MEN’s Stories About MUFC Are Well-Sourced And Fact-Checked – Editor

The Manchester Evening News has hit out at Manchester United for banning the newspaper’s journalists from Erik ten Hag’s press conference this week. The publication recently had its say to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to a letter from MEN editor, Sarah Lester, the newspaper is not on MUFC‘s payroll, so it is their duty to write about whatever is genuinely happening at the clubs that matter to their readers.

Sarah added that MEN does not publish anything lightly, and all of their stories are well sourced and checked.

It read, “Manchester United is a Mancunian institution. It’s a privilege to have them on our doorstep and to cover them minutely. But we are not on the club’s payroll.

Our job is to report what’s happening in the organisations that matter to our readers. And that includes our great football clubs.

We do not publish anything lightly and all of our stories are sourced and checked. We have a responsibility to the readers who place such trust in us to faithfully report what we know and what we see.

It’s at press conferences where our journalists get the chance to ask questions on behalf of all these supporters. To be shut out for reporting a story we know to be accurate is wrong.

That said, we largely have a productive relationship with Manchester United and we want that to continue. Our role is that of a concerned friend. Our preference is to move on. We suggest United looks closer to home for the sources of the disquiet – rather than shooting the messenger.”