NCAA self-inflicts PR pain
Name: It belongs to you. Image: None like yours (unless you’re an identical twin). Likeness: Artist draws a picture of someone with long curly hair pulled back with a distinctive headband that looks like you. Those things make your brand. They identify you better than any publicity or PR campaign could. When we say that […]
PR buzz was great, but AAF not prepared to support it
If you’re a football fan, you know by now that the Alliance of American Football, the startup spring league that generated loads of positive publicity and was headed toward its first postseason, has suddenly gone dark. With some of its eight teams at practice preparing for this weekend’s games, a letter was reportedly sent out […]
NFL commissioner Goodell let public speak for him
It’s been nearly two weeks since the egregious no-call during the Rams-New Orleans NFC Championship game, and league commissioner Roger Goodell still hasn’t spoken publicly about this and other officiating mistakes. It’s a topic that PR and other sports communications professionals should use as case study for years to come. The late-game no-call was most […]
PR and more — a look ahead
This isn’t a textbook post that if you work in the industry, have read in newsletters this month about how PR will change in 2019. I don’t know how it will change. I know what will remain though. The public and media want to know one thing from you: the truth. A most tired cliche […]
After further review … coach goes on a power trip
Alabama football coach Nick Saban helped us forget about Urban Meyer for a day. No, Saban didn’t lie, he was, in layman’s terms, a jerk. The reason I put the two in the same camp is because they violated the simplest of public-relations practices that all coaches, let alone two of the winningest in college […]
Different look, same writer
Welcome to my new blog. And my new look. In an effort to communicate the personal side of the publicity work I do, I decided to use what I identify with best — my own name. I continue to work with and consult with others who know how to do things better than I do […]
UFC tossed years of good publicity in media power play
It wasn’t long ago that decades old sports leagues admired UFC’s creativity, popularity and fan loyalty. Publicity for this mixed martial arts organization was off the charts. Now we see it as a group that may have taken all of its positive publicity for granted. During the past weekend, well-known MMA reporter Ariel Helwani was reportedly […]
Sports media – you need a website
{This post originally appeared at nationalsportsmedia.org, previously National Sportsbroadcasters and Sportswriters Association, as it made a website transfer.} Sportscasters and Sportswriters: you need your own websites Sportscasters and sportswriters that have taken buyouts or were released in media organization downsizings ask, often in a panic, “how do I stay relevant in sports media circles when I […]
Happy Birthday, Twitter!
You’re a decade old and like many pre-teens, you’re experiencing some growing pains. You’re a bit indecisive (140 characters or 10,000 characters?). You have pimples (abusive accounts remain active after people have begged you to silence harmful trolls). Like in junior high and high school, bullies abound. The Internet as a whole has made people […]
Sports PR was front-and-center in this week’s news
It was quite a week of you’re into sports PR case studies. Or just into sports. Sure, there’s that college conference basketball tournament thing. A few overtimes, buzzer-beaters and upsets are always good for a sport that seems to emerge from a regular season slumber at this time each year. [Note to those people: the […]