Sports PR

Sports PR

By Jason Bodin

A lot is required of those who want to be in public relations. Especially when trying to get into sports PR. Craig Moran, Assistant Director of Communications for the University of Oklahoma athletic department, has worked really hard to get where he is today. He knows what it takes to be apart of such a competitive and fulfilling industry.

Moran began his academic career getting his bachelors degree from Bowling Green University.

“I graduated from Bowling Green University with a bachelors in sports administration with an emphasis in communication and a minor in journalism,” said Moran.

After graduating college Moran says to getting an internship is key, if you have not already had one.

“I did my share of internships before I got hired full-time,” said Moran. “I was an intern at Bowling Green for three semesters and then I was in intern for the Toledo Storm, the Detroit Redwings minor league affiliate.”

From there he had a short stint at the University of Detroit where he was in charge of a number of different sports and responsibilities.

“At Detroit I was the sports information director for women’s soccer, softball, fencing, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s cross country and I traveled with men’s basketball,” said Moran. “From there I was hired here at OU, but I was still an intern here for a year.”

At OU Moran is in charge of soccer and baseball, while also working a number of other sports like football and basketball. But what does a day in the life of sports information director look like?

“On game day I arrive at the field two hours before the game,” said Moran. “Then I check with each radio team to make sure everything is set up properly and everything is working. From there you are getting lineups in order for both teams and making sure the media has everything.”

But that is not even the most stressful and tedious part of the job. Before each game he has to make flip-cards and game-notes.

“The game notes usually take roughly two days to produce,” said Moran.

As far as advice goes Moran had this to say.

“I think that interning is the most important,” said Moran. “You have to be willing to intern, even if it is non-paying. Going to grad school is important because it sets you apart from others.”

Another important bit of advice that a number of collegiate students hear is networking.

“Networking is key when trying to get into sports pr,” said Moran. “Especially at the collegiate level.”

Lastly, Moran says that getting the necessary training for desktop publishing software is key.

“One thing many people are lacking is having knowledge over desktop publishing software,” said Moran.

Now you know the necessary steps in order to make it in sports pr.

photo credited to googleimages via soonersports.com

PR Professionals in the News Room

PR Professionals in the News Room

By Kelley Bennett

Two years ago I had the priveledge of interning at KJRH 2NEWS in Tulsa, OK. I interned in the promotional/public relations department and had an absolute blast! I worked for a woman named Samantha Knowlton. Sam was a great influence in my PR life. She adores her job and really taught me a lot about public relations as it relates to the media.

Sam is the Public Relations/Promotions coordinator at KRJH and has been working at the station for seven years. She attended the University of Tulsa and got her bachelor's degree in English and communications. When Sam was in college, she interned with a local television station in Denver and knew she had to work in some form of media. When she graduated college, she got a job working in public relations at a small newspaper in Colorado. Although she loved that job very much, she wanted to get back to Tulsa and really focus on getting a job in television. She has been working in public relations for a total of 11 years and says she has loved every minute of it.

On a daily basis Sam can be innundated with many tasks. From writing press releases, to tracking audience viewership, to planning on-air promotional appearances, Sam does it all. She actually assignment me a press release while I was interning with her that was eventually picked up by the Tulsa World. One of Sam's favorite aspects of her job is planning the promotional events. Every year, KJRH teams up with Make-a-Wish and publicizes the applicant's send-off party and their "wish." Sam loves the creative aspect of getting to plan the parties and work one-on-one with community.

Sam's job covers all areas of public relations and Sam says she's lucky she gets to do so many different activities so she isn't sitting at a desk all day. She loves being surrounded by the creativity of working at a television station. "There is always something to do and always something that needs to be done," says Sam.

When I asked Sam what her best piece of advice was for future PR professionals, she told me "to always follow your heart and do what you love to do." She says she is so lucky to have found a job that allows her to express herself and her creativity. She also said that as a PR professional, it is important to stay on top of your tasks because PR professionals usually have a lot on their plate at one time.

I had a great time interning with Sam two years ago and it was great to catch back up with her over the interview. I would love to work in television PR someday and she taught me a lot about what it takes to make that happen! I'm thankful for the opportunity to get to work for such a talented practioner.

Photo courtesy of KJRH.com

Katy Bergman with United Way of Central Oklahoma

By: Jenny Bell

Katy Bergman is the public relations and event planning coordinator at the United Way of Central Oklahoma Chapter. Including a year and a half of internship experience, Katy has only been working in the public relations industry for three years. She has held her current title as the public relations and event planning coordinator for almost two years now.

