Print journalism or media relations?

A better discussion might be "Media relations or sucking dick for crack..."

 

Whatever. : : : : :

I could make a remark here; it's way, waaaay too easy. But decorum and class will prevail.

I'll just leave it with this: in the last month, I've fielded no fewer than 7 PMs from people inquiring how I got into what I'm doing and what's the best way to move from journalism into PR.

 

Damn you, Decorum and Class!

 

There's a huge difference between corporate PR and MLB media relations.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if journalists were asking drug dealers the same thing.

And no, birdscribe, I'm not comparing pr to dealing drugs. Selling your soul, maybe.

 

It used to be mid-career journalists became teachers. Now, many consider PR for a wide variety of places (including entities they had been covering).

 

Not exactly a new trend. Jim Ferguson (Reds), Ned Colletti (Cubs), Wayne Minshew (Braves), Lee Remmel (Packers), Jack Brennan (Bengals), Tom McMillan (Penguins), Larry Brooks (Devils), Ken Nigro (Yankees), Fred Claire (Dodgers), Burt Hawkins (Senators/Rangers) were among those who made the transition from newspapers to team PR in the past.

 

Ned Colletti, currently with Los Angeles, got his start at a paper and went to PR, then to GM (after stops in between, I'm sure)?

I hope that's true. That's always been my dream career path, and to this date, I thought I'd be blazing a trail.

 

please elaborate on selling the soul thing.

 

I've never written a press release that hasn't been used by somebody. Just because it isn't something that you can use, it doesn't mean that it is worthless. Hell, you'd probably be the first person to complain if I sent out a release and you didn't get a copy of it.

As for the comments by others about all the people do in my profession is hide the truth, boy do you have an unrealistic and distorted view. Especially from a profession that more often than not publicizes the negative and ignores the positive. . . it doesn't matter that you have 200 students on the Honor Roll but have one football player become ineligible and it is front page news, making the public perception that the the institution doesn't emphasize academics.

Take the APR for example. I've seen countless stories since the total APR figures (and penalties) were released earlier in the week, each of which focused on the schools that were punished with scholarship reductions.

One week ago, the NCAA released a list of schools that had sports that ranked among the national leaders in the APR and deserved recognition for doing a good job. This release drew practically no coverage, especially at the national level.

Bad news sells papers, not good news. I get it. Just don't give me this holier than thou attitude about your profession when it is compared to mine. I may be the piano player in the whorehouse -- as Fenian told me -- but you guys have a shitty job in the building as well and have absolutely no room to talk.

</rant>

 

Count the number of threads that seem to be popping up each day about newspapers being sold, folded or newsrooms that are being, ahem, "restructured" (in other words "we're laying off a tenth of you and the other 90 percent we're cutting your pay....) and then ask yourself which direction you want to go.....

 

I see what you're saying here, but we all deal with SIDs who seem to think their job is to lie to us, cut us off when they don't like our coverage (or try to keep us away from any source with anything negative to say) and have forgotten that their job is to be a go-between with us and the athletic department.
Not all SIDs are bad people, but it does seem to be a profession more prone to deceit than ours is. You have to admit that.
I wouldn't say I'd never be in media relations, but I would be up front with them in the job interview and say, "I'm never lying. I'll say no comment, but I won't lie."
I wish more SIDs had that attitude.