This week’s Behind the Headlines comes from managing editor Stewart Ward. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week for free, click here.
I HAVE a major grudge against Euro 2024.
As someone in the business of producing newspapers, it’s an absolute nightmare.
Why?
Because half our staff and columnists seem to be there supporting the team. Scotland have even left themselves dangerously close to prolonging this agony with a win over Hungary!
Though looking at the online traffic figures, I should probably shut my mouth.
With Euro 2024 well under way, the news agenda has undergone a bit of a transformation. And that’s without mentioning the election.
So let’s throw it back, first.
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Do you remember The National’s front page for the Euro 2020 final, when we put Greyfriars Bobby on it and encouraged readers to rub his nose for good luck in seeing England lose out to Italy in the final?
You probably don’t – because it didn’t happen! That was one that stayed in the draft folder What you may remember from the last tournament is that we instead opted for Roberto Mancini photoshopped on to William Wallace in Braveheart.
That front created quite a stir. Plenty of negative backlash … but the mood quickly turned when the Italian team got behind the front, culminating in Mancini himself resting the trophy on a copy of our newspaper on the flight home.
That was nearer than the England team ever got to touching the trophy.
I also still have a sub-folder in my email inbox of people from Italy messaging us to seek out a copy of the paper, hailing Scotland in the process.
Again with tongue in cheek, this year, our merchandise offering includes a kit helping readers to support England’s rivals in the group stage.
(Personally, I prefer our passport cover – invaluable for trips to Europe. Especially with the fantastic PR work being done by the Tartan Army in Germany).
Some feel this is petty.
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And The National has to walk a finer line than other newspapers. Unfair accusations of Anglophobia are often levelled at members of the Yes movement who deeply want to see a better England and feel it would be best served by the shake-up delivered through our independence. So we must be extra careful to set an example, given our platform.
But Scotland has such a sense of humour and as a St Mirren fan who had a Morton-supporting father, I’m quite aware of how fun a football rivalry can be, when conducted right.
That’s what our Euro 2024 coverage is in the spirit of. Our lighthearted contribution from The Jouker about the ridiculous Euros beer from Brewdog is not why we want to leave the Union, actually. Sorry to the Unionist trolls who seem to think otherwise.
What we want to get away from is attitudes like “Stop The Boats”. And that’s not set to change any time soon, with Keir Starmer due to enter power.
We also won’t shy away from covering the times when Euro 2024 and politics overlaps.
For the most part, though, news values are a little lighter during a tournament like this. It doesn’t mean sacrificing on our other coverage and we believe the distinction is clear.
And truth be told, I would put the paper together on my own if that was what was needed to get more of us over there to help the Tartan Army become the 12th man and will Scotland into the knock-outs. Though they’re doing a fine job as is.
Let’s just avoid extra time when we get there, because print deadlines these days are about as tight as most of the offside calls seem to be.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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