Bergman graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis on pubic relations. She gained her internship experience during her senior year at the University of Oklahoma. She was actually the public relations intern for the United Way of Central Oklahoma. While striving to obtain her B.A. she was also interning 30 hours a week for United Way.

When I asked Bergman what she thought the essential skills were for a PR professional, I was happy to see that they were skills I have either learned or am currently learning. " A PR professional definitely needs to be proficient in Adobe and Microsoft Office," Bergman said. She talked about how these two programs are the foundation for most public relations work. " A couple other skills that I think are essential to a PR professional are strong written and verbal skills," Bergman said. Bergman also told me that having a strong sense of creativity and having the ability to be flexible in any situation are necessary to succeeded as a PR Professional. Bergman said, " The public is always changing, and you have to be able to change with them and grab their attention."

Bergman gave me several great tips of advice for future PR professionals. The three tips of advice Bergman gave me were to have internship experience, be confident and get involved in groups. When talking about internship experience, Bergman said, "You may surprise yourself with what you like and what is out there". Bergman really stressed the importance of getting involved in groups for networking purposes. " Once your graduate and begin working, networking is a must," Bergman said.

I can agree with Bergman that confidence is an important characteristic for an professional to have. Although I don't have much internship experience, Bergman made me feel better about graduating and starting my career. "As a young professional, you have a lot to offer the workplace, so don't be afraid to let your fresh opinion be known."

Kate and Her Eight Cut the Cheese

Kate and Her Eight Cut the Cheese
By Shagah Zakerion

After this year’s media firestorm over the breakup of Jon and Kate Gosselin, reality television’s stars, Kate and her eight have made a break from Jon this week when TLC dropped him from the show.

In April 2009, Jon was rumored to be cavorting around town with young women and partying late into the night. After ten years of marriage, the couple announced their separation and divorce filing on a special one-hour episode of their TLC reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8 in June.

Immediately after the episode aired, the largest concern was for the well being of the children and how the divorce would impact America’s favorite family. However, when Kate could have reacted angrily and thrown her husband under the bus, she took the higher road.

In the months following the breakup, Kate was seen looking better than ever, enjoying her children and life, and making the best of the situation. Kate even co-hosted several episodes of ABC’s morning talk show The View. And this week, she took another step toward healing and moving forward with her life in a difficult time—removing Jon from their show.

"I'm tired of smiling on the outside while I'm crying on the inside," Kate said in June. "I've been doing that for a long time."

TLC says the new show, which debuts November 2, will be Kate Plus 8. The new show will take a deeper focus on Kate's role in the family and her journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life.

"The series will continue to chronicle the Gosselin family as they go on outings and tackle daily challenges and adventures," the network said. "It will also document Kate's journey as a newly single mother raising 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins."

What could have been a devastating situation for Kate Gosselin has become a moment of strength and empowerment. Although Kate never anticipated this would happen, she realized that change was a part of life and it was time to adapt rather than give up. She took this chance to not only change but to enjoy this opportunity for a new beginning.

CHEESE: FOUND, Wu-Tang Clan Finds a New Path to Cheesy Success

CHEESE: FOUND, Wu-Tang Clan Finds a New Path to Cheesy Success

By: Kelsey Wray

Recent CNN interview with Wu-Tang Clan's, RZA reveals the untold story of RZA of how the hip-hop group almost never was.

The "Wu-Tang Clan" is a major successful hip-hop group from New York that has generated millions of fans and hit albums as well as multiple solo artists and some acting careers. The band continues to count their blessings each day, for there nearly wasn’t a hit group "Wu-Tang Clan" after one fateful day.

Wu-Tang’s chief producer, RZA now writes in his upcoming book, "The Tao of Wu" of the tragedy that took place and how lucky Method Man aka "Meth," the most recognizable rapper in the group, is to be alive. Before the hip-hop group was created, RZA claims that he saw Meth in Staten Island buying marijuana. According to "The Tao of Wu," RZA writes that he yelled to Meth across the street to come over. Not a moment after Meth came running across the street there were several shots coming from an ongoing drive-by shooter. RZA and Meth watched an innocent friend of theirs die right in front of them from being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

In 1993, one year before the "Wu-Tang Clan" was officially created, RZA also had some bad luck and was accused of attempted murder but was released and found “not guilty.” If RZA had not been acquitted, he could have potentially been sentenced to eight years of jail-time. According to "The Tao of Wu," RZA claims that if he had been charged guilty and sentenced to prison and Method Man had been killed the band would have never been created nor triumphed with their billboard topping success.

