Sports PR - Importance in Communication

Sports PR

My dream job in Public Relations is in the sports world, serving as a broadcaster, sports agent, or media relations/public relations communicator. This field is a fast-paced, constantly growing industry that requires quick thinking and an “on-your-toes” approach.

Because the sports industry provides constant changes and unpredictability, there are bound to be several crises that occur. Crisis management will be a key public relations practice that should be implemented in my line of duty. In “Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 9th Edition,” by Andrew J. DuBrin, he identifies several strategies in handling conflicts before they happen. Some of his preparation advice includes confronting the problem constructing criticism, cognitive restructuring, negotiating and bargaining, and combating sexual harassment.

Another important aspect my job will entail is time management. With an on-the-go atmosphere, time is a limited resource. Career-Success-For-Newbies.com offers the importance of time management for career success. The efficiency of your work is related to the optimum use of your time, which can offer a competitive advantage over your coworkers. When you practice good time management, you often can lower your level of stress by not procrastinating. Your performance will be better acknowledged by your superiors.

Effective communication is also a key aspect in the sports world. As it is often changing, constant communication is a must. 7 keys to good communication provided by Harriet Meyerson, Top7Business, are as followed:

1. Personal contact is important.


2. Develop a network.


3. Always be courteous in your communication with others.


4. Be consistent and clear in workplace communications.


5. Compromise decreases the tension associated with conflict.


6. You cannot hold a person's interest if you have nothing interesting to say.


7. Listen to what others are saying and show interest in the conversation.

Overall, in any job or career in public relations, it is important to remember the code of ethics and practice morals and values when dealing with employers and coworkers. The PRSA Member Code of Ethics is a good guideline to follow when in question about a difficult decision.

Sports PR: A Dream Career

By: Holly Gibson



A growing and exciting field in Public Relations is coming forth and taking the field over with a storm—Sports PR. For die-hard sports fans in the journalism field, there couldn’t be a better match for a career opportunity. There are many different positions one could choose in the field, the most glamorous and prestigious being the Sports Information Director, or SID for short.

An SID can work for college or professional sports teams. He or she is basically the liaison between the team’s program and the mass media, just like any PR practitioner is between their company and its publics. Their position includes a wide range of job tasks: holding and organizing media conferences, dealing with all of the team’s publicity, writing press releases and newspaper stories, campaigning, publications (media guides, promotional vehicles), game management and supervision, handling crisis situations and compiling statistics and sports data.



Colleges and universities all over the nation are starting to recognize the growing interest in the field of Sports PR. Journalism and Mass Communication departments are starting to offer courses dealing with the specifics of being an SID. One of those colleges is the University of Oklahoma, where SID Kenny Mossman teaches an exciting course where students learn hands-on the duties and responsibilities of Sports PR practitioners.

The sixteen-week JMC course at OU teaches students the ins and outs of the Sports PR world, with a focus on intercollegiate athletics—right from the horse’s mouth, so-to-speak. Mossman explains all of the aspects of his job as the SID at OU, and is able to give in-depth insight to the duties he performs on a daily basis. Students get the chance to visit the football stadium’s media rooms to see where all of the hectic action occurs on game days. Their midterm assignment is to creatively compile a campaign for a college sports athlete. There is even a mock crisis management situation and press conference where students test their PR knowledge and skills in a real-life setting.

The business of Sports PR is difficult to get into at first, as most professionals start out as graduate assistants or interns. Experience is required in writing, research, publications (and publications programs such as Adobe InDesign and PhotoShop) and campaigning. Sports Information Directors have a difficult job, many working 7 days a week and traveling a substantial amount, but for a true sports fanatic, it is absolutely the definition of a dream job.



For information on job openings, visit the NCAA website at http://ncaa.thetask.com/market/jobs/sports_information/index.php.


Links:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall01/latimer/ -- Sports PR
http://www.jobprofiles.org/eduunisports.htm -- Sports Information Director
http://www.hr.niu.edu/employment/specs/spec1047.pdf -- job tasks
http://soonersports.com/genrel/mossman_kenny00.html -- Kenny Mossman
http://www.cmiatl.com/news_article43.html -- crisis management
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/pdfs/200101/20010108idsnprof.pdf -- Adobe InDesign