Image is everything

Sorry that I stink at headlines but I really hate them. In fact, if I ever get a job at a newspaper I think the first thing I will tell my employer is that I am sorry I cannot do headlines.

But quite possibly that may be my demise because as you know, in the entertainment business industry ( which is what news is at the end of the day) its all about the image. The sensational, appealing headline is what sells the product, in my particular case, an article. Crappy headline= no readers.

ESPN knows all about image. In fact, they present don't only give fans sports information but they give them sports personalities. Think about guys like Linda Cohen, Rachel Nichols, Erin Andrews, Scott Van Pelt, Stuart Scott, all employees who are sometimes bigger than the stories they report. In fact. ESPN doesn't hide the fact that they market their guys like sports leagues market their players as opposed to teams. When I interned at ESPN radio in Los Angeles this summer one of the first things my supervisor told me was that ESPN radio is just as much about selling sports personalities as it is about selling sports analysis.

But what does this have to do with anything? On Wednesday, baseball insider for ESPN, Steve Phillips, admitted that he had an affair with a 22-year-old ESPN programming employee ( http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/espn_suspends_steve_phillips_after_BqI2i7uj46oLDZSWhxsGvK)
and as a result was given a leave of absence by ESPN.

The people at Disney, who own ESPN, were probably not happy with Philips reaction, as bad publicity = bad image, especially for a company owned by a mouse( I really meant that, just think about it) As a result, ESPN was put into a sticky situation of whether or not they should actually report on their own. In the end they did, probably because they felt it would be hypocritical to report on other athletes and coaches affairs but not their own ( http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/10/21/espn-addresses-steve-phillips-brooke-hundley-affair-reported-su/)

With the story out a ton of criticism came pouring in from the public media, like rumors from deadspin.com (http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/10/22/espn-responds-to-deadspins-despicable-rumor-mongering/) and a New York Post columnist who used his space to get back at Philips who he has an altercation with several months ago.(http://www.nypost.com/p/vac_whacks_thursday_edition_8aB048Jeie4TbN6OOnee3I)

To put it simply, after coming off of a record setting month in September, revenue wise, ESPN does not need this.

But lets get back to the main point about image. ESPN does this to themselves. They build up their employees, to the point where they are bigger than the sports news themselves. Everywhere you look on ESPN Erin Andrews is doing every sideline game ( Dont they have anyone else) and Rachel Nichols is always the one behind the scenes at mini camps and practices. All over their website they have columns with the writers face blown up, not the name and every sports center commercial tries to equate athletes to the same status as Sports Center anchors who cover them ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntglBWwjiEQ) The point is this, is ESPN does not want the scrutiny of their employees than they should probably place less emphasis on the image of everyone who writes, reports or broadcasts something for them.

In a day in age where self branding is what gets sports people like myself in the door, I understand where ESPN is coming from. Sure Steve Philips may not be a household name, but he was a former coach of the New York Mets and you can bet your Sunday ticket package that ESPN hired him, like many of their employees, because they are already big sports figures.

But if ESPN continues to hire the big name guys and promote their journalists like rock stars than instead of reporting the headlines, they will continue to be part of them. And trust me, those will be much easier to understand than mine.