Hitting a Home Run with the Media in Sports PR Practices

Presented by Matt Hodson, media relations assistant, San Francisco Giants by Maura Foley

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in sports public relations? According to Matt Hodson, media relations assistant for the San Francisco Giants, it is a dream come true. Hodson's success came from working with college media relations, internships and networking. All of this paid off for Hodson because at the age of 24, he is working in a job he loves.

Hodson began by discussing the fact that when working in sports PR you have to remember that there is "no way you can make everyone happy," You can't please everyone, all you can do is make as many people happy as possible.

Another very important aspect in sports PR is prioritizing. You have to decide which media serves your organization effectively. This would include local papers and TV as well as national media, Then, you must listen and stay in tune with your client. Working for the Giants, Hodson knows that some players are easy to work with and some aren't.
One situation that Hodson discussed was his first game in PR with the Giants. Two players from the Giants got into a fight with each other and the press wanted in the locker room after the game to talk to the players, The press included everyone from local papers (top priority when dealing with media) to national media. Hodson was faced with a difficult situation,

So what did he do? First, always remember that the players are your top priority. With that, Hodson asked Player A what he wanted to do, Player A responded by saying that he would not talk. Player B said he would speak to the media and Player C (witness to the fight) says he would talk, internally, but not to the press.

In the end, Player A had no comment, Player B spoke and said there was a fight, and Player C said he would talk to San Francisco media (papers and TV) only, That was how it all played out, Player C knew that talking to the San Francisco media was a better idea because all their team supporters would read the article. They wanted to address the problem and portray a positive image to their hometown field and fans who live in San Francisco,
The basic goal of sports PR is to work behind the scenes so everyone looks good, You are also responsible for producing a media guide and game notes. A very important part of the job is to reach out and make yourself accessible.

When asked is "no comment" good or bad`? Hodson replied, "This is a phrase that could go either way, In the case of Player A saying "no comment," that is common for that specific player. However, saying no comment could become a problem. Instead, say "both players wish not to speak, they are going to handle it internally." Sometimes if the players don't want to talk you can say, "He can't he has to pick up his kids." That is even better because media will accept that,

Sports PR must have crisis plans in place, A crisis plan would be needed if a strike were to occur. In this case you need to be prepared. Hodson explained the crisis plan for the San Francisco Giants.

The first step was to pick four of the best players to discuss opinions of the strike. A gag order is placed on managers, so they cannot comment on the situation, In the meantime when asked about the possible strike, have a positive continent ready such as, "Let's concentrate on baseball, Come out and see the games. Watch it while you still can."

Sports PR is full of excitement and a lot of work. The San Francisco Giants have four full-time staff members and two interns, in their PR department. Three of the full-time employees work with the baseball team and the other employee works on the broadcast schedule,

As for women in sports PR, a lot of teams have women representing their teams. "Women bring in a different angle, which is always good," Hodson said.

A typical game day begins at 10:30 a.m. and ends usually around 1:30 a.m. The day is as follows:

As you can see sports PR is an exciting and demanding career.