Phillies flunking Public Relations 101
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Phillies flunking Public Relations 101
Usually, I take the comments that run underneath my stories as seriously as I take another driver honking his horn at me and calling me an a--hole. Don't get me wrong, there are some thoughtful regulars, many of whom have different viewpoints than myself. But often times anonymous comments are the byproduct of the same psychology as road rage: a chance to release some steam against a person you will never have an interpersonal relationship with. "Excuse me sir, I disagree with your decision to follow the car in front of you at a safe distance" is different from "You're a poopy-head," just like "I disagree with your viewpoint for the following reasons" is different from "You're an idiot and I can't wait until your company goes bankrupt again and you lose your job and are forced to eat breakfast out of a Dunkin Donuts dumpster."
That being said, I'm finding it difficult to ignore the comments under my column today that accuse me of accusing the Phillies of withholding information from the fans, because that is not at all the message that I am attempting to impart. There's a good chance the mix-up is my fault. My job as a writer is to make my point in a clear, coherent manner, and if people do not understand my point, I have only myself to blame.
I'll flesh it out a bit using a couple of emails I received this morning.
The first was from a gentleman who observed that, "With all due respect, this whole issue with you and your colleagues railing against the Phillies is not making the reporters look good. I’m not saying it’s making the Phillies look good, but please just cut it out and report the news. You guys are not coming across as professional; you are coming across as entitled and vengeful."
The irony is that I agree with his over-arching point. There's a lot of indignation in our business that crosses the line between righteous and self-righteous. I'm a fairly pragmatic person, and I fully understand an organization's desire for privacy when it comes to certain inner-workings, particularly when it comes to injuries. As anybody who has suffered an injury can attest, rehab is a non-linear process that differs from person to person and situation to situation.
Unfortunately, the mass media has devolved into an organism that feeds more upon headlines than it does upon context. So if Ryan Howard happens to have one of those days of rehab where his body does not cooperate and he looks and feels like he will never return to the field, it does not do the Phillies any good to release that information to the public. It's why the organization did not want any reporters watching Howard rehab in Clearwater, which my colleague Bob Brookover found out first hand when he tried to watch the first baseman take batting practice last week. If Howard happens to have one of those rough days when a reporter is watching, it has the potential to become a big story that will send panic coursing through the fan base, even though such days are quite common during rehabilitation from an injury as serious as a ruptured Achilles. The opposite scenario can serve as an illusion too. Early in spring training, all the reports from people who watched Howard run contended that he was moving surprisingly well and that he was ahead of schedule, but many of those reports did not include the context that Howard was still in the beginning stages of his rehab and that it was still far too early to predict how his body would continue to respond to that work. And, lo and behold, he suffered an infection, and his progress plateaued, and seven months after surgery he still has not played in a competitive situation.
That's not to say that Brookie was wrong for trying to gain access to Howard. He's a reporter, and that's what reporters do, and his determination to exhaust all of his options before giving up on that mission is why he's a better reporter than I am.
The point I attempted to make in my column is that the Phillies seem to take the same viewpoint as the aforementioned emailer: It's none of your business, we'll update you when there is something to update, and you'll take that update with no questions asked. But that viewpoint ignores reality, which is that SOME fans want the inside knowledge, and SOME fans feel entitled to that knowledge, and SOME fans feel disrespected when an organization APPEARS not to value an honest line of communication with them. You might not be one of those fans, but that does not change the fact that there are fans who feel differently.
Over the past few months, the Phillies have displayed a consistent inability to communicate their message to the public, which can only hurt their relationship with the segment of the fan base that cares about such things. Take the situation that resulted in Ruben Amaro Jr.'s decision to publicly respond to an Inquirer article that he felt wrongfully implied that the Phillies' use of cortisone was partially to blame for Howard's ruptured Achilles. Amaro's talking points made a lot of sense, particularly when he emphasized that Howard was treated by one of the top foot specialists in the United States. The Inquirer article presented varying opinions from different doctors on the use of cortisone to combat inflammation near the Achilles tendon. But only one doctor, or team of doctors, personally examined Howard and diagnosed his condition. Only one doctor, or team of doctors, had access to the intimate medical reports that helped decide the course of treatment. Not to get too far off track, but maybe some questions should be raised about doctors who publicly comment on the treatment of an individual whom they have not examined. No reputable doctor would agree to diagnose a patient whom he has not had the ability to examine and communicate with in person. So why would a reputable doctor agree to opine on an athlete whom he has not examined or communicated with in person?
On the other hand, the use of cortisone and its effects on tendons is a worthy topic to explore. And again, the propriety of said opinions should not matter to the Phillies, only that those opinions are inevitable, and that they are liable to be published for their fanbase to read. So when the Inquirer approached the Phillies for comment on the various aspects of their story, the proper PR move was to facilitate that interview.
I am not privy to the details of the paper's efforts to obtain comment, so it is possible that they could have made a more concerted attempt, but the fact is that the Phillies declined to participate at least once. The fundamental principle of public relations is to control the message as much as possible. Declining to be interviewed about a story that is going to call into question your handling of an injury is declining the opportunity to have some control over that story. Much of what Amaro said yesterday made sense, but the proper PR move would have been to say it to the reporter working on the story. Waiting until afterward can create the perception of back-pedaling, of defensiveness. It also extends the life-cycle of the story. Declining the comment can create the perception of having a skeleton to hide. That might not seem fair. Perceptions are inherently unfair. But they matter, which is the reason why public relations exists.