Like Haw, in the book, "Who Moved My Cheese?," RZA and Meth had their eyes reopened and their focus changed. They were both fortunate enough to realize that they were in a bad place when they were. Such as Haw was with Hem when they were in a rut. After RZA escaped imprisonment, he knew he had to take himself out of the familiar equation, which was the same bad scene with negative relationships. Meth did the same and was re-born when he survived a drive-by shooting. They both decided to take this new outlook and re-focus their future on finding success. The two once troubled young men knew that though it would be easier to stay in their comfortable familiar surroundings, the only way to find success is to find new cheese by making a new change in direction.

For more details of RZA and Meth’s stories from the past, go to cnn.com and take a look at a recent interview taken place this month with RZA. One can also check out RZA’s new book, "The Tao or Wu," which will be sold in stores October 15, 2009.

Photo taken by Elliott C. McLaughlin,cnn.com

Cancer Paient Moves On

Cancer Patient Moves On

By Aaron Vossen

Cancer Blogger moves with changing times

Drew Olanoff, twitter user @drew, is auctioning off his user name then giving the proceeds to the LiveStrong Foundation. Who do you ask would ever want to purchase this user name; none other than comedian, television host Drew Carey who bid $100,000 and if he has 1,000,000 followers on December 31, he will donate $1 million. Where ever the follower count stops so will the cash, so we can all hope that Drew will get a large following to help this young man and cancer research.

Twitter as we all know is a very famous status update website and while some may believe this sort of thing to be silly, or childish others will be using this medium to help others who will come after them much like Olanoff.

Just like from the book Who Moved My Cheese, Drew Olanoff could have been stuck to his ways and not done a thing much like Hem. Instead, he acted like Haw, thought of something clever, and helpful, to benefit research and went with it. Who would have ever imagined that Drew Carey would have seen this tweet and begin with a $25,000 bid, moved it to $100,000 and offered to take it all the way to $1 million if enough people became his followers?

This is just one example of how twitter can be used to help people and more things like this can and should be done. I think that both Olanoff and Carey should be proud of what they are doing to help cancer, and I know I will became a follower of Drew, @DrewFromTV, and I hope you will to.

Photo taken by Mike Carano

It's Time to Search for New Cheese

It's Time to Search for New Cheese

By: Katie Whittern

Today an article on the front page of the Oklahoma Daily told the story of a University of Oklahoma student that just would not take no for an answer… until he had to.

Last April, Jay Cooper, a petroleum engineering junior, was elected to serve his second term as vice president for the Housing Center Student Association. But, over the course of the summer, Cooper was removed from his position when a member of the HCSA administration realized his GPA did not meet the minimum requirement of a 2.5. Cooper believed he was treated unfairly because he raised his GPA over the summer and believed that since HCSA was not in full session until August, it should not have counted against him. When Cooper went to his advisers to discuss the situation at hand, they showed no signs of rethinking their decision. Cooper even tried to reapply for the position but the HCSA president did not accept his application or allow him an interview.

Although Associate Director of Residence Life, Johnnie-Margaret McConnell, gave Cooper 24 hours to resign before she removed him from office, he did not. McConnell had stated in an e-mail earlier in the year that officers serve from the time they are elected until the end of the next school year. Since Cooper did not meet the required GPA during the summer, McConnell had no choice but to remove him.

The President of HCSA, Hannah Moore, said the final decision was made by McConnell and there was nothing else that could have been done. Even after the decision was made, Cooper along with another member of HCSA, presented a bill to HCSA to overturn the decision, but that too failed. HCSA decided to elect Eddie Shimp, who was already elected to serve as programming director, as the new vice president for the 2009-2010 school year.

What Cooper is facing right now is a prime example of what happened to the characters in Who Moved My Cheese?" Cooper had already been a part of this organization for a year and had planned to spend another year, if not two, serving HCSA. His cheese was suddenly moved when he did not meet the grade requirement and was removed from his position. Although he did everything in his power to overturn the decision, he could not. Cooper must realize his "cheese" is gone and it is time to aspire for new and better cheese somewhere else. As the book says, "The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese."

Photo taken by Teeko Yang of the Daily

Sooners Continue to Hunt for the Big Cheese

Sooners Continue to Hunt for the Big Cheese

First Big 12 Conference game for the Sooners with their Heisman back; the real season begins with a big W.

