Snowboarding Jenny struggles against Kate up front...
GB's bronze medallist Jenny Jones. Photograph: Daily Telegraph
...and Manchester United on the backMonday 10 February, 2014
Olympic coverage in the newspapers tends to follow a standard pattern. When the winning bid is announced there's a bit of head-scratching, which soon gives way to gripes about the organisational skills, human rights record, political correctness and general unsuitability of the host-to-be. This is followed by sneering about the design of the venues, the slowness of the building work, the unlikeliness of the project to be completed on time. In the final weeks before the Games begin, assorted people with placards surface, eager to catch the eye of the swarms of journalists and broadcasting crews on their doorstep - who are in turn desperate for something to justify the huge cost of sending them to wherever. Pull-out supplements with handy guides on unfamiliar sports and advice on who to watch in the water fencing heats are published weeks before the Games begin (just like Christmas). These are put aside by readers who - at that moment - fully intend to make use of them. But by the time the supplements become relevant, they have long since been sent for recycling or used to light the fire. Then comes the opening ceremony and suddenly everything turns from black and white into glorious technicolor, as though there has been a mass removal of dinge-tinted spectacles. From there we move to the British team. We build up hopes that we fully expect to be dashed. If there are no medals in the first few days, questions are asked about whether enough is being spent on encouraging children to take up sport - and whether the great expense of sending no-hopers out to compete is justified. Slowly, slowly, the sport begins to take over. We find that we are as interested in the Bulgarian luge team and the charismatic Australian swimmer as we are in our own ice skaters and equestrian stars. Because whoever these athletes are representing, summer or winter, their skill is breathtaking. By the time the smoke has cleared from the final firework, journalists and readers alike have a tear in their eyes, sorry that such a wonderful fortnight had to end. The London Olympics broke the mould, but it was soon put back together again. Newspapers are creatures of tradition and habit (which is why they are under threat) and they are often too slow to catch up with - let alone capture - the public mood. Yesterday we were thrilled by the snowboarding, and most especially by Jenny Jones who came third, the first Briton to win a medal 'on snow' in the 90 years of the Winter Olympics. OK, it wasn't gold. But it was still something that had never happened before. It will set the Games alight for millions of viewers and it is likely to inspire thousands of young people That is why Jenny Jones, not a holiday snap of Kate and George that had already been published in Hello! should have been the main photograph on all the front pages today. Every paper covered the story of the woman who went from selling doughnuts to winning an 'historic' Olympic medal on the news pages - a spread in the Mirror, page 3 in the Telegraph, Mail and Times - but the sports departments didn't seem particularly impressed. Jones was not only passed over for the front of the Mail, she didn't even make the back. In common with almost every other paper, the Mail splashed its sports section on Manchester United's draw with Fulham. The exception was the Telegraph, which led its general sports supplement with the Games and restricted Moyes' misery to the Total Football section. The Telegraph is far from alone in having a supplement devoted entirely to football, but it is the only paper to exercise this sort of restraint. The default setting for everyone else is to have football on the first few pages working in from the back of the main paper as well. BBC2 achieved an audience of up to 3m for Jenny Jones's snowboarding event in Sochi, and its Winter Olympics coverage had a bigger share of the all-day audience than ITV on both Saturday and Sunday. So people are interested. Yet only the Guardian used an Olympic picture on the back - every