Rangers open up press access to fan media outlets

Two leading outlets from within the Rangers fan base, Heart & Hand and Follow Follow, will have full press access at Ibrox this season as part of recent developments at the club.

The move is considered a microcosm of the changing media landscape given that there is a growing overlap between traditional and fan platforms.

Heart & Hand started out back in 2010 as a fledgling podcast. It currently has over 4,500 subscribers on the pay platform Patreon, whilst still maintaining a weekly free-to-air flagship podcast.

“I believe this is part of the club looking at its entire media operations and taking stock of the current situation in 2020,” said Heart & Hand founder David Edgar. “With industry changes and the newspapers losing a long-standing monopoly on coverage, the club is looking at where the fans are gathered and where they are getting their media.

“This is not uncommon, Liverpool do it, Spurs, Manchester United do it. Celtic have also embraced it.”
He was asked if there were any conflicts of interest between passions as a fan and the responsibilities of holding full media accreditation.

“There will be things that we can’t share which we would like to, because of embargoed information,” said Edgar. “There may be a situation where the club wants us to put something out but Heart & Hand has reservations.

“This is a nice bonus for us, but the press access isn’t essential for us to continue what we do.

“We want to use the press privileges to enhance our product for the listeners and fans but we are aware of our limits and we know our people will keep us grounded. “At the same time, we won’t hesitate to provide constructive feedback and to disagree if we feel it is merited.

“There is a healthy relationship at present between fan media and Rangers.”

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