The collegiate football world keeps spinning each week with the ups and downs of the 2009 season, and the University of Oklahoma football team is no stranger to this. First, the pre-season began with a loss at “Jerryland” against BYU; a one-point heart-breaker that left the Sooner Nation silent with the loss of Heisman-Winning quarterback Sam Bradford with a hurt shoulder. Solid wins at home against Idaho State and Tulsa gave the team motivation and fans that old feeling that the team was back into the groove of their old ways, especially with a trusty backup quarterback like Landry Jones. The Sooners had their eyes set on the final pre-season game in Miami against the then- No.17 ranked Hurricanes with the hope of pulling off a win. The loss of the Sooners’ top-receiver Ryan Broyles in addition to losing by one point hit the Sooners with the harsh reality that this year would be different; maybe not like last year, and now most likely without a chance at the national championship.


Despite two games lost this season, each only a one-point loss to ranked opponents, a good point to keep in mind is that the real season has just begun: conference play. The record is 1-0, with a win against Baylor. All the opportunity in the world still exists for the Sooners to nab the Conference Championship. Even though the loss of another starter last Saturday (offensive lineman Brian Simmons) seems like the Sooners can’t get a break this season, the team, under the leadership of Sam Bradford and coaching of Bob Stoops, can look forward knowing they have the experience of adapting to the obstacles and striving forward towards the big cheese- a Big 12 Championship.

Image taken by Ty Russell, Soonersports.com

Bryant violated NCAA bylaw

Left: Deion Sanders. Photo by CBS. Right: OSU's Dez Bryant. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant has been ruled ineligible for violating an NCAA bylaw, the school announced Wednesday.
Bryant, an All-American who is ranked ninth overall on Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent Big Board, was ruled ineligible after lying to the NCAA when he was asked if he had visited Deion Sanders' home and had worked out with him.
Oklahoma State is expected to file a formal appeal as soon as Thursday.
"We are certainly disappointed, but we are moving forward as we would with any challenge during the season," coach Mike Gundy said, according to the university.
A person close to the situation said Bryant will tell the NCAA in seeking an appeal of his ineligibility that he did in fact visit Sanders' home in Texas in May, that he jogged with him at a training facility and that they had lunch, for which he paid.
Bryant is planning to fly or drive to Indianapolis to tell the NCAA his story as soon as Monday, the source said. Sanders, with whom Bryant will say he had a personal relationship, told the NCAA that he had visited with Bryant.
The NCAA interviewed Bryant before the season and also on Sept. 11, the day before a game against Houston, asking if he had visited Sanders' home, if he had worked out with Sanders and also if he had had any interaction with agents.
Bryant told them no to all questions. Bryant is expected to say that he wasn't sure if it was a violation to visit with Sanders. Bryant has been told he has been suspended because he lied about the answers to the first two questions.
In a prepared statement, the school released the following comment from Bryant: "I made a mistake by not being entirely truthful when meeting with the NCAA. I sincerely regret my mistake and apologize to my teammates, coaches, OSU fans and the NCAA."
Bryant, a junior, has 17 receptions for 323 yards and four touchdowns this season. He caught 87 passes for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
Bryant first met Sanders at a restaurant in Dallas and they exchanged phone numbers. Sanders sends Bryant inspirational text messages nearly every day, according to a person close to the situation.
The ex-NFL player was not affiliated with Oklahoma State and the incident does not involve anyone associated with the university, the athletic program or the school's alumni, donors or boosters, the school said. The school did not provide additional details of the incident, citing an ongoing investigation into the matter.
According to the school, Bryant violated NCAA Bylaw 10.1, which addresses "unethical conduct" and includes "Knowingly furnishing the NCAA or the individual's institution false or misleading information concerning the individual's involvement in or knowledge of matters relevant to a possible violation of an NCAA regulation."
Joe Schad is a college football reporter for ESPN. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The book Who Moved my Cheese by: Spencer Johnson is about how different individuals react to getting their "cheese moved." Dez Bryant's cheese was moved when the NCAA suspended in-definitely him for the rest of the 2009 season for unethical conduct. When asked whether or not he met with ex-NFL star Deion Sanders by NCAA officials, Bryant lie and denied that he met with Sanders. Although his meeting with Sanders in not a NCAA violation, lying to NCAA officials is.
Bryant's status in the 2010 NFL draft likely won't be terribly effected by his suspension but he will missed by the Cowboys as they make a run at their first ever BCS bowl appearance. Bryant was OSU's leading receiver in the 2008 season and was on track to have another monster season this year. It is in-definte whether Bryant will be able to participate in any games this season but the final verdict will likely be reached by Monday.