The Oakland Athletics are seeking a qualified candidate to work as a part-time seasonal assistant in the public relations office during the 2010 season. The seasonal assistant, who will receive a $6500 stipend for the entire 2010 season, is expected to work between 8-10 hours a day when the team is at home. This position begins on March 29 and concludes at the end of the baseball season.

Duties include, but are not limited to:
• Produce the daily Minor League Report
• Produce daily game chronology document for post-season media guide
• Assist in production of daily game notes
• Produce daily post game notes during each home game
• Assist public relations staff in all game day and press box operations
• Facilitate media requests in press box during game
• Copy and distribute game notes, statistics, lineups, box scores and additional game day information
• Responsible for various written and photo projects for the A’s website
• Assist the media relations staff on specific community and off-the-field events
• Other public relations duties and research projects as assigned

Qualifications:
• College degree preferred
• Basic knowledge of baseball, baseball statistics and official scoring
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word and Excel)
• Self starter and multi-task oriented with minimal supervision
• Excellent public speaking, customer service, interpersonal and decision-making skills
• Organized, able to follow directions and meet all deadlines established
• Ability to work flexible hours including nights, weekends and occasional holidays
• Professional image and demeanor

Instructions to apply:
• Qualified applicants must submit a resume and cover letter no longer than one page and specific to this internship position. Please include your goals and what you bring would bring to the A’s that makes your candidacy unique. Please include any supplemental writing samples at this time.
• All applications must be received by January 15, 2010.
• Due to the large number of submissions we may not be able to respond to each applicant. We will contact you should we wish to schedule an interview with you.

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Yes/No: Do you have local housing available between the months of March and October?

SUMMARY: The New Media Webmaster is responsible for Managing and driving development of our content-rich online properties. The incumbent for this position is expected to model the following practices on a daily basis:

• Demonstrated alignment with the company’s vision, mission and core values, and;
• Selling the brands, products, and services of the organization, and;
• Ongoing self-development.
• Collaboration with key internal/external resources.

Key Responsibility Areas (KRA’s):

• Actively participates in Team Member sales skills training and development opportunities and Team Member sales activities.
• Responsible for designing of internal/external company web pages, including graphics, animation, and functionality.
• Develops web page infrastructure and applications related to pages with more advanced graphics and features.
• Ensures web server and site technical performance.
• Develops prototypes and implements web pages, CMS templates and views.
• Reviews, spell-checks, error checks all web content to ensure high level of quality of the published pages.
• Performs all day-to-day maintenance of web sites, including CMS software updates.
• Responsible for graphic design and site layout (through the Adobe Creative Suite or alternatives): everything from wireframes to pre-creative to accessibility concerns.
• Provides video solutions for content management systems.
• Writes structured, validated, and documented HTML code for ease of maintenance so that the code can be read and understood by others.
• Keeps current with web development and publishing technologies.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• BA/BS in Computer Science and 3+ years of professional web development or equivalent work experience.
• Expert knowledge of HTML & CSS.
• Proficiency in working with PHP and MySQL, JavaScript, X/HTML5, CSS 3, XML, AJAX, J2EE, Web 2.0, AJAX, Ruby on Rails.
• Advanced knowledge and hands-on experience of the latest web standards.
• Proficiency with WordPress, video editing, specifically Final Cut Pro.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Sharepoint, Google Analytics, Facebook, FriendFeed and Twitter APIs.
• Using creativity to innovate new products (widgets, wizards, tools, controls) to enhance Web user experience.
• Exposure to other server-side scripting languages such as JSP, ASP, CFM.
• Strong Flash animation and ActionScript programming required.
• Experience working with a variety of web APIs (RESTful or otherwise).
• Understanding and demonstrated adaptation of cross-platform, cross-browser compatibility concerns Professional Web application development experience in building database driven applications and Web sites.
• Intimate knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, as well as the Apple Mac environment.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines while exhibiting exemplary time management skills and task prioritization.
• Meticulous attention to detail.

