What is PR in sports and how do I fit in?
My area of expertise is public relations, specifically focusing on public relations in the field of sports. Sports are a cultural necessity for Americans. Many traditions rely on sports, for example the football game on Thanksgiving. Many families bond over issues in sports. I was drawn to this career because sports have always been prominent on my life growing up. My brothers played football for years and I also played volleyball and basketball. My family would always seem to be able to connect over sports. I knew it was something I wanted to carry over in my professional career.
My responsibility as a sports public relations agent is to be the bridge between the media and the players. I am responsible for relaying messages from a team or player to the mass media and creating positive images for them. A major player in sports public relations, an agent known as Palmer, explains being an agent as, “cultural broker—the occupational category that works the boundary between production and consumption, between spectacle and spectator. TV and radio producers, journalists, PROs, marketing entrepreneurs and advertising agents … are part of an occupational group specializing in the production and dissemination of symbolic good and commodities—the very stuff of which mega-events are made."(L’Etang, 2006 p.389).
Public relations would be an ideal career choice for those who want to be directly connected to media outlets. It is a way for someone to be in control of a person’s image and identity to their fans. Public relations in sports is especially important because everyday the news is bombarded with rumors about players and teams. To be able to diffuse a situation with someone’s personal image and press is why this profession originally appealed to me. Ben Heffner a student at North Carolina University agrees with me, he says, “Ultimately I would love to do public relations for a professional sports team, but anything sport-related will work”(Myers, 2013). I was always told to make a career you love, that way it doesn’t feel like work.
I am passionate about public relations. Working for Harold Reynolds opened up a world to me I had only imagined in my dreams. To be a public relations agent is a lot of responsibility. The way people view players or a team has a direct relation to their agent. I learned that it is not always easy to create a positive image for some players during certain situations. Working for Harold taught me no matter how hard it gets it is important not to give up and give in to scrutiny. “The ethical gray areas include what might be termed “lying by omission” or “being factually correct while leading to a misimpression.” In both cases, there may be a commitment to “telling the truth” but perhaps not the whole truth(Lindheim, 2008)” One thing about being in public relations is knowing how to be smart with the way you present some information to the press.
Public relations’ is a constant changing career. I personally like that because it challenges you to keep up with new strategies to reach the people. You have to know the best way to get the information across to the masses and what is the most useful and appropriate way to do so. The social media is epidemic is making public relations more assessable for everyone. “Undoubtedly, social media is a powerful tool that can be used by companies in their integrated marketing communication campaigns since it enables them to interact in an informal and more personal way.”(Papasolomou & Melanthiou, 2012). Social media was always a way for me to get out information about my life, so being an expert with social media has made public relations more person for me. If I can write about my life and put information out there for people to see, it was only natural to use my skills to help clients to get out their information and market them. “The challenging structure of social media, however, affords practitioners greater opportunities to reach out to a segmented audience that had been previously neglected.14”(Khang, Ki, & Ye, 2012).
PR is a way for people to fell connected to their idols in a sense. People are naturally curious about other people’s lives. For myself sports public relations is more than just helping someone increase their fame, it is a way to show people the truth. Media is consumed by rumors and what I specialize in is making sure those rumors are outshone with the truth. My personality is outgoing and truthful, so it only makes sense I do this as a career. I have a responsibility to keep the dream of young boy who looks up to and wants to grow up and be like his favorite basketball player a dream that is pure, and not ruined by maliciousness the press often writes.
References
Khang, H., Ki, E.-J., & Ye, L. (2012, March 14). Social Media Research in Advertising, Communication, Marketing, and Public Relations, 1997-2010. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. doi:10.1177/1077699012439853
L’Etang, J. (2006, November). Public relations and sport in promotional culture. Public Relations Review. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.09.006
Lindheim, J. (2008). Public Relations Ethics Encyclopedia Of Busine. Sage.
Myers, S. (2013). Sports, public relations make ideal combination - ProQuest. Washington: Tribune Business News.
