From Sports Illustrated
Analysis by Lindsay Butler in SRM 334 (section 2)
The Oklahoma State scandal is something we have seen time and time again in the world of college level sports. Players receiving payments or benefits of some sort as an incentive to push them to do their best and win is not a dirty secret kept by few, but instead a major issue on the rise, specifically in football. Although, Sports Illustrated shocks its audience when in a five-section spread they expose not only cash rewards but also drug use, female hostesses used for sex, and the falsifying of grades. With numerous players coming forward with allegations and accusations made against boosters, professors, and coaches the media became the number one information source for curious readers.
Sports Illustrated broke the story in a way that would draw reader’s attention and keep them wanting more. Disguising an over talked on issue as something much more they released the story in sections with each headliner completely different from the last and never giving readers a conclusion telling them to wait for the next section. A cleaver marketing strategy that worked just how the SI team planned. Whether you believed the stories being released or thought it was a load of junk you would still read the story upon it being released to judge the information provided. After the fifth section finally hit the public, media sources of every kind began examining the content and looking to interview any party associated with the scandal.
ESPN reacted immediately with an article that questioned the credibility of those quoted in the SI release and pulled facts that disproved multiple claims made within it. With two of the largest sports outlets in the nation touching on the issue Oklahoma all of a sudden became a hot commodity and was receiving media coverage from every angle. If you hadn’t had the opportunity to read the full story on Sports Illustrated you could easily gain access to it through a link posted at the end of the article released in response to it by ESPN. In the modern world we live in today the internet is a powerful source and this scandal was not going to escape from it. Looking toward social outlets such as Twitter we see not only the accused players responding to the article but news sources tweeting quotes from interviews with those affected by its accusations. Potentially one of the most impacting articles in response to SI’s was from Kansas City Sports where they finally said what no one else had, “who cares”. Quotes from this particular article spread like wildfire through short clips posted on YouTube, and once again Twitter. As fans and spectators we crave the most up to date news on our favorite teams and wait for bad exposure for our least. It is the job of members of the media to exploit stories such as the scandal in Oklahoma State. The media touches the lives of nearly every citizen daily and it is their responsibility to find a way to make us stop and look at the stories they provide us with. The headlines chosen by Sports Illustrated were short and to the point so readers knew exactly what that portion of the article would be about before reading the first sentence. By breaking their story into sections SI also ensured that the interest level of readers would stay high until they had all the dirty details and could make a firm opinion of their own. Within the world of sports, communications is critical for the reason that it can either benefit you or you can become victim to its wrath but you can’t escape it. As a student with intentions of working in the field of sports I believe having the knowledge of dealing with media is extremely important for a successful career.
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Analysis by John Boitnott in SRM 334 (section 2)
The five parts series of Sports Illustrated’s investigation into Oklahoma State’s football program included over 60 interviews of former players who talked about their experience while at the school. The five series addressed the money, the academics, the drugs, the sex, and then the fallout faced by many players after they were no longer on the team.
This story was investigated and reported by Sports Illustrated, arguably the nation’s most popular sports magazine. Whether through television channels, websites, social media, or in this case print media, the sports stories we talk about and discuss with the people around us are all influenced by the media and help shape our views of the issue. While these days ESPN seems to always be the ones that come out with the breaking news of what is going on in the sports world, it was interesting that Sports Illustrated (SI) was the first one to reveal the story. Most everyone in our class seemed to think that print media will completely die off within 10-15 years and is becoming less relevant to how we find out information. But with SI being the first to find out and tell us the information on such a huge story it showed that print media may not be as far behind digital and social media as some think. Because of a media source breaking the story the NCAA will most likely conduct their own investigation in the matter soon, and if SI didn’t shed light on the matter it is very possible the NCAA would not have found out about all the infractions and violations.This article was relevant to the course because it focuses on things we have discussed during class, such as how the players were interviewed and also how media loses trust when coaches or administrators do not communicate with the media. Both coaches Miles and Gundy would not talk about the subject when SI asked to interview them about what they knew, which led to the tone of the article having a lack of trust in the coaches due to their non-compliance when asked about the possible infractions their players may have committed.