other sports section restricted Jones to a puff to the coverage inside. It's not just snowboarding that suffers. It's every minority sport and most of the mainstream sports as well. Last weekend saw the start of the Six Nations rugby, the British indoor athletics championship and the ECB explaining why it has given Kevin Pietersen the boot. All of these, and horseracing, found homes however bijou - everywhere. But what about tennis, badminton, hockey, golf, cycling, boxing, rallying, equestrianism? Almost all consigned to the 5pt results page. Is this right? SubScribe has conducted a brief audit of Monday's sports coverage. You can see it below. |
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The Sun
Main book 11 of 60 pages Back page Splash Man U Picture Rooney Puffs 1 x Olympics 2 x football Inside pages 4 x football, 2 x Olympics, 2 x racing, 1 x rugby, 1 x Pietersen Goals supplement 28 pages Supplement advertising 2 20x3s, baseline strips on several pages, all for Wickes Total football space 33 of 88 pages (37%) 
Independent
Main book 16 of 56 pages Back page Splash Cricket Picture Bent (v Man U) Puffs 1 x Olympics 1 x football 1 x athletics Inside pages 5 x football, 4 x rugby, 2 x Olympics, 1 x athletics, 1 x Pietersen, 1 x opinion, 1 x results Advertising None Total football space 5.5 of 56 pages (10%) 
Guardian
Main book 0 of 34 pages Supplement 14 pages Cover Picture Olympics Splash Man U s/c on Pietersen Inside 6 x football, 2 x rugby 2 x racing 2 x Olympics, with cycling and athletics at the edges 1 x opinion Advertising 4 house ads Total football space 6.5 of 44 pages (15%) |
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Telegraph
Main book 0 of 30 pages Sport supplement 16 pages Cover Olympics Puffs 1 x rugby, 1 x Pietersen Inside pages 6 x rugby, 1 x opinion 4 x Olympics, with golf at edge 2 x racing, 1 x cricket 1 x athletics/equestrianism Total Football supplement 22 pages Sport advertising 1 10x7, 4 house ads Football advertising 1 page Total football space 22 of 68 pages (32%) 
Daily Star
Main book 11 of 52 pages Back page Splash Man U Picture Rooney Puffs 1 x football 1 x Olympics Inside pages 4 x football, 4 x racing, spread on Olympics and Pietersen with bit of rugby, golf and athletics Seriously Football pull-out 20 pages Supplement advertising "in association with Wickes" 1 x full page, 1 x half page, 1 20x3, 1 25x3, front page 10x5 Total football space 25 of 72 pages (35%) 
Mirror
Main book 11 of 52 pages Back page Splash Man U Picture Moyes s/c football Puffs football Inside 4 x football 2 x rugby, 2 x racing, 1 x Olympics, 1 x Pietersen Mirror Football supplement 20 pages Advertising "In association with Vauxhall" straplines, baseline strips, 2 x half-page, all Vauxhall Total football space 25 of 72 pages (35%) |
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Express
Main book 12 of 64 pages Back page Splash Man U Pictures: Bent, Moyes Write-offs Olympics, Pietersen, rugby Inside pages 6 x football, 2 x rugby 2 x Olympics, with Pietersen, athletics and boxing at edge 1 x racing Advertising 10x5 Sky, 25x3 Wickes, 15x2 betting, 3 house ads Total football space 7 of 64 pages (11%) 
The Times
Main book 12 of 64 pages Back page Splash Man U Picture Man U Puffs 1 x Olympics, 1 x rugby Inside pages 4 x Olympics,racing 4 x rugby, 1 x cricket, 1 x racing, 1 x opinion The Game supplement 20 pages Game advertising Sky Sports baseline strips, 3 house ads Total football space 21 of 84 pages (25%) 
Daily Mail
Main book 16 of 72 pages Back page Splash Man U Picture Rooney s/c story Pietersen Puff rugby Inside 7 x football, 3 x rugby, 2 x opinion 2 x Olympics, with Pietersen and Football Extra, 1 x racing Advertising Wickes 25x3, Sky Sports 10x5, Lloyds Pharmacy 15x2, 1 house ad Total football space 8 of 72 pages (11%) |
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i
Main book 10 of 56 pages 'Back page' Picture Bent (v Man U) Splash Sport Matrix roundup Inside pages 3 x football, 2 x Olympics, 1.5 x rugby, with golf and tennis, 1 x Pietersen, 0.5 racing, 1 athletics + results roundup Advertising 4 house ads Total football space 3.5 of 56 pages (6%) |
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