Papasolomou, I., & Melanthiou, Y. (2012, July). Social Media: Marketing Public Relations’ New Best Friend. Journal of Promotion Management. doi:10.1080/10496491.2012.696458
My responsibility as a sports public relations agent is to be the bridge between the media and the players. I am responsible for relaying messages from a team or player to the mass media and creating positive images for them. A major player in sports public relations, an agent known as Palmer, explains being an agent as, “cultural broker—the occupational category that works the boundary between production and consumption, between spectacle and spectator. TV and radio producers, journalists, PROs, marketing entrepreneurs and advertising agents … are part of an occupational group specializing in the production and dissemination of symbolic good and commodities—the very stuff of which mega-events are made."(L’Etang, 2006 p.389).
Public relations would be an ideal career choice for those who want to be directly connected to media outlets. It is a way for someone to be in control of a person’s image and identity to their fans. Public relations in sports is especially important because everyday the news is bombarded with rumors about players and teams. To be able to diffuse a situation with someone’s personal image and press is why this profession originally appealed to me. Ben Heffner a student at North Carolina University agrees with me, he says, “Ultimately I would love to do public relations for a professional sports team, but anything sport-related will work”(Myers, 2013). I was always told to make a career you love, that way it doesn’t feel like work.
I am passionate about public relations. Working for Harold Reynolds opened up a world to me I had only imagined in my dreams. To be a public relations agent is a lot of responsibility. The way people view players or a team has a direct relation to their agent. I learned that it is not always easy to create a positive image for some players during certain situations. Working for Harold taught me no matter how hard it gets it is important not to give up and give in to scrutiny. “The ethical gray areas include what might be termed “lying by omission” or “being factually correct while leading to a misimpression.” In both cases, there may be a commitment to “telling the truth” but perhaps not the whole truth(Lindheim, 2008)” One thing about being in public relations is knowing how to be smart with the way you present some information to the press.
Public relations’ is a constant changing career. I personally like that because it challenges you to keep up with new strategies to reach the people. You have to know the best way to get the information across to the masses and what is the most useful and appropriate way to do so. The social media is epidemic is making public relations more assessable for everyone. “Undoubtedly, social media is a powerful tool that can be used by companies in their integrated marketing communication campaigns since it enables them to interact in an informal and more personal way.”(Papasolomou & Melanthiou, 2012). Social media was always a way for me to get out information about my life, so being an expert with social media has made public relations more person for me. If I can write about my life and put information out there for people to see, it was only natural to use my skills to help clients to get out their information and market them. “The challenging structure of social media, however, affords practitioners greater opportunities to reach out to a segmented audience that had been previously neglected.14”(Khang, Ki, & Ye, 2012).
PR is a way for people to fell connected to their idols in a sense. People are naturally curious about other people’s lives. For myself sports public relations is more than just helping someone increase their fame, it is a way to show people the truth. Media is consumed by rumors and what I specialize in is making sure those rumors are outshone with the truth. My personality is outgoing and truthful, so it only makes sense I do this as a career. I have a responsibility to keep the dream of young boy who looks up to and wants to grow up and be like his favorite basketball player a dream that is pure, and not ruined by maliciousness the press often writes.
References
Khang, H., Ki, E.-J., & Ye, L. (2012, March 14). Social Media Research in Advertising, Communication, Marketing, and Public Relations, 1997-2010. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. doi:10.1177/1077699012439853
L’Etang, J. (2006, November). Public relations and sport in promotional culture. Public Relations Review. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.09.006
Lindheim, J. (2008). Public Relations Ethics Encyclopedia Of Busine. Sage.
Myers, S. (2013). Sports, public relations make ideal combination - ProQuest. Washington: Tribune Business News.
Papasolomou, I., & Melanthiou, Y. (2012, July). Social Media: Marketing Public Relations’ New Best Friend. Journal of Promotion Management. doi:10.1080/10496491.2012.696458