The role of Scott Peyron & Associates is to keep Boise State in the forefront of the minds of the media. It does not lobby voters or coaches. It does email a weekly list of talking points regarding Boise State’s accomplishments to members of the national media. It also sets up interviews for WAC commissioner Karl Benson and prepares statistical information for him to use to make a case for the Broncos. …

“We made sure to let the national press know that a win against the 16th ranked BYU, which is now unranked, is not as strong as Boise State’s signature win against No. 16 (AP) Oregon, which is now ranked eighth,” Cole said. “Those are the types of things that dictate what our positioning is in terms of reminding media and getting stats in front of [the media] just so they can be honest and not ignore Boise State.”

When you think of the value that playing in a bowl game (or March Madness) can bring to a university like Boise State, it’s easy to understand why they would want to promote their football program with the hopes of getting into a bowl game. What tactics do you think this PR firm should use to best promote the WAC, particularly the Boise State program?

JOB SUMMARY:

The Community Relations Manager is responsible for the implementation and progression of community outreach programs for the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Pete Times Forum. This position will report to the Executive Director of the Lightning Foundation and work with the Lightning Foundation, Corporate Communications and Public Relations.

DUTIES AND PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversee existing community programs which the Tampa Bay Lightning lead
• Develop and cultivate community initiatives in the Tampa Bay area
• Actively seek opportunities to promote and align the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Pete Times Forum in the Tampa Bay area
• Manage and track an organization wide Tampa Bay Lightning master event calendar
• Oversee all donation requests made to the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Pete Times Forum
• Handle all Tampa Bay Lightning player fan mail
• Assist with the coordination and interface with Lightning player, coaches, alumnus and executives at community appearances, autograph signings and events
• Execute game night (auction) activities and assist with Player Charity Ticket Programs
• Assist with fundraising, events and programs conducted by the Lightning Foundation
• Help maintain a Foundation and Community Relations database
• Work with Executive Director’s calendar
• Support the Lightning Family Association and its endeavors

SKILLS:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• An upmost professional demeanor
• Individual must be extremely organized and detail oriented
• Ability to work long hours, weekends and holidays while prioritizing multiple tasks in a deadline driven environment
• Proficiency in MS Office products (Outlook, Word and Excel)
• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of non-profit, sports, public relations or marketing experience

Daytona International Speedway is the home of “The Great American Race” - the Daytona 500. Though the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup event garners most of the attention - as well as the largest audience in motorsports - the enormous 480-acre motorsports complex boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe, thus earning it the title of “World Center of Racing.” In addition to eight major weekends of racing activity, rarely a week goes by that the Speedway grounds are not used for events that include civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo “shoots,” production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training. We are currently accepting applications for the position of Public Relations Intern for Spring 2010.

This position will report to the Manager of Media Relations and will perform duties assigned by the Media Relations/Communications team.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Assist with pre-race media center preparations
• Assist with pre-race press conferences
• Assist with writing of press releases
• Assist with developing talking points for radio, print and television interviews
• Assist with coordinating logistics for advance media events
• Update the Speedway web site with press releases, photos and video
• Attend event planning meetings leading up to events
• Assist with event day duties including execution and set-up/teardown during each of the following events: The Roar before the Rolex 24, NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest, Rolex 24 at Daytona, Speedweeks at Daytona, Daytona 200 Week By Honda

This is a non-paid internship. Spring interns are to start January 4, 2010 and will run thru the second week of March.

Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a degree in Communications
• Must be organized and detail oriented
• Knowledge of basic computer skills (Microsoft Office, Adobe, etc.)
• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends and holidays

Since there is a lot to this story, let me break it down for you by bullet points:

• The Calgary Flames were the first organization to be mentioned by the media, but the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors (NBA) were later added to the discussion.
• The Flames’ players were given the opportunity last Friday to take the vaccine. The players were not required to do so by the team, but it sounds like the majority if not all of the team took the shots. The same players did not realize that they were “jumping” in line or even how many people were waiting for a vaccine.
• It appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ players were actually the first to receive the vaccine last Tuesday after a home game, but word did not get out until two days after the news about the Flames.
• The provincial government is particularly upset, which the Globe & Mail suggests is due to the fact that they were already taking a lot of heat for how they have handled this vaccine allotment and seeing pro athletes get the vaccine over pregnant women and children just added to the flames.
• High at-risk individuals are to be given the vaccine first and with the low supply should be the only ones to receive the vaccine in Canada right now. These individuals would include “children between the age of six months and five years, pregnant women, elderly people and health-care workers.”
• So if athletes don’t fall under that umbrella, how did they get the vaccines for the team? Toronto says they did not go through improper means to do so and the Flames seconded that statement.
• The Calgary Herald later reported that a mid-level manager in the province health superboard was fired after it was discovered he was why the Flames jumped up in the queue line: “Cooney said the manager was the most senior staff member involved, adding the person was senior enough that the Flames would have no reason to believe the decision to go ahead with the shots was inappropriate.” A second worker was also fired in the connection to this H1N1-Gate as some are calling it.
• A column in The Toronto Star says that it’s no surprise professional athletes got preferential treatment over the Average Joe, which gets at the heart of this controversy and why this is such a PR problem for the teams.
• The Ottawa Senators made it clear by Nov. 5 — the day that news about the Maple Leafs broke — that they had not received the vaccine yet and they would be waiting in the queue with everyone else and that the shot would not be a requirement for its players.

So how did these different sports teams respond to this unique controversy?

On Saturday, the Flames held a meeting with season ticket holders “to answer their questions about members of the team receiving the H1N1 vaccine ahead of high-risk Albertans.”

Flames president and CEO Ken King said he wanted to hold the meeting so season ticket holders could get all the facts about what happened.

“People were supportive. They wanted to understand things more. It [the meeting] served its purpose. They wanted to get a better understanding of what took place, the timing, how it took place, rationale, and that type of thing,” he said.

The Globe and Mail briefly addresses a release put out by the Flames and referenced a quote of the team president:

The Flames released a statement and answered questions but never acknowledged any wrongdoing. “We sought counsel and guidance on this matter and determined it appropriate given the facts available at the time,” the statement said pointing out it had all been arranged through Alberta Health Services. “We accept full responsibility for our actions and decisions.” …

Flames’ president Ken King was adamant in his defence of the players saying, “Our players did not seek to avoid a line-up. They didn’t ask for special attention, they followed the direction of our physicians, they followed the organization’s direction.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs also opted to use a release to address the issue and president/GM Brian Burke would not speak publicly per The Globe and Mail:

Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke refused to comment aside from an official statement released by the team. The Leafs and Raptors spokesmen insisted the teams did not receive the vaccination outside the usual channels and did not jump any lines at medical clinics. They also said the close contact between teammates and opponents plus the heavy travel schedule make infection a high risk for sports teams.

“Any vaccine supplies received were obtained through normal distribution and no preferential treatment was requested nor received,” Leafs director of media relations Pat Park said in a statement. …

“We’re not going to comment on medical stuff. That’s really not our cup of tea to talk about,” said Leafs forward Matt Stajan, who also declined to say whether the players were ordered by management not to talk about it.

Leafs head coach Ron Wilson said the issue was “an internal matter.”

The Vancouver Sun spoke with media relations officials for the many Canadian NHL teams:

Donald Beauchamp, vice-president of communications for the Montreal Canadiens, said to date none of the team’s players have been vaccinated.

