As an athlete, being in the spotlight is a given– so it’s good to know how to work with the media.
From the time I spent studying public relations at Florida to USC, all of my professors have said that you have to find your niche in the field. I have some friends that are interested in just non-profit work, and then I have others that like crisis management. There is a field for everyone. 😀 I would love to do something that is related to crisis management and reputation management, but relate it to athletics. I can see myself doing something like that after I am done with school. 😀
I found this interesting article on ESPN that discusses the emergence of having “sports media trainers.” What are sports media trainers you ask? Well, according to this article, sports media trainers are “specialists that work with athletic departments to determine how they would like their schools to be viewed in the press–they also work with coaches and players to make sure they best represent the school’s desired image.” I think that based on this definition, these individuals that are helping these universities should be called sports reputation managers or consultants– because they are basically managing the reputation of the university as well as their coaches and athletes.
Some of the strategies that these sports media trainers are using, according to the ESPN article, are the same that you would find in the corporate world. One in particular is practicing interviews while video taping it– and afterwords, analyze it and have good soundbites to have when asked the tough questions in a crisis situation.
Why are these media trainers needed? With the rise of internet sites that cover particular sports (for track– it would be sites like Trackshark or Dyestat), fan sites, message boards, and blogs– there needs to be someone that monitors what is being said about their client and be prepared for any type of crises that may arise. Rumors can start at any time– and people have the access to these media outlets (such as MySpace.com, Facebook, and other sites). These media trainers have to be aware of the image that these college athletes have among their peers– for example, what are they personally posting on these message boards, what kind of pictures are online on them, etc.
Universities in the past have been able to control what is said about them with newspapers, TV, and radio– but more and more people are relying on getting their athletic news from these Internet sites. In conclusion, I do believe that universities should really take managing their reputation seriously and let those with the proper training and experience help them keep their good reputation for them. 😀
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