‘Tis the season for football playoffs, championships and Bowl Games. While basketball offers prime time showdowns at both the college and professional levels, for members of the media it means gearing up for a never ending string of press conferences. Media gets herded into a converted media area for a postgame press conference, or into the hotel ballroom for a Bowl Week cattle call. There was once a time when I was thrilled to be among the herd. I would wait and hope for a chance to get a question in, but more often than not, someone else would ask the question that I was thinking before I could. A quick glance around the room would give me an idea of how many others felt the response warranted a place in their presentations. That’s just how it goes. Many times the press conference is our only path to access certain players and coaches we know our consumers want to hear from. As a result, we see and hear a lot of the same things from different sources.
For some, this might be ok. It might be all you need, and your company may feel it’s all the content that needs to be provided. Not so for this sports content provider. Maybe it’s the fact that I have been in this business for over 30 years and I have gotten old, ornery and selfish. I still look for that item that is mine, all mine, and I don’t apologize for it. To me it is crucial if you are on air sports talent, or sports content provider, especially if you’re working at the local level.
Network, network, network!!! Most of us do when attempting to land a great job. But, it is also must be in done in order to maintain that job and climb to the next opportunity. It’s spending that extra 5 minutes after an interview, talking with that college sports information person or professional sports communications person. It’s doing a little homework on that superstar or sports legend so that you can talk about what they are doing currently, in addition to the stroll down memory lane. (This always got me better interviews with Jack Nicklaus during my time working in Augusta.)
For me, it’s years of calling a Coach during the off season, just to say hello. It’s walking and talking with that Teacher, Parent, or Booster who is sharing with you info as you leave a high school game. Or dropping in at one of the region’s premier youth sports training and competition facilities and talking with a Program Coordinator. That’s how you find out the Harlem Globetrotters will be having their training camp there. (Did you know that the Globetrotters have training camp?) And, it’s what I would do during my 16 years working at the local NBC affiliate in Atlanta, and I continue to do it today with ATL26–City Of Atlanta TV. It got to the point that Kenny Price, one of the photographers I work with, knew what do when I started lingering after our shoot was done. He would walk to our news vehicle and crank it up, ready to go home.
I know what you might be thinking, Kenny was tired of me stalling for time to get my ego shined and he was showing me who was boss. You couldn’t be more wrong. He knew me well enough to know that if I was investing the time, chances were I was leaving with info for a future story. “We’re gonna call you ‘The Mayor’,” Kenny would say. Well, it wasn’t ‘The Mayor’, it was more like ‘Da’ Mayor’. At first I didn’t quite know how to receive it, but in time I learned to receive it as a great compliment.
It was being Da’ Mayor that allowed me to separate myself from others in my market. It allowed me to gain access to subjects for interviews and stories, and get the stations and organizations I worked for to a unique piece of local sports content. Thankfully, I still get to work with Kenny after all these years. In this day and time of reduced space for sports related content on local affiliate TV, more and more, it’s that something unique that being Da’ Mayor provides and makes your content golden.
It’s easier than ever to be Da’ Mayor these days. You don’t have to send emails or make phone calls, now a text or direct message on social media can keep those connections warm. Those few minutes you spend in the company of a major league sports executive can pay off at the most amazing times. Case in point for me came during Super Bowl Week in Houston. It’s Monday morning of Super Bowl Week and while Kenny is getting some exterior shots, I started a Facebook Live in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
I was Live, showing the decorations outside and where the networks were set up to do their programs and interviews for Super Bowl Week. While I am describing the scene outside the convention center, up walks Atlanta Falcons’ General Manager, Thomas Dimitroff. Thomas was out for a morning walk and since the NFL Experience wasn’t open yet, I was the only person standing in front of the Convention Center. I have known Thomas since his arrival in Atlanta, and for a number of years Kenny and I had traveled with the Falcons. But, this was Super Bowl Week, the week of the biggest game of the year, and the GM of one of the participating teams has a long list of media related duties that he is required to do. For that reason Thomas could have waved me off and walked the other way, and I would have understood. Instead, the GM of the NFC Champions stepped right up and went on Facebook Live with me. At this point, Demitroff had not been interviewed by anyone since the team’s arrival in Houston. Needless to say, it was a big hit with my Facebook friends and followers back in Atlanta.
What a way to start Super Bowl week. What a surprise, and it was totally organic. But, the best part was that it was mine, all mine. I turned a number of stories and interviews that week, but that moment remains one of the highlights of the trip. Remember, take just a little time to be Da’ Mayor, and watch those unique interviews and story opportunities come to you.