for editors: content provided by opposition

[_marc_]

I've taken over the reigns as Hemel Hempstead Town FC programme editor this season (it's not my first stint). In relation to the opposition sending their club history, players "pen-pics" and any other information - I am after the opinion from other prog editors...

In the first three progs i've edited this season, I received club histories consisting of 500, 1400 and 3000 words, while pen-pics have varied in format from players name, age and position to a full blown article about each player. This has made my editing slightly more time consuming that it needs to be as I have to chop and change things to suit what the opposition sends me. I'm bemused why a club feels they need to send a 3000 word history on 4 x A4 pages... this would take up 6 or 7 pages of my A5 format prog and I mean no disrespect but that much content about the opposition does not make interesting reading (in the end I left out 2 decades of their history to make it fit!).

How do other editors manage this? Do you simply find room for everything you receive, or do you ruthlessly cut things down to suit your own format?

I did suggest to the Southern League secretary that it may be beneficial for clubs to adhere to a template when providing their information, so every club has the same amount of words, takes up the same amount of space with the txt having the same font and margins - which personally i'd find easier as I like to stick to the same layout of my prog each week

[grantham]

Former Grantham programme editor here, with regards the club history I don't really think a programme needs it. On a Saturday night I'm no more fulfilled having read that today's opponents use to play in a pub league until turning senior in 1965.

Personally I think a bullet point timeline could do exactly the same job, IF I was still doing a programme, that is exactly what I would do now. With regards player profiles, similar sort of stance. For me the purpose of programmes is for a historic record of the match and as a useful tool for research further down the line. So have vital player details such as name, date of birth, place and former clubs is all I'm after when reading. Don't want to read the 'exciting prospect who made a handful of appearances from the bench last season' as that doesn't but give one persons opinion. Programmes should deal in facts for me
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[Tintowner]

I did the Immingham Town programme for 6 years during the early to mid 1990s.

No internet at that time and the away team (as was the norm) was supposed to mail team details to the home club editor/secretary at least 7 days prior to the game.

This very rarely happened on my watch. Many a time there was a space left on the away team lists space. I always put 'no details received' as a statement to the officials of the visiting team in an attempt to shame whoever was responsible....wether it ever worked, who knows.

On occassions, I would receive a team list on the day of the match when the progs had already been printed. A hastily typewritten list, photocopier and glue stick saved the day.

Some clubs though were excellent in the info that they sent. as mentioned in the original post, a few times (usually the same clubs) would send an abundance of facts and figures for one to peruse.

All my club info (not the current team lists) was gained from the non league directories, various non league magazines, programmes etc etc...... i thought I did a pretty good job at the time (got a few Wiirral Programme club recognitions at the time).

I haven't produced a programme for nearly 20 years. If I was doing so now, with internet technology, it would be a piece of cake.

PS: Before you ask....yes, I did, as the away team, always send club and team details to the home club with plenty of notice.

[seand]

I've covered away team pages for Dundalk in the League of Ireland for the past decade or so. In general I've found you're better off doing it yourself! Some clubs may help- the ones with an enthusiastic unofficial amateur tech-savvy historian- but most will be useless or slow and unreliable enough that you'll regret not just doing it yourself. With the web it's not too hard these days and once you've pieced together a club history it's in the bag for future seasons. Regarding pen pics, more effort than their worth imo. I vary content season on season for my own sanity but this year for example I feature 2 key players, the manager and one new player per club. Often dependent on who we have a picture of or who I can find 150 words to write about. If away team uses squad numbers include them on the team pages.