He hovers outside the media area on matchday from abut 12, strolls up and asks "what do you know" then nine times out of ten will slip me some little gem of gossip regarding the days team and formation, usually spot on, bloody annoying habit....
Always remember his sign off of match updates in the early 80's: 'This is Peter Burrowes, IRN, at the Valley'. Asked him to say it at the player of the year dinner in May but he wouldn't do it, gotta love Scoop!
Thankyou NS! It is the fella I thought it was, I remember after one of our dreadful home performances last season , him coming out satying what a effing disgrace that performance was, and that was from an ex journo, quality!
Charlton are 7 nil down away at Luton 1977. In the 82nd minute Charlton get a penalty which Flanagan puts away. The 'scoop' announces on LBC, "the comeback is on" Charlton have scored.
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
My fave PB moment was him going all Alan PartridgeBonkers on LBC reporting the 80's home game v Barnsley when they were 3-0 up and we came back to win 5-3.
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
I wouldn't worry about that. Lennie and Scoop know each other very well and Scoop doesn't write for anyone except himself these days anyway
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
Off the record doesn't really mean no notes, it means no publishing / broadcasting what you've heard. You are still hearing information for a reason and if you have to take notes to remember it you have to take notes. And every journo and interview subject knows (or should know) if it's REALLY off the record, don't say it.
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
Off the record doesn't really mean no notes, it means no publishing / broadcasting what you've heard. You are still hearing information for a reason and if you have to take notes to remember it you have to take notes. And every journo and interview subject knows (or should know) if it's REALLY off the record, don't say it.
Very true, especially the distinction between making notes and publishing.
Off the record doesn't really mean no notes, it means no publishing / broadcasting what you've heard.
Generally it means that the person giving the info is not to be quoted directly, hence you get a bit of journalistic shorthand - something like "sources close to.." or "friends of..." rather than "X said...".
I always liked him when I came accross him in the late 70's early 80's when I travelled away every week he often got me and a regular group of away travellers comps and always freely shared gossip about potential players.
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
Off the record doesn't really mean no notes, it means no publishing / broadcasting what you've heard. You are still hearing information for a reason and if you have to take notes to remember it you have to take notes. And every journo and interview subject knows (or should know) if it's REALLY off the record, don't say it.
Very true, especially the distinction between making notes and publishing.
Let me clarify this.
If I get an 'official' off the record briefing from a PR or the person themselves then you can take notes on that and report it (with no attribution).
However, if you are talking about a social event (as this was) then taking notes of what is said there is out of order, because nothing there should be used outside the room - if you don't obey that then guests will simply come along and mouth platitudes.
Let me give you an example of this, I was on a company visit to a US Fortune 500 technology firm in Chicago and we had pre-dinner cocktails at the hotel with the top management.
I was talking, in a group of four or five, with the CEO of the company (a very well known guy) and we were discussing Net Neutrality.
The guy had had a few G&T's and was getting angrier and angrier and he just came out and said, "Look, the bottom line is that Barack Obama is a fucking Muslim Socialist and he's destroying this country."
To say I was shocked was an understatement, this would have been MAJOR news to be able to out the CEO of a major US corporation as saying that sort of thing about the President of the United States.
However, it was a strictly Off The Record event and if I had gone out and reported that or leaked it to a willing journo (very easy to do) that would have been very unfair on the individual concerned - no matter how much of a fuckwit he might have been.
I ended up pulling their PR woman aside and telling her that she should probably have a word in his shell, she went ghost white when I told here - which was quite remarkable as she was an Indian lady!
We had a City Addicks meeting a couple of years ago with Lennie as guest.
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
To be honest that is really out of order on his part, off the record MEANS off the record which means no notes and obviously no recordings.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
Off the record doesn't really mean no notes, it means no publishing / broadcasting what you've heard. You are still hearing information for a reason and if you have to take notes to remember it you have to take notes. And every journo and interview subject knows (or should know) if it's REALLY off the record, don't say it.
Very true, especially the distinction between making notes and publishing.
Let me clarify this.
If I get an 'official' off the record briefing from a PR or the person themselves then you can take notes on that and report it (with no attribution).
However, if you are talking about a social event (as this was) then taking notes of what is said there is out of order, because nothing there should be used outside the room - if you don't obey that then guests will simply come along and mouth platitudes.
Let me give you an example of this, I was on a company visit to a US Fortune 500 technology firm in Chicago and we had pre-dinner cocktails at the hotel with the top management.
I was talking, in a group of four or five, with the CEO of the company (a very well known guy) and we were discussing Net Neutrality.
The guy had had a few G&T's and was getting angrier and angrier and he just came out and said, "Look, the bottom line is that Barack Obama is a fucking Muslim Socialist and he's destroying this country."
To say I was shocked was an understatement, this would have been MAJOR news to be able to out the CEO of a major US corporation as saying that sort of thing about the President of the United States.
