Outburst: A sudden, violent expression of emotion.
Tirade: A long angry or violent speech usually about one theme.
Rage: Violent, uncontrolled anger.
Outburst, rant, tirade, rage—just a few leading suggestions used by major media outlets on TV and in the papers today.
However, watching the press conference involving Rafa's statement about Alex Ferguson and the FA, you can see there was no outburst or rant or tirade—just some facts that pretty much everyone all ready knew, presented without rage.
Rafa's tone of voice remained consistent throughout the speech—from his comments about Stoke and the transfer of Jermaine Pennant through to his monologue about the United manager. With "Mr. Ferguson" references, he showed no signs of over-the-top aggression or rage like Kevin Keegan did in his 1996 off-the-cuff interview—despite the comparison made by many lazy debaters.
It is quite easy for people with a bias against the club to spin this situation and add fuel to the fire—which is what the media is famous for doing.
The subject of media manipulation has been touched on many times here on Bleacher. The subtle placing of words out of context about a situation can subconsciously lead peoples' opinions of something without giving them anything like the full picture.
Clever editing or misleading quotations can turn almost any comment into something it is not.
There is so much hypocrisy involved in this sport when it comes to certain managers and media outlets that it invokes "rage" and "rants" and makes me want to launch an "attack" or "tirade" against the clueless involved. But, we all know that will never change a thing, and they will continue to amaze with their terrible journalism.
For example, The Sun newspaper has reported today (10/01/2009) that Portsmouth manager, Tony Adams, only has £5 million to spend in this transfer window—highlighting the amount of debt the club is in. Yet, in their transfer rumour section, they claim the same cash strapped Portsmouth has just offered £6 million for a Valencia player.
They lead their coverage of the Rafa story with "the worst mauling of the Manchester United manager in his 23 year career" and include words such as "viciously" and "raged" as well as bold subtitles under the headline saying "Bully" ,"Whinger," and "Hypocrite".
They finish the "article" with a comparison to the Kevin Keegan outburst, despite being two completely different situations altogether.
Propaganda did not cease after the war ended. It is still rife today and is an effective tool used by many, as well as being a staple part of the title campaign in English football.
The behaviour of the majority of media outlets is a sorry state of affairs in modern day life and this does not limit itself to just football.
It always makes me laugh when I hear a media source highlighting the bad behaviour of a player or pop star and morally commenting about how much of a bad example that person is to all the children that look up to them.
Surprisingly, those kids would never know, therefore, never be affected by their favourite superstar's private life if it was not plastered over every single newspaper, glossy magazine, or breaking news TV bulletin.
Sensationalism for profit is the order of the day for many low-end newspapers and the ridicule of the unfortunate is hidden behind the statement that people have a right to know.
What are my views on the Rafael Benitez press conference?
Well, being a Liverpool supporter, I am just going to be called bias for agreeing with common sense and facts.
It is no surprise that in the wake of the horrific verbal kicking of the angelic Ferguson that ex-referees have stood by Rafa's comments, wholeheartedly.
(This Article Was Originaly Written on January 10th 2009)