Sky Sports News

The story is currently number one on the BBC's most read list. It involves a guy in his mid 30s who died in a high-profile Scottish Premier League match. He's had a difficult career, constantly battling injury, and is a father to four children.

It depends what the definition of a sports channel is. Personally I think it should go beyond bland platitudes offered by managers when something this big happens.

And don't forget, Sky has managed to cover this story while still managing to more than adequately cover all the games taking place.

The side-effect of Setanta putting the story half way through their bulletin is that they go from usual sports coverage, over the top exciteable nonsense into sombre mode, and then have to pick things up again. And beyond any criticism of the placing of the story, they don't have much on it anyway.

Maybe being in Scotland I'm too close to the story, but the Motherwell Mad website, which has tributes from across the world; the ranking on the BBC site; the number of media outlets from countries across the world covering the story; it all just suggests to me that there's interest from outwith Scotland in this story.

While I'm here I should praise Scotsport for handling the situation well this afternoon. They correctly decided not to show highlights from the match itself, and carried a 15 minute tribute at the top of the show. Highlights of other games were shown without any analysis, and they then spent another five minutes at the end with more personal tributes.

I saw Scotsport too. Well done to STV for handling a very difficult situation with decorum and dignity. It's also worth mentioning that the programme itself closed without the usual music and graphics, just a caption reading "Phil O'Donnell 1972-2007", along with a photograph.

Apart from Sheffield Wednesday fans ... and those who went to games v the Owls from 2000-05.

I disagree that it's not a headline story just because you don't know who he is. Would that same logic apply to the one-year-old boy who got mauled to death by a dog in Wakefield? Nobody knew who the kid was before it happened so therefore nobody cares he's dead? Don't be silly. In the same way a dog mauling a child is a tragic waste of life, so is somebody dying on a football pitch.

An extra few thousand Sheffield Wednesday fans hardly means we should be in a period of national mourning.


There is never going to be a right way to cover events such as this, but there is a danger of "celebrity" deaths being exploited by the media for the wrong reasons. It won't be long until Hello and OK! are fighting for exclusive rights to funerals.


What happened with George Best - and even to a certain extent during the Pope's final few days - was incredibly disrespectful IMO, and turned what in George Best's case at least should have been a very private affair into a ghastly public spectacle.


Obviously this isn't on that scale - and I'm not saying if the player was more well known it should have been - but there is a fine line which sometimes is crossed a bit too often.


As cold-hearted as it sounds, these stories have to be judged on their merit rather than on perceived emotion.


I'm in little doubt yesterday it should have been the main story last night when the news broke, but I think 24 hours on it is more suited to a place lower down the running order.

If you have a look at Motherwell FC's website, Phil O'Donnell's tragic death has touched supporters of clubs from throughout the UK and beyond. This has been made even more poignant considering when it's happened, as many people are preparing to celebrate the New Year.

When you go to watch a football match, you expect to see all the players involved come off the pitch at the end of the game. You most certainly do not expect to see one of them collapse and die on it in front of his family, friends, colleagues and thousands of football fans.

I don't know the player myself, but that doesn't stop me from expressing sympathy towards those who have been left behind - the reality is that a wife has lost a husband, four children have lost their father, a family have lost a relation and football fans everywhere have lost one of their own, in the most awful way imaginable. Whether or not he was-well known outside Scotland and South Yorkshire is irrelevant.

In any case, the reason why it's now gone down the running order is because Motherwell FC have now asked to be left alone to grieve for their loss, and the media have respected that.

I'm sorry if this sounds disrespectful, because I don't mean it to, but people die every day. The fact that it was witnessed by a couple of thousand football fans does not make it more newsworthy in my books. It is no sadder and no more tragic than a poor old dear collapsing in her home, but that wouldn't make the news. Yes, mention this story on the news, but it is not, in my opinion, worthy of anything more than that.

It was certainly not worth being top of the Sky News/News 24 agenda - the events in Pakistan will have far more impact on the world.

However in comparison to the usual fare served up by sports news channels (player A says he'll be sick as a parrot if his team don't win; player B says he's going to take one game at a time) it strikes me a player dying during a game is a slightly bigger story.

I have no issue with how it has been covered by either Sky News or BBC News 24. It was perfectly in proportion with the rest of the news agenda. Sky Sports News excelled in my opinion in their coverage.

On the other hand, Setanta looked completely unprepared for a story like this, and made a complete hash of it.

at least it was on CNNi, around the world, they talked about it

Sorry... Sky Sports News.

I never suggested there should be a period of "national mourning" - you're now exaggerating what I was saying.

The fact is was an unusual death, witnessed by many thousands at a football ground and is something that would touch many more thousands makes it newsworthy.

FWIW - since you'll probably not agree with me anyway - there are more than a "few thousand" Sheffield Wednesday fans dotted around the world. You've clearly said this to promote your argument that nobody cares. Home games this season have been averaging more than 20,000 people.

Anyway ... I'll leave it there.

And to whoever the other poster was that said that situation in Pakistan is more newsworthy, I totally agree. I'm not saying this guy's death is a lead story, but it's hardly an 'and finally'.

Most deaths of famous people though are treated as the "and finally" segment though.

Mostly because they die in their old age peacefully in their sleep - not while doing their job!

My God, I hope you never get into a newsroom. They'll sling you out in 15 minutes flat.