

We get it,he is dead to you lot and likewise,he feels the same about yous

You can have him all the bloke did was bash Essendon on KB's program and he called him self an Essendon supporter lols

 

[Schraderbrau]

She's not Robinson Crusoe in that regard. You can just about count the number of impartial, switched on footy journos in Australia on one hand.



She gets a pass in my book simply from that. Stuck to her guns for three years in the face of some pretty serious hatred. She's not a great journo, far from it, but she doesn't deserve the absolute hatred she gets.

she was only right in the ASADA stuff because she was being briefed by one of the winners. #victorsjustice

 

[Schraderbrau]

Some of you folks have extremely low expectations of journalism when you equate a gossip monger as a "heavy hitter"

I can't think of another journalist who has contributed more unsubstantiated Shite in a career.

i can think of quite a few tbh but that says more about the quality of football journalism in this state.

i thought sometimes wilson got too personally involved in her stories (i.e. north) but at the same time can understand that this was not always by her design but through other people attacking her in the media.

when i read sports journalism i want to relax and not think too much so i don't like her articles that much because you have to spend a fair but of time wondering who is briefing her and where the interests are.

 

[Schraderbrau]

Caro's a hard hitter when talking to a camera, or putting words into print, Face to face, different story, which is probably why she didn't attend pressers. Giving an opinion is what she does, debating is not. In a sense, lacking courage of her convictions.

going to pressers is for the grunts, not the head of football

 

[Feerits Elf]

He has a great head for print media.

He has a head for radio.

Caro has a voice for print.