On Responsibility By Athletes And Media…

June 13, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As everyone gets in a tizzy about which athletes and entertainers are on twitter, facebooking and breaking news on their own websites it is important to remember that the interraction between the media and those they are covering and reporting about…whether that reporting is on CNN or CNBC or the New York Times or blogtalk radio…is still pretty important. No matter how much people can crow about the use of social media, it remains just a part, and still a small part, of effective brand management and communication for fans and the companies associated with teams, entertainment properties and organizations. People pay to go and watch games, and brands pay to be associated with the events that those people play, they still don’t pay to do much online in comparison. two cases in point about the ongoing yin and yang between media and athletes arose this past week, both involving the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The first was a report by very well respected writer Jeff Pearlman about a pretty disappointing and disrespectful encounter between a reporter and the Phils Jayson Werth. The second was the escalating incident regarding the Phils Raul Ibanez, which was explained in great detail by Joe Posnanski on si.com. So here we have an athlete being disrespectful in the workplace (Werth, who wouldn’t talk to a writer for unknown reasons) and we have an athlete having to chase the shadows of an unsubstantiated blog report about steroids, both in the same clubhouse in the same week. What comes to play in both these situations is a lack of understanding on both sides about exactly what the others job is. The athletes have to constantly be reminded by staff that the media are there to do a job, whether they like it or not, and being civil and respectful in the workplace, is part of the deal, just as it would be for any other person in the limelight. No it is not the same for people who have “regular jobs”…teachers, lawyers, businessmen. Part of their job is not being under scrutiny 24/7 by the media, but that is the unfortunate price of being an elite athlete. The second side is the responsibility of the media in this 24/7 world. “The internet” and “bloggers” are used with such disdain by mainstream media that those phrases almost become their own villianous entity, yet the media have a responsibility to chase or not chase unsubstantiated rumors as much as the athlete has a responsibility to answer questions during an access period. The media also have a responsibility to act civil and give athletes, or anyone respect as well, and sometimes that lack of distance or respect is not afforded because of the crazed deadlines put forth. So who is right in this responsibility battle? Well, no one is really right or wrong. What is right is that both sides still need each other, no matter how much one thinks they can isolate themselves. Athletes get paid because the media give them exposure to fans and brands, and the media need the athletes because without them, there would be even less jobs and events and dollars being spent on those things then there are now. Responsibility goes both ways.

Football Below the NFL…The Yin And Yang Of True Brand Value…

November 28, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

As we move past Thanksgiving and on to the higher stakes of football in the United States, a number of pieces came to light that show the value, or lack of value, that football can bring to a brand.  On the positive side, Jere Longman’s New York Times piece on Friday is a shining example of the role that high school and college football can play in a community…the value of grassroots team sports to connect a community, especially in times of crisis, and especially in small town America where the local athlete is still important, really comes through in another well done piece by one of the Times’ best writers.  On the other side, you have the What Value? question the cost of smalltime collegiate football can bring to an institution, especially in tough economic times.  That arose this week as Iona College dropped its program with nary a blip in the media, citing tough scheduling and lack of financial support from the community as the reasons.  The program, buried in the media mix in New York, (where college football outside of Rutgers’ recent success has not registered in the casual fan meter in almost 40 years), failed to bring in the ”extras” in interest (media, extra applications, ancillary sponsorship dollars) that programs on that level are expected to, even at a time when many small colleges are looking at football as a way to increase male applications from high schools.  Whether Iona handled the announcement correctly…putting out one press release on a slow news week as opposed to stating more about what they are doing for the student-athletes already in the program…is not a major issue since the story appears to have come and gone in one news cycle.  What is interesting is the failing of a collegiate sports brand to achieve what was set out, and whether the support of such efforts in tough times is worth it by an institution.  Then on another level you have the quandry Boise State is dealing with.  The Broncos, with another outstanding season and growing national attention, have to choose between the larger Poinsettia Bowl in California, which boosts the schools visibility and helps grow the program, or playing in the hometown Humanitarian Bowl, which if they don’t play may lose it’s local sponsor, since that sponsor is all tied to the local Boise State benefit.  The examples of Iona and Boise State show that trying to even get maximum brand exposure, in the small or the large market, still puts universities in a difficult spot in tough economic times.  Now would one rather have the issues Boise has, as opposed to Iona?  Absolutely. Still, as Boise goes through up and down years in the collegiate football world. the value of having the local brand support could outweigh the one time shot at national attention.  The issues may be larger scale, but the challenges are still the same.  How to get maximum value at home for fans, alumni and media (as all three pieces point out) while balancing the true value of why the sport is being played…added dollar value for all aspects of the institution while uniting a community, whether that is the local high school, the smalltown college, the emerging program, or the school in the urban setting.  Tough to achieve all, but the challenge remains.