From SportsBusiness Journal, USA Today, and Forbes
Analysis by Griffin Waugh in SRM 334 (section 1)
Recently, Twitter hired former Professional Bowlers Association CEO Geoff Reiss to be the head of sports partnership. This comes at the same time as Twitter filling its initial public offering. As a publicly tradable company, Twitter is estimated to be worth $12 Billion and wants continue grow its connections with other entities. Reiss will now help Twitter to gain a larger hold on various media companies. They already have deals with media outlets like ESPN and Fox Sports. Reiss has an experienced background with creating major sporting deals, such as when he convinced ESPN to extend its contract with the PBA as well as to show more bowling telecasts on the ESPN family of networks throughout the year.
The second article I read dealt with how Twitter has set itself up for success. Twitter has based its profitability off of its advertising revenue and its connections with other entities. So far Twitter has already begun partnering with content providers like ESPN, Turner Sports, MLB Advanced Media and many more. By creating this partnership with these companies, Twitter can then help to readjust the way these providers deliver their material. We have seen this already with ESPN on college football game days. Instead of just posting game casts, drive summaries and stats on their main website. They now post short clips of all the big plays going in the football games on that particular day.
This growth of Twitter has changed the media and the way we receive content forever. We now live in an information driven society that constantly is looking for the fastest and easiest to get what we want. These two articles provide us with another example of just that. As Twitter continues to grow and partner with content providers they will help change the way we receive this information. Geoff Reiss may be a key cog in helping to create this shift in the way content providers get their information out quickly and in short bits. This is similar to what we have seen in class with other forms of media. Radio at one time was the primary way in which people heard about sports. That slowly changed with the rise of the television and society becoming more image driven. As Twitter continues to grow its capabilities and connections, we should see a change in the way media provide their content. Not to different from a short 140 character tweet, the information we receive on sports will become shorter and more highlight driven. In order to satisfy the needs of sports fans.
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Analysis by David Hoye in SRM 334 (section 1)
Twitter has become one of the most popular websites visited today, with over 550 million users. In the sports world, millions of fans follow their favorite athletes, coaches and reporters, to receive up to date information and entertainment throughout the day. Just like any social media site, not all good comes from using the account. Many athletes, college specifically, have gotten into trouble with their tweets. Dealing with criticism has been difficult as student-athletes receive more recognition and stardom. Any fan can tweet at these college athletes, expressing brutal opinions on their performance.
An article in USA Today focuses on Willie Cauley-Stein, a University of Kentucky basketball star that ended up deleting his twitter account, resulting from the negative tweets directed towards him during an underachieving freshman season (Auerbach). This happens all the time in college athletics. Some coaches at major programs don’t even allow players to tweet during season. This is done in a way to protect them from any distraction or emotional and mental harm they’d receive from fans. Assistant Professor Blair Browning from Baylor said, “(Twitter) can be a really constructive, positive tool but we need to train and educate our student-athletes instead of putting all this money toward being watchdogs."
This really questions the fact if athletes should have Twitter at all. It can bring a lot of negativity to a player, team, and even university with the things that are said on timelines across the globe. It will be interesting to see if Twitter will be used continuously in the future if such controversy keeps occurring.
From The Seattle Times
Analysis by Danielle Poplawski in SRM 435 (section 2)
On September 15, 2013, the Seattle Seahawks set the Guinness World Record for the “loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium” at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks were playing their rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. This record-setting event was organized by the group Volume 12 and was not directly related to the Seattle Seahawks organization.
Seahawks fans pride themselves as being the loudest in the NFL. The crowd at the stadium is known as the 12th Man. Volume 12 is a group specifically for those who consider themselves to be a part of the 12th Man fan base for the Seahawks.
