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Anal PR people...ugh

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by flexmaster33, Aug 12, 2010.

  1. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    This.

    This too. Awesome.
     
  2. Birdscribe

    Birdscribe Active Member

    As Twoback aptly put it, this is a PR person who has forgotten their role.

    Your job as a PR person is twofold: to make sure your client (team, event, person, whatever) is taken care of AND to make sure the media is taken care of properly. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive and aren't, if the PR person knows WTF they are doing.

    Naturally, there are times when the twain do not meet (controversy, etc), and in that case, your loyalty rests with your client/employer, etc.

    This is not one of those times. This is one of those times where PR drone is taking themselves far more seriously than he should.
     
  3. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Yep.

    flexmaster, I know it's not always easy and fun, but sometimes, you have to raise a little hell. You should never have this problem again.
     
  4. flexmaster33

    flexmaster33 Well-Known Member

    Oh yes, no problem on that front. I'm sending out a reminder e-mail tomorrow night, then will be in touch via the phone on Monday to see what's up.

    And soccer is different in Portland...I agree it's minor in most spots, but here it's big-time. The Timbers are USL right now and drawing 12-15K a night (the Blazer gets 18-20K)...next year they move into the MLS and I guarantee it will be one of the league's model franchises.

    Still, you'd think getting ink is a good thing, especially when it's a nice feature on a home-grown player. Geesh.
     
  5. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    I wouldn't call this anal as much as I'd just call it incompetent. It sounds like the guy didn't do his job, but I'd like to know why he canceled the interview. If he was doing it at the coach's direction, then your beef is with the coach. Still, PR dude coulda handled it better.
     
  6. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    As I said in my post, I'm not claiming it's "minor." I'm saying there's nowhere in this country, no athlete playing the sport here, who is overexposed. Landon Donovan and David Beckham might need their media to be managed, but they're not overexposed or overworked here. Everybody playing the sport in this country needs more exposure than they're getting.
    Frankly, the soccer people I've dealt with understand that reality less than most.
     
  7. Tarheel316

    Tarheel316 Well-Known Member

    What twoback said.
     
  8. Central-KY-Kid

    Central-KY-Kid Well-Known Member

    Never dealt with soccer.

    The time we had a short-lived World Basketball Association team in town, the PR person was great. It helped he used to string for my current shop.

    And when the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard came to town last year and this year - supposedly will be back next year as well - the PR guy and all of the competitors were easy to get along with.

    So there are "good guys" at non-major teams/leagues/sports.
     
  9. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    I'm surprised at a WBA team lasted more than a month. As for the soccer PR guy, unless the team is the talk of the town, it's minor.
     
  10. da man

    da man Well-Known Member

    I find this thread interesting because I recently did a feature on a local kid who was named to the MLS All-Star team and the league office was extremely helpful, to the point that it almost got annoying. They hooked me up with the player and his coach quickly, suggested others to interview, set up phoners and kept e-mailing and calling to make sure interviews were scheduled and completed and to see if there was anything else I needed (that was the annoying part). They went out of the way to make sure I got everything I asked for.

    And the MLS team I sort of cover has been tremendous as far as helping me get access to players, coaches, etc., down to giving me players' cell numbers in some cases. The PR people don't always know exactly what they're doing, but they are unquestionably making an effort and do a very good job of staying in contact and returning calls.
     
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