Sport
Communications
Chapter 16
Introduction
• Communications
– Defined as all methods used by a sport organization to
deliver its key messages proactively to a diverse group of
constituencies (‘stakeholders’)
• Stakeholders are groups and individuals that have a direct or
indirect interest in an organization.
• A dramatic shift in sport industry’s communications needs
has occurred because advances in technology have made the
world much smaller.
• Sport organizations have found that more aggressive and
strategic communication plans are vital to overall success.
History
• First outlet to cover a sporting event was the Boston Gazette
when it sent a reporter to London to cover a boxing match.
• Much of the growth in the sport industry has been caused by
the expansion of cable television and its use of sport
programming to lure subscribers.
– Substantially increased rights fees paid to sport entities
– Growth of industry has required the creation of
specialized staff positions such as marketing, game
operations, sponsorships and group sales staff, customer
services, Web site staff, community relations, and, more
recently, social media coordinator
Changing Landscape of Media and
Sport Communications
• Sport communications has undergone dramatic changes in
terms of the number of stakeholders and the methods used
to communicate.
• Media changes
– Cable television introduced the concept of 24-hour news
and later 24-hour sport programming and news channels.
– Sport radio has become one of the top formats on the
radio dial. Internet has evolved into major platform.
• Sport communications professionals work with, and
communicate to, a larger audience 12 months a year.
Changing Landscape of Media and Sport
Communications (cont.)
• College athletics
– Sports information director (SID): Covers media relations and
other communications jobs; duties include:
• Fielding calls from the media
• Coordinating press conferences
• Working with the athletic director on press releases
• Designing and writing media guides for sport teams
• Developing and writing athletic department publications
for print or the Internet
• Maintaining social media accounts (e.g., Twitter,
Facebook)
• Communications skills needed:
– HTML skills, video production, uploading and downloading,
social media
Key Concepts: Media Relations
• The media represented by categories, such as print,
television, radio, and the Internet.
• Most media outlets turn the public’s desire to know all they
can (‘pull’) about their favorite team and players into dollars
by selling more papers and advertising to increase profits.
• Wire service stories have the potential to reach the largest
audience through a distribution network consisting of
hundreds of newspaper, radio, television, and Internet
outlets (Associated Press).
• Beat reporter: Assigned by local media to maintain daily
contact with team, maintain blogs and Twitter accounts.
Key Concepts: Media Relations (cont.)
• Press release
– Basic interpretive mechanism to let people know
what an organization is doing
– Sent out to editors and reporters in hopes of
stimulating favorable stories about an
organization
– Written in the standard inverted pyramid style of
writing
Key Concepts: Media Relations (cont.)
• Press conference
– Media invited to specific location for important message
– Accommodating needs of attending media is top priority
– Provide proper lighting, sound, and electrical outlets
– Provide a backdrop with a logo, a raised platform in front
of the room with a podium
– A raised platform in the rear of the room for TV cameras
– A multibox device to allow multiple camera operators
and radio reporters to plug into the audio feed without
having to place an unwieldy number of microphones on
the podium
Key Concepts: Media Relations (cont.)
• Annual team media guide publications
– Must be created and distributed to the media
before the season begins
– Include staff directories; biographies of all
coaches, players, owners, and front-office staff; as
well as team and individual records
– Media guides now usually in digital format, not
just print
• MLB Red and Green books
• Media notes packages contain all the statistical
information and biographical information about the
two teams competing in a game.
Key Concepts: Media Relations (cont.)
• Photography
– Need capable photographer to cover events
(games, press conferences, community relations
events, etc.)
– Digital photography now the standard
– Allows quick retrieval and distribution of images
– Can be taken, edited, and uploaded to Web sites,
newspapers, and magazines for almost
instantaneous usage
Key Concepts: Media Relations (cont.)
• Video news release (VNR)
– Video has quickly become the public’s chosen media.
– Pre-produced piece that includes a written story summary
or press release that is edited for broadcast, making it
more attractive for a TV producer to air, as well as online
• B-roll
– A tape of raw footage that is not a finished segment that
would accompany a written news release
• Conference calls
– Successful way to communicate with media fast
– Will likely give way to Web conferencing
Legal Issues
• Defamation may come into play if the sport communication
professional gives inaccurate information to the media.
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
– Also known as the Buckley Amendment.
– FERPA sets the parameters for providing personal,
academic, and medical information to the media.
– Requires that student-athletes at universities receiving
federal funding consent to release academic and medical
information to non-university personnel such as college
conferences and the media.
Legal Issues (cont.)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA)
– Sets limits on providing medical information to
others.