In July, Volume 12 announced that they would attempt to set the world record. To excite fans, the group held a tailgate outside of the stadium. The previous record of 131.76 decibels took place at Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul on March 18, 2005 during a soccer match. Seattle’s CenturyLife Field broke this record twice in the same game. The first time in the first quarter with a level of 131.9 decibels while the second time took place in the third quarter with a level of 136.6 decibels.
To market the event, Volume 12 sent information, such as news releases, out to the media. In addition to this, they also made a YouTube video and posted on their various social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. The week before the game, Sunday Night Football discussed the record-setting event and just how loud they thought it would be. The Seattle Seahawks have added the world record to their 12th Man page on the official website.
Holding the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium will likely bring in some spectators who wish to see what all of the hype is about. Because of the 12th Man pride in Seattle, it also gives fans another commonality; thus uniting them more and providing the fans with more motivation to attend games rather than watch them on television. In a sense, a large part of the Seahawks game-day experience is the crowd, which requires a person to attend the game at CenturyLink Field.
The media attention gained from this event also brought attention to the Seahawks and their 12th Man. It is free publicity for the team. While discussing the world record, media outlets are also likely to discuss things such as the team’s record and other information. Volume 12 has also been able to gain from this event. The attention from media outlets has helped to spread their name and who they are. I believe that the Seahawks organization made a good decision in not being directly a part of the record-setting event. First, they were able to save time and money on promotions. Volume 12 took care of this all themselves and the Seahawks were still gaining attention. Secondly, by not becoming involved, it was less likely for the NFL to be able to intervene and cancel the event for any reason. Finally, by not putting their name on the event, the Seahawks organization can boast of the accomplishment that took place in their stadium without having to directly answer to any backlash.
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Analysis by Eric Brent in SRM 435 (section 2)
In the Seattle Times article “Hawks fans ready for record roar,” the author discusses the fans of the Seattle attempting to set the record of the loudest crowd at a sports stadium. This was set to take place on September 15, 2013 at the Seahawk’s home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. All of the planning and execution was put on by Volume 12, which is a direct link to Seattle’s “12th Man” fan base. Joe Tafoya, co-founder of Volume 12, sent in an application without thinking too much of it, but a week and a half later to his surprise Guinness World Records was on board. Even with having knowledge of the approval the Seattle Seahawks organization itself continued to keep its distance from the event. No marketing or promotion of any kind was put on or linked to the organization.
At a time where it is difficult to get fans to come to experience a game at the stadium rather than sitting at home watching from their television, the Volume 12 found a way. Once Volume 12 found out Guinness World Records was on board, advertisements were placed on the Volume 12 social media sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter), news releases were completed, YouTube videos were made, and NBC Sunday Night Football even mentioned the plan a week prior to the Seahawks Sunday Night Football game. The game not only sold out, but Seattle had its largest crowd ever a record breaking 68,338. This is the first time I have seen a marketing strategy involving fans setting a Guinness World Record, and it gave each person the opportunity to be a part of history. Not too many people can say they have been a part of breaking a world record.
This relates to the course due to the fact of all the conversation and discussion about how can we get people to the games and stay at the games and what are some unique ways to market a game. The opportunity to set a record caused the Seahawks to break another record that was not even being promoted, which was having the largest crowd attendance in Seattle Seahawks history. The reason I say it got people to stay at the game is because after the record was broken earlier in the game, it was not until the third quarter where the Seahawks fans set the highest mark of 136.6 decibels. From a marketing standpoint everyone involved indirectly or directly received great exposure. Seahawk’s organization probably benefited the most indirectly due to it being at their stadium and their team but having nothing to do with the planning. Volume 12 benefited the most directly because all of the planning and organizing was through that organization. NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Guinness World Records also received some good marketing because the game was held on NBC and Guinness was the reason Seahawk’s fans had this opportunity.