However, it was a strictly Off The Record event and if I had gone out and reported that or leaked it to a willing journo (very easy to do) that would have been very unfair on the individual concerned - no matter how much of a fuckwit he might have been.
I ended up pulling their PR woman aside and telling her that she should probably have a word in his shell, she went ghost white when I told here - which was quite remarkable as she was an Indian lady!
So, "off the record" is fair game for a Charlton forum?!
Not digging - quite like it in fact. Could even have a good guess at the "personalities" In question, but that's not my bag.
I reckon we all say stuff, "off the record" at times. I guess the point Is that iff you say that you are relying on the discretion of others.
In all seriousness, (and I am not having a pop at Peter Burrowes) it only takes one person to break the 'code' at one of these events and they wreck it for everyone.
People should be adult enough to have a conversation with people without feeling the need to go blabbing about what has been said to all and sundry.
If speakers like Lennie are scared that if they say something from "behind the curtain" that it will leak out then what you end up with is a series of meaningless platitudes in which the speakers will tell you nothing at all - like 99.9% of football interviews do.
In fact, thinking about it, I am pretty sure that Richard Murray got really pissed off at one of these events when having agreed on 'Chatham House' rules that some smart-arse spread what he had said at the event all over CL.
I think the point being missed is that Peter Burrowes and Lennie Lawrence know each other very well - they worked together for nine years. They will have had hundreds of conversations that can't appear in the public domain and Scoop wouldn't need to take quotes at a public meeting to breach that relationship if he chose, which he wouldn't. Plus he doesn't publish anything anyway!
No matter what caveats are expressed, there is a reasonable risk in a public meeting that what is said will get repeated as gossip, if not published. The participants know that and if they don't they are naive. It's only football, after all.
I used to get stories out of these meetings, which I would check with RM were OK to use. Can't recall one occasion when I asked and he said no.
Comments
Shouldn't it be Pete-errr Burrowes?
pretty sure theres a picture of him in Valiant 500 that you'd recognise if anyone is clever enough to scan it on here
Lennie made a big song and dance about everything he says has to be off the record, if anything ever ended up on the internet or any papers he would never do anything Charlton related again blah blah
About ten mins later I looked behind and Scoop was hiding behind a post scribbling away in his notebook under his armpit. Had to ask him to turn it in and he seemed pretty put out by it.
We have lots of off the record briefings at work with politicians/executives and if someone saw you doing that then you'd have no chance of getting asked to attend again.
And every journo and interview subject knows (or should know) if it's REALLY off the record, don't say it.
Generally it means that the person giving the info is not to be quoted directly, hence you get a bit of journalistic shorthand - something like "sources close to.." or "friends of..." rather than "X said...".
If I get an 'official' off the record briefing from a PR or the person themselves then you can take notes on that and report it (with no attribution).
However, if you are talking about a social event (as this was) then taking notes of what is said there is out of order, because nothing there should be used outside the room - if you don't obey that then guests will simply come along and mouth platitudes.
Let me give you an example of this, I was on a company visit to a US Fortune 500 technology firm in Chicago and we had pre-dinner cocktails at the hotel with the top management.
I was talking, in a group of four or five, with the CEO of the company (a very well known guy) and we were discussing Net Neutrality.
The guy had had a few G&T's and was getting angrier and angrier and he just came out and said, "Look, the bottom line is that Barack Obama is a fucking Muslim Socialist and he's destroying this country."
To say I was shocked was an understatement, this would have been MAJOR news to be able to out the CEO of a major US corporation as saying that sort of thing about the President of the United States.
However, it was a strictly Off The Record event and if I had gone out and reported that or leaked it to a willing journo (very easy to do) that would have been very unfair on the individual concerned - no matter how much of a fuckwit he might have been.
I ended up pulling their PR woman aside and telling her that she should probably have a word in his shell, she went ghost white when I told here - which was quite remarkable as she was an Indian lady!
Not digging - quite like it in fact. Could even have a good guess at the "personalities" In question, but that's not my bag.
I reckon we all say stuff, "off the record" at times. I guess the point Is that iff you say that you are relying on the discretion of others.
Personally I don't trust any *unt!
In all seriousness, (and I am not having a pop at Peter Burrowes) it only takes one person to break the 'code' at one of these events and they wreck it for everyone.
People should be adult enough to have a conversation with people without feeling the need to go blabbing about what has been said to all and sundry.
If speakers like Lennie are scared that if they say something from "behind the curtain" that it will leak out then what you end up with is a series of meaningless platitudes in which the speakers will tell you nothing at all - like 99.9% of football interviews do.
In fact, thinking about it, I am pretty sure that Richard Murray got really pissed off at one of these events when having agreed on 'Chatham House' rules that some smart-arse spread what he had said at the event all over CL.
No matter what caveats are expressed, there is a reasonable risk in a public meeting that what is said will get repeated as gossip, if not published. The participants know that and if they don't they are naive. It's only football, after all.
I used to get stories out of these meetings, which I would check with RM were OK to use. Can't recall one occasion when I asked and he said no.