Yesterday, my initial plan was to ignore the hullabaloo, just like many of you surely did. But as I wrote a column about the Phillies' loss to the Red Sox, and the tough stretch of games they have ahead of them, I began to see some relevance. The Great Cortisone Caper is only the latest incident in which the Phillies have displayed a fundamental ignorance of the importance of public perception. After Howard's surgery in October, the team released a statement that said it expected Howard to be competing at his accustomed level within five to six months, which is a wildly optimistic prognosis when compared to other Achilles injuries suffered by athletes. That doesn't mean they were lying about the timetable, or that they were clueless about Achilles injuries. But knowing the uncertainty of injuries, the better statement probably would have been, "Every Achilles injury is different, so we cannot provide an accurate timetable for Ryan's return this early in the process. We are hopeful that he can be back on the field within six months, but we are also aware that his recovery may take longer."
Rather than insisting all spring that Chase Utley would be ready for Opening Day and then having to deal with the perception of dishonesty when it turns out he would not be ready, the proper PR move would have been to say, "We're hopeful that Chase's knee problems are behind him, and we believe that he will be ready for Opening Day, but given the nature of his condition, we realize that a flare-up is possible, which is why we are holding him out for the early part of Grapefruit League play."
Rather than quibbling about the word "set-back" when Howard came down with an infection in his surgically-repaired heel, only to find themselves labeling it exactly that two months later, why not just call it a spade and deal with the next-day headlines blaring "Howard suffers set-back" rather than opening yourself up to the accusation of pie-in-the-sky optimism.
The reason all of this matters is because people can now use all of these incidents to create a portrait of an organization that either has no idea what it is doing when it comes to its players' health or that has a disregard for the virtues of honesty. And that matters because the team is 21-21 and some fans are growing restless with, as a buddy who attended yesterday's game worded it, spending their afternoons watching the Phillies leg out singles. And that matters because the current organizational talking point contends that help is on the way and that fans just need to hang tight and keep the faith until Howard and Utley return from the disabled list.
And with that, we come full circle.
As the CEO of a local PR/media relations firm wrote to me this morning in a message with the subject: PR 101, "I think the Phils are taking notes from the Tiger Woods school of media relations or crisis communications. If they weren’t 21-21, maybe it would seem like less of a crisis but the question marks are piling up like losses at this point."
Good stuff, David. I'm sure you've considered this, but it's worth mentioning. I agree that the Phils need to improve their PR. But I also get the sense the reason they're so guarded about injuries is that they never want to reveal a GLARING NEED to make a trade. I think they believe if they say, "Ryan Howard is making a slow recovery. We might not have him back until August." Then teams will ask for more for a guy like Youkilis -- knowing the Phils have a desperate need there.— Phillip?- Good stuff, David. I'm sure you've considered this, but it's worth mentioning. I agree that the Phils need to improve their PR. But I also get the sense the reason they're so guarded about injuries is that they never want to reveal a GLARING NEED to make a trade. I think they believe if they say, "Ryan Howard is making a slow recovery. We might not have him back until August." Then teams will ask for more for a guy like Youkilis -- knowing the Phils have a desperate need there.— Phillip?
- Count me in the group that wants information. It'd be one thing if we're talking about the Kansas City Royals. But for a team like the Phillies with millions of passionate and loyal fans who spend their time and money following the team's every step, it just does more harm than good to go through such great lengths to not be forthcoming. On one hand you thank the millions of fans for selling out the ballpark and buying merchandise every night and adding to your bottom line, then on the other hand you're going to say it's nobody's business what's going on with the organization's two most recognizable stars? Sorry you can't have your cake and eat it too. There are plenty of front offices in baseball and in every other major sport that throw their fans a bone once in a while because they get that the fans are what drives the train. That doesn't mean you have to show them Howard's MRIs, but as David says, when you paint one picture of Chase's and Ryan's recoveries, and then they both go the complete opposite way, you're not doing anybody any good by just saying 'Oh well, it's none of your business anymore.' Or at least, if that was going to be the company line, then it should have been the company line from the get-go
Don't listen to the static. You guys did your jobs, and those of us who are reasonable readers understand the difficult balance between trying to report meaningful stories when they may be at odds with the teams and players you interact with on a daily basis. As a reporter, you can't burn your bridges. The yahoos here who criticize and throw stones will never be content and are always looking for an angle to attack. It's part of their own agenda to make them feel like they wear "big boy" pants, too. None of them could survive ten minutes in your job but they'll all tell you how to do it in a NY minute.— Sam Crow- I'm going to tell you in a NY minute that this whole situation is Inquirer infused sensationalism. Next, there will be a story about how the Phils are responsible for Utley's chronic knee problems. Gimme a break. They'll be on the field when they get on the field. No use waiting, wondering, what if, etc..— SilliBilli
- I hear your point that the Phillies are not handling PR very well, but not sure if that is true. If they know for a fact that Howard may be out for this entire season, what would be the fan reaction? Writers and fans alike would be shouting to spend millions to get another quality player in the meantime. What if that is not in the best interest of the Phillies business? What if they are willing to scrap this season and shoot for next? This is not something you tell your fan base or sports reporters. So you suggest that Howard will be back shortly and then make excuses when he is not. That would seem like good PR from their vantage point. Unless some nosy reporter finds out the truth, which they were obviously trying to hide. I know it may come as a shock to reporters and fans alike, but baseball is a business. An entertainment business involving fantasy. Every team wants to be the best. Honestly, not all can.— Larry Byrd
- The fact that Ed Wade is back as Amaro's primary front office advisor should not be overlooked. We are back in Wade's last place bunker with secrecy and paranoia as our go-to positions. This would not happen with Gillick around. Enjoy.— bongo dave
- Much ado about nothing...
— WFChamