Jun

22

Book Review: Baseball and the Media

Filed Under Book Review 

George Castle has covered baseball in Chicago for decades and decided to finally write a book about the state of affairs. His book entitled Baseball and the Media covers a variety of issues concerning baseball and the journalists who cover the sport. Chapters range from “The Baseball Beat Writer” to “LaTroy and Carl as Jekyll and Hyde” to “No-shows in the Press Box and Clubhouse” to “Old versus New Media.” I wouldn’t say that this is a must-read book for someone interested in sports PR, but if you want to work for a baseball team in the PR department (especially a Chicago team) than you actually must read this book.

After the jump, you can read a few excerpts from the book that related to sports public relations.

[Indians media relations chief Burt] Swain had enough when [Albert] Belle threatened Storm during the 1995 World Series. “He blamed me for having media in the dugout in the World Series? Imagine that! After the World Series, we pretty much knew he wasn’t coming back. He hasn’t talked with me since he was fined in 1996 spring training, which we paid for.

Belle helped drag down the entire Indians’ image, which is a cause for regret for Swain since Cleveland should have been one of baseball’s feel-good stores at a time of horrific labor strife. “In 1994-96, the image of our club was poor,” he said. “After he left, the image began to improve as Jim Thorne rose to the forefront. Jim became a popular player, the most accessible guy on the team.” - p. 78

“I think it hurts from a club standpoint,” [Jay] Lucas, now an Astros media-relations executive, said. “As a publicist, more of anything helps. With the total coverage of a team, the newspaper guys would have the notes, the inside-the-clubhouse information. That kind of information is still there, but it’s not like it used to be. Fewer writers are covering baseball. In-depth coverage has changed.” …

[Former sports editor of the Inland Daily Bulletin and the Times of Northwest Indiana Jim] Gazzolo remembers much more crowded press boxes in Los Angeles and Anaheim. “At a home game, you would fight for a seat at Dodger Stadium through the mid-1990s,” he said. “Now you can walk right in and sit wherever you want. It got where [Angels owner Arte] Moreno built a private box and cut off part of the press box. It didn’t matter, because there was less coverage and people anyway.” - p. 141

“Most recently, Cubs media relations director Saron Pannozzo suggested a shorter pregame session where the players are assured of being available. But one of Pannozzo’s counterparts said practicality would be an overriding issue. “If we limit it to an hour, we as PR people have to make sure all the players are in there for an hour,” Reds media relations director Rob Butcher said. “Problem is, they’re not. Part of a pro athlete’s job is to deal with the media, like it or not. You have to learn how to deal with it.” …

“Before you didn’t need control,” Pannozzo said. “Things pretty much ran okay. Things went pretty smoothly. Now the press box isn’t designed to hold them, the clubhouse is not designed to hold them. You make concessions and you do have to change. People in this town are not used to change. Things were always done a certain way. In the whole ballpark, you had made changes slowly.” At the same time, Pannozzo’s media relations staff had not been increased to handle the extra load. Interns handle what should be full timers’ duties.” - p. 257

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