“There hasn’t been one player vaccinated and we will comply to the letter with the health services’ directives and whatever they tell us to do,” he said from Boston, where the Canadiens prepared to play the Bruins. …

Ottawa Senators spokesman Phil Legault also said no players have received the vaccine. “We are waiting in line just like everyone else here in Ottawa,” he said. “They’ll wait in line until it’s their turn.”J.J. Hebert, media director for the Edmonton Oilers, said players are waiting to be vaccinated. “At this point we are still waiting direction from our team medical staff,” he said.

A spokesman for the Vancouver Canucks said the team is “taking every precaution possible to protect our staff and players from illness. . . We will provide players and staff with the option of flu shots at the appropriate time.”

The Manager of Communications will work closely with the VP of Communications to expand Fire’s day to day media coverage in the Chicago market and establish credibility with national media.

Job Responsibilities:

• Serve as primary contact for day-to-day media inquiries
• Build/maintain relationships with reporters who cover Fire day to day and make weekly check ins with sports program directors
• Develop content for various Fire publications (Freekick, game day rosters, media guide and Insider as needed) with assistance from interns
• Work in coordination with the VP of communications on developing and pitching stories to national and local media
• Oversee press box operations on game day
• Assist VP of communications with New Media opportunities and content development as needed
• Serve as primary contact with Spanish language media
• Manage all media contact lists

Day to day media inquiries:

• Primary point of contact for reporter email and phone inquiries
• Proactively communicate day to day with media about coverage opportunities, including practice, pre-game stories, game storylines, community relations events, etc.
• Pitch, develop and deliver video and audio content to reporters and program directors with assistance from interns

Content development for Fire publications:

• Develop ideas with the VP of Communications for content in various publications including Freekick, Insider and game day rosters and draft content with assistance from interns

Media pitches:

• Develop ideas week to week for pitches to media in coordination with the VP of Communications.
• Make pitches to the media and develop any research or storyline points for pitches.

Game day responsibilities:

• Responsible for all credential and game-day media relations needs w/assistance from interns
• Serve as official statistician and oversee stats crew and game day volunteers
• Facilitate HT or post game broadcast interviews when needed
• Draft post-game release
• Serve as primary media representative on road trips

New Media:

• As needed, assist VP of Communications with development content for website, en fuego, twitter, Facebook and other New Media mediums.
• Post video and photos to en fuego and website
• Update all roster information including player bios, stats, etc.

Spanish media liaison:

• Serve as primary contact with Spanish language media for day to day inquiries, pitches, etc.

Media lists:

• Update all media lists (email lists, contact lists, etc) on a regular basis with assistance from interns

Other duties/responsibilities:

• As assigned by VP of Communications

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Bilingual language skills (English & Spanish) required
• At least three years experience of public relations experience
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong understanding of the game of soccer; including plays, stats and history required
• Prior experience with posting content on websites and social media sites
• Willingness to learn in a fast paced environment
• Ability to work flexible hours, including but not limited to evenings, weekends and holidays
• Strong computer proficiency

Please submit your cover letter (including salary requirements) and resume for consideration.

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Do you have a Bachelor’s degree? yes/no
2. Do you have bilingual language skills (English & Spanish)? yes/no
3. Do you have at least three years experience in public relations? yes/no
4. Do you have a strong understanding of the game of soccer? yes/no

SUMMARY

The San Jose Earthquakes are seeking a Digital Content Manager to oversee content and operations for the team’s digital products and initiatives.

DESCRIPTION

The Digital Content Manager will oversee all content for the team’s website and act as an editor for the website. This person is responsible for defining the tone, pace, look and feel of the team’s content, as well as coordinating all logistics and communications of editorial publication on the team’s web site and other digital platforms. Position will report to the Senior Director of Broadcasting and Communications.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for overseeing the editorial/programming vision of the team’s digital products.

• Help coordinate logistics of scheduling, staffing, resource management and editorial prioritization.

• Ensure editorial delivery is consistent with the team’s overall strategy, time, cost and quality standards.

• Creatively find ways to boost the team site’s traffic and increase user activity.

• Work with PR staff and multimedia coordinator to conceive, design and launch new editorial features.

• Able to quickly write (and assign) time-sensitive stories as well as lengthier features.

• Skilled at spotting developing news trends and is a natural networker, building relationships within soccer blogosphere.

• Develop sports editorial content, including editing, quality assurance and proofreading.

• Design web banners, as well as ads and collateral material.

• Support marketing and PR departments on design needs.

• Other duties as assigned.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• All applicants should have a good knowledge of the League and a comprehensive knowledge of their team.

• This position is for individuals with strong written and verbal communication skills. The individuals should possess strong time management skills and the ability to multitask.

• Must understand web analytics and traffic patterns.

• Experience in an editorial organization or website. Prior experience in online media preferred.

• 3+ years experience editing and writing–preferably in web and/or other short form content.

• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree in journalism or related field preferred.

• Ability to work as part of a team in a multi-media environment and work well with others including senior management.

• Strong competency in web content management. Fluency in Microsoft Office, Mac/PC software, and web/new media technology. Familiarity with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, HTML a plus.

• Team management skills.

• Self-motivated, positive and collaborative attitude.

This individual must have a strong understanding of the web and an aptitude for technology, as the primary responsibility for this position will be the management of website content for the San Jose Earthquakes. This position is an amazing growth opportunity for any candidate looking to join a highly creative sports media organization.

• IMG recently added hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin to its agency’s roster. Sports Business Daily points out that this signing does not mean IMG is getting into the hockey world.
• Eye on Sports Media explains the pros and cons of Twitter lists. E-Media Tidbits of Poynter Online shows how journalists can use these lists, which helps PR professionals to use Twitter to reach journalists.
• Sports leagues and movie production studios have partnered up to build advertising relationships.
• The Anaheim Ducks are teaming up with Smart & Final to help the We Give Thanks Foundation. The organization also auctioned off the camouflage jerseys worn in the pregame warmups last Tuesday to benefit Operation Homefront.
• PR Blog News explains what Google Sidewiki is and why it’s important for PR professionals.
• Sports Business Daily has an interesting Q&A with the COO of the Minnesota Wild.
• A-Rod’s image took a hit at the start of the year when word came out that he had tested positive for steroids back in 2003 when it had yet to be banned by the MLB. The New York Post argues that winning the World Series will give A-Rod’s image a much-needed face lift.
• The Detroit News discusses what the Detroit sports teams are doing regarding ticket sales with this struggling economy, which is even worse in the metro Detroit area than the national average.
• This article takes a look at Andy Murray’s branding magic and how his PR team has altered his image.
• Former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman is my favorite NHL player of all time so I am linking to a fantastic article Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com wrote about his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame even though it doesn’t have anything to do with sports business or PR.

So far the series has covered two topics: resizing images before using in a press release and avoid using images to convey important information. I’ve quickly highlighted a few key points below, but please check out those two posts for yourself and be sure to check back with Eye on Sports Media throughout the week for the latest blog posts in this series.

• By not resizing images in press releases e-mailed out to reporters, you will have to send a larger file and it will take longer for the e-mail to load. If that happens, the reporter may simply opt out and delete your release before taking the time to read it.
• How do you resize images properly? It is frequently understood that you can do so in Word, but as Christopher points out this does not actually resize the image. It shrinks the appearance of the image in the document, but the file size is still just as large. His post tells you how to actually shrink the file size.
• He also points out that sometimes organizations use images to display important information like addresses and other contact information in their releases and other documents. Not only does this increase the file size, but it also prevents VOIP users or iPhone users from simply clicking on the phone number to call right then and there. In addition, it prevents readers from copying and pasting this important info as it forces them to jot it down by hand which can lead to mistakes and it’s really just a hassle for them.

Do any of you have any other insightful suggestions when it comes to the design/display of e-mail press releases that you’d like to share with fellow SPRB readers?