– Excludes from the definition of “protected health
information” a student’s college or university
education records.
– Those records continue to be subject to FERPA.
Public and Community Relations
• Public relations
– All non−media-related communication efforts aimed at
delivering a direct message to the fans
• Most public relations activities are undertaken to have a
positive impact on the community, resulting in positive
media attention
• Community relations objectives include:
– The development of substantive programs to benefit
charitable causes
– Educational and outreach programs in an organization’s
area of business
New Media and the Internet
• New media industry
– Combines elements of computing, technology, content,
and telecommunications
– Creates products and services that can be used
interactively by consumers and business users anywhere
– Web sites and social media, blogs, podcasts, online video
streaming, and mobile technology
• Web site: A valuable public relations outlet.
– Allows for message to be published in the way that
organization wants it to be presented, and not filtered by
the media
– Allows an organization to distribute message and product
to a worldwide audience (i.e., e-newsletters)
The Interview
•
Interview
– A question-and-answer session employed by media to
gather information and present it to an audience.
• First item is to prepare key messages that the organization
wants to convey to the media during the interview.
• Sports communications professionals should create a list
of potential questions, including suggested responses,
before the interview.
• Most media-savvy individuals being interviewed will
complete preparatory exercises prior to interview.
Crisis Management
• Crisis
– Any non-routine event that could be disruptive to an
organization
– Unusual short-term incident that has real or perceived
negative impact
– Can cause significant stress and irreparable damage
• Crisis plan
– Identifying crises, identifying the probability of their
occurrence, creating a plan of action
• Overreaction is the most common error made during a
crisis.
• A prepared sport organization should create a crisis team.
Crisis Management (cont.)
• 10 general principles for communicating in a crisis:
1. Speak early and often.
2. Don’t speculate.
3. Go off the record at your own peril.
4. Stay with the facts.
5. Be open and concerned, not defensive.
6. Make your own point and repeat it.
7. Don’t war with the media.
8. Establish yourself as the most authoritative source.
9. Stay calm, and be truthful and cooperative.
10.Never lie.
Crisis Management: Dealing with Media
• Speculation: Hypothetical questions asked by the media;
“what if” or “suppose”
– Better not to answer
• Off-the-record comments: Dangerous practice unless very
trusting of media member
– Can be used if newsworthy
• Awareness: Need to be mindful of what is said and done
when media is around
– Can be picked up on recorders, cameras, phones, etc.
• Media training: Companies offer tips for communications
professionals and for anyone likely to be dealing with the
media
Internal Communications
• Communicating to an organization’s staff is often
overlooked.
• Daily/weekly email from the president or general manager
to include the following:
– New partnership agreements
– New hiring
– Ticket sales updates
– Status report
– Employee of month award and anything else to engage
employees
• Weekly or monthly breakfast where staff can gather in an
informal environment can be beneficial.
Integrated Marketing Communications
• Integrated marketing communications
– Symbiosis of advertising, marketing, and public relations
• Advertising
– Information placed in media by an identified sponsor that
pays for time or space
– More costly than public relations but more controlled
– Image ads: Created to reinforce an organization’s brand
imagery and highlight the quality of a service
– Call-to-action ads: Aim to encourage consumers to do
something, such as buy tickets
Integrated Marketing Communications (cont.)
• Media planning
– Choosing the correct medium to place advertising.
– Requires a thorough examination of each potential
outlet’s ability to reach the most people fitting a target
audience’s demographic profile.
– A trained media buyer, who purchases advertising for
clients, can provide the information required to make the
right decision for each particular circumstance.
• Direct marketing
– Success rates vary widely.
– Successful campaigns return a positive response from
approximately 2% of individuals targeted.
Career Opportunities
• Growth in industry
– There are currently 140+ teams at
the major league level, with
hundreds of communicationsrelated positions.
– New professional sport leagues
have increased opportunities.
– Obtaining one of these coveted
positions is as difficult as ever.
• Important to accumulate experience
in public relations, communications,
marketing, advertising, public
speaking, and journalism
Current Issues
• Emerging technology
– Expect Internet-based communications efforts to
increase.
– Web conferencing will become increasingly popular in
sports communications.
• Outside agencies
– Hiring of outside public relations firms to help develop
and administer public relations programs or special
events.
• Government relations (lobbying)
– Most organizations hire outside firms to represent their
legislative interests and other government contacts.
Summary
• Today’s sport communications professional serves
one of the organization’s most vital roles.
• The sport communications professional has direct
contact with local, national, and international media;
the general public, the coaching staff, management
staff, and the players.
• Professional opportunities are numerous and
growing, and an exciting and demanding future
awaits those who choose this as a career path.