Smooth PR Move Executed by ESPN

ESPN announced earlier this week that Tony Kornheiser voluntarily relinquished his spot as color commentator in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden is replacing him.

On the surface it seems like a logical move by ESPN to transition Gruden into Kornheiser’s position.

Kornheiser citied his fear of flying as the reason for stepping down from the booth. No one can blame a person who’s suffering from flying anxiety for wanting to limit his air travel.

Plus Kornheiser is not leaving the network; he’s remaining as co-host of ESPN’s highly successful talk show, Pardon the Interruption.

Gruden was a very successful and respected head coach for the Bucs. During his seven years in Tampa Bay the team won its first-ever Super Bowl, made three playoff appearances and tallied an overall record of 95-81. Considering the history of the Bucs, that's an astonishing mark.

Gruden’s record on the field and his personality and charisma off it made him one of the most popular coaches in the game.

So, all-in-all, things seemed pretty smooth in media-land when a press release was issued announcing the broadcast change and then Gruden hit the airways promoting his new job with ESPN.

But one has to wonder if this was an amicable move for all parties involved or if ESPN pulled off a great public relations coup.

We’re all aware of the problems MNF has suffered during the last few years. Ratings have struggled, the game had to move from ABC to ESPN and certain selections of color analysts have been, to put it mildly, questionable (has anyone figured out yet what Dennis Miller was doing 10 miles within a sports broadcast booth?).

Before joining the MNF broadcast team in 2006, Kornheiser was already a popular and respected personality in the sports media world. His funny and satirical columns made him a popular read in the Washington Post sports pages and put him on the map.

He then parlayed his writing style into a successful sports talk radio show in Washington D.C. and, ultimately, became a national sports personality (along with Post colleague Michael Wilbon) from his work on PTI.

Kornheiser’s style of balancing his witty and sarcastic insight with news and current events in the sports world is his trademark. He’s one of the best at using that technique.

But it was clear he was not a good choice in joining Joe Theismann as a replacement for the legendary John Madden in the MNF booth. And after Theismann left MNF after just one season, teaming Kornheiser with Ron Jaworski as color analysts also did not fare very well.

Although you have to admire the MNF people for trying to broaden their audience with a unique type of analyst, it was obvious that the broadcast suffered and Kornheiser was a mistake.

It’s a mystery, though, as to why ESPN stuck with Kornheiser for three seasons. Maybe they thought he would improve or maybe the network wanted to avoid another personnel decision that would further damage the once prestigious MNF brand.

Oh, and the excuse of Kornheiser being so afraid of flying, all of a sudden, he had to give up the best weekly broadcasting gig in all of sports also seems kind of suspicious.

Although it’s known within the industry that Kornheiser has problems with flying and certainly isn’t comfortable with it, when you look a little deeper at the situation his fear appears more of a convenient excuse than a legitimate psychological condition.

And it’s also convenient that ESPN was able to lock-up Gruden and get him ready for a publicity tour before announcing Kornheiser’s departure – a little too slick, wouldn’t you say?

But ESPN definitely pulled off a smooth PR move with the simultaneous announcements of Kornheiser leaving and Gruden coming aboard the MNF ship.

The network was able to strategically craft the story’s focus to be Gruden’s venture into the MNF broadcasting booth and shifted media attention away from Kornheiser leaving and another failed MNF experiment.

Excellent job by ESPN.

Embattled Athletes Turn to ESPN for Soft Spin

Accused steroid cheat and pathological liar Roger Clemens appeared on ESPN Radio’s "Mike and Mike in the Morning" Tuesday to apparently refute the content of the newly released book "American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime" (authored by the New York Daily News sports writing quartet of Teri Thompson, Nathaniel Vinton, Michael O’Keeffe and Christian Red).

The book, of course, portrays the pitcher, one of the best of all-time, in an extremely negative light and essentially portrays Clemens as, among other things, a fraud for using performance-enhancing drugs to achieve his tremendous on-field success.

Even before the release of this book the Clemens saga has been spinning since his name was found to be included in MLB’s Mitchell Report, released in December 2007.

Since his appearance in front of a Congressional committee in February 2008 to defend himself against the steroid accusations, Clemens has virtually disappeared from the media’s eye and, despite numerous media requests, has not addressed the windfall of allegations until his phone-interview with Mike and Mike…sort of.

Clemens’ lawyer (Rusty Hardin) stated prior to the interview that his client was invited onto the radio show, but it seemed obvious by the very thin and softball-style questions from the two hosts (Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic) that some type of agreement regarding the questioning was reached prior to the appearance.

Although I have no inside or specific knowledge to confirm this, it appeared that in exchange for the exclusive interview (along with the ample time given to ESPN to promote it) the show’s hosts would not grill Clemens, not go into much detail about the book’s accusations and not ask the former Yankee, Astro, Blue Jay and Red Sock to respond to the book’s numerous unflattering topics.

I believe the toughest question Clemens was asked was whether or not he was ever injected with steroids.

Really, Mike and Mike?

Besides the fact that Clemens has already answered that question about a thousands times from other media outlets, did you really think he was going to breakdown and admit he’s been lying for the last 18 months and destroy what’s left of his reputation?

“Mike and Mike in the Morning” is an entertainment-style radio show that discusses news and events in and around the world of sports. It’s a well-regarded and highly-rated national show that has a light and fun format.

Nothin' wrong with that.

But there is something wrong when you venture into the journalistic-side of sports commentary and represent yourself as an impartial member of the media - when you’re clearly not. It was irresponsible for ESPN to have conducted the first Roger Clemens interview in more than a year and promote it as a fair and balanced media interview.

ESPN has a responsibility to its audience to aim for the highest level of journalistic integrity. Promotions and ratings should not supersede standards and ethics, which it did for the Clemens interview.

ESPN did something similar when it aired the first Alex Rodriguez interview this past March after the story broke the slugger had tested positive for steroids back in 2003.

When the explosive news hit the public, the Rodriguez camp immediately contacted ESPN and its senior baseball writer Peter Gammons to arrange the interview. Perhaps not quite as weak as the Mike and Mike segment with Clemens, the A-Rod interview was anything but in-depth or investigatory.

Gammons asked the predictable questions and never tried to squeeze or push Rodriguez on anything. So afterwards, one had to wonder why it was ESPN and Gammons that A-Rod went to so quickly to tell his story.

The same way one had to wonder why Clemens went to ESPN and Mike and Mike to spin his version of the detrimental new book.

The ESPN name and brand is the biggest and most powerful in all of sports media. It offers numerous avenues of sports-related content and entertainment. But it has to recognize the journalist-line and distinguish it for its viewers, listeners, readers, online audience, etc.

Don’t allow your leisurely laid back programs, like Mike and Mike, to conduct serious sports stories and interviews. It’s not fair to the audience.

Have the strength to use an outlet more appropriate for the tougher stuff. If the subject insists on calling the shots, then you must pass on the scoop in the name of ethics.

“The Sports Reporters” Stands Out From the Cluttered Pack

Like any other entertainment-type genre, there is a flood of very weak and unnecessary sports talk shows on radio and television these days.

Sometimes I wonder if TV and radio execs think that all they have to do to create a sports talk show is sit two to four people at a table and have them yell at each other about sports for half an hour…very aggravating.

However, there are a few shows that are not only worth viewing but serve as an excellent source of sports insight by outstanding sports writers and analysts.

The Sports Reporters, aired Sundays at 9:30 am on ESPN, continues to be the best sports talk show around. The program consists of a host and three other sports writers or personalities who tackle current news and events surrounding the world of sports. The format is also tightly structured and well paced, so you never have panelists shouting and tossing out irrelevant and empty statements.

Although the host (currently John Saunders) remains the same, the three panelists on The Sports Reporters tend to change each week and generally represent different media markets. As a result, viewers get fresh and different perspectives each time.

There are some reporters who appear more frequently than others (New York’s Mike Lupica, Detroit’s Mitch Albom and Boston’s Bob Ryan), but you also get a steady mix of talent you otherwise wouldn’t have the privilege of watching.

This past Sunday’s show featured a reporter I don’t believe had appeared on The Sports Reporters before, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. Nichols is primarily an investigative and features reporter, usually filing stories for SportsCenter, ESPNews and Outside the Lines.

Nichols has been a national reporter with ESPN for more than five years and is generally considered an accomplished and well respected journalist. So appearing on The Sports Reporters gave viewers an opportunity to watch Nichols in a forum that allowed her to inject opinions and knowledge and also go toe-to-toe with the top sports-media minds in the country.

Whenever there’s a fresh face on the panel I’m always very interested in how they’ll perform and come across on the show. Not everybody does well on The Sports Reporters. There’s been panelists who’ve struggled and really weren’t ready for a show of its magnitude.

But Nichols more than held her own on Sunday. I thought she was terrific and I hope she continues to make appearances on the program.

One particular topic discussed Sunday where Nichols rose above the other heavyweight panelists was regarding the situation with the New York Yankees and their ticket pricing crisis.

Offering a perspective on the situation I hadn’t heard or read before, Nichols put a lot of the responsibility on the fans' shoulders. Her point was that fans can not be complaining and raising hell about the outrageous prices at the new Yankee Stadium and then, at the same time, spend money buying tickets.

Excellent point.

The Sports Reporters does a great job choosing the right journalists and personalities to serve on the show’s panel. Many times when a big sporting event that’s not one of the “big three” rolls around, the show will feature an expert analyst of that particular sport.

So for a show airing around the time of Wimbledon, Bud Collins usually joins the program. For The Masters, the great Jim Nantz may make a special appearance.

Of course there are other sports talk shows that should be noted and given its due – Pardon the Interruption, Outside the Lines, Mike’d UP: Francesa on the Fan.

But no program has been as consistently good as The Sports Reporters.