4 PR lessons from a baseball manager’s meltdown
The Cincinnati Reds’ manager recently let loose on a journalist with an expletive-laced rant after it was reported the team’s all-star catcher would not attend the next game.
What pushed the baseball team’s leader over the edge? Price was upset that following a pre-game press conference, Cincinnati’s The Enquirer reported catcher Devin Mesoraco wouldn’t be available at Sunday’s game.
These kinds of press conferences are standard: Every Major League Baseball manager meets with the media before and after every game to discuss the match, players, injuries, strategy, outcome and more.
Pre-game and post-game coverage is important, not the least of which because it’s followed religiously by millions of fans worldwide, who generated a record $9 billion in revenue for the MLB in 2014.
Press conferences—a media staple for a century or more—are common across the business world as well. Reporters are regularly invited to ask questions when earnings are announced, products or services are unveiled or new executives join a company. The only thing that’s changed is how quickly information can be disseminated.
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