Sports Headline Mastermind Defends his Style

The West Australian’s provocative back pages ensure the newspaper stands out from the crowd, says Sports Editor Jakeb Waddell.

The West Australian made waves in sports media this year with a catalogue of bold back pages, but Sports Editor Jakeb Waddell insists it is part of a broader directive that keeps the newspaper up with the times.

“It’s part of a wider company strategy with The West, which is to be loud and proud and to make noise, especially when it comes to sports,” Wadell said.

“Our thing is we always go big, we alway go large. Sports is the perfect place to be able to do that.”

Sports journalist Ben Somerford says The West Australian’s current “in-your-face” style is symptomatic of the need for news outlets to compete with their counterparts in an increasingly competitive market.

“There’s an important context in that journalism as an industry has its own challenges financially to justify itself,” Somerford said.

“They appreciate that getting people to pick up the newspaper is a lot harder these days than it was 20 years ago, so they’ve got to try something different.”

“What they are doing with these back pages is generating discussion. They want to get people talking.”

Waddell confirmed that his headlines have done exactly that.

“Our provocative and loud back pages spark a significant uptick in online engagement, mainly as they are often reflective of the mood of the town,” he said.

“More importantly, it increases the chance they will pick up the paper or also engage with our content.”

The West Australian recently reported market-leading growth, experiencing a 10.5 per cent growth in readership in the June quarter.

The new provocative style has successfully garnered widespread attention, though not all of it positive.

Former AFL player and current social media sensation Daniel Gorringe recently expressed his displeasure at a back page labelling the Fremantle Dockers as “The Chokers”, which came after the Perth-based side failed to secure and AFL finals berth.

"They’ve got one team left who can represent the city, who maybe they can throw their arms around and support for the one round of footy where they can still make finals” Gorringe said.

“But what do they do? They go f*** it, call them the chokers”.

However, Mr Waddell isn’t afraid to engage with his critics via social media. 

“I absolutely love what I do and I love the way we do things, so why shouldn’t I take the chance to engage with people when they’re giving their feedback?” Waddell said.

“It’s always a bit of a laugh, but it also is a great way to get direct, very quick feedback on what people think of your work, for better of for worse.”