Media Bans

Media bans occur frequently under Mike Ashley, whether he doesn’t like what they write or he wants money off them to have the access to report on the club.  Ashley frequently wants to get a message beyond readers of the club website though and for that he uses his preferred outlets of Sports Direct and Martin Samuel.  Using them, he is always able to make his case unchallenged and knows he’ll get airtime or column inches that unquestioningly disseminate his propaganda.

Example’s where dissent has led to journalists having access withdrawn:

March 7th, 2020 – Craig Hope

Sportsmail’s Craig Hope has been given a one-week ban by Newcastle after a story this week which revealed details of Allan Saint-Maximin’s disagreement with Steve Bruce over his fitness.

September 10th, 2019 – Media banned from SD AGM

Just been told Sports Direct is banning all media from its AGM tomorrow. Never a good look when a company shuts out journalists. What happened to its “very open” promise in 2016?

June 10th, 2015 – Only Media Partners allowed at Steve McClaren’s introduction

Newcastle ban local media from Steve McClaren unveilingNew manager is only allowed to speak to Newcastle United’s two ‘media partners’ with even local paper banned from event

September 19th, 2014 – Luke Edwards and The Telegraph

Telegraph Sport’s coverage of Newcastle United will be disrupted after The Daily Telegraph and our North-East reporter Luke Edwards were banned by the club.  This followed a story in which Telegraph Sport reported that Newcastle’s owner Mike Ashley was willing to listen to offers for the club.

February 18th, 2014 – Sunday Express

The Club feels it necessary to respond to the article published in the Sunday Express newspaper, headlined ‘Pardew’s One Game From Sack – Beat Villa or it’s the Bullet’, and claimed as an ‘exclusive’ by the paper. The article was written by John Richardson.  Newcastle United can confirm that the Sunday Express is banned with immediate effect

 October 28th, 2013 – The Journal, Chronicle and Sunday Sun

Newcastle United have banned three local newspapers from matches and press conferences in protest at coverage of a recent fans’ demonstration against Mike Ashley, the club’s owner.

January 20th, 2010 – Sunday Sun

Following an article that appeared as a back page lead in the Sunday Sun on 10 January 2010, healined ‘Desert-ers Leave Toon’, Newcastle United, having taken exception to the accuracy, tone, inference and content of the article, contacted the Sunday Sun to seek a full page retraction of the said article in the following Sunday’s paper (17 January).  The retraction was not forthcoming in the manner requested and as such the Club have banned the Sunday Sun, indefinitley, from St. James’ Park and the Training Ground.

March 25th, 2009 – Alan Oliver

Newcastle, a club in turmoil on and off the pitch, have surpassed themselves by banning journalist Alan Oliver from St James’ Park just days after he received a lifetime achievement award for the dignified way he devoted a career to covering the team for the Newcastle Evening Chronicle for more than 30 years. 
The highly respected Oliver, now a pensioner working for a Sunday newspaper, was the co-author of a story speculating on sidelined manager Joe Kinnear’s health — a fair subject on Tyneside — which upset the board. 
Their ridiculous over-the-top reaction against a newspaperman who has written more positive paragraphs about the football club than anyone says everything about the buffoons running Newcastle. 

March 22nd, 2009 –  Dave Kidd

I was banned after a People Sport story which claimed the manager [Kinnear] had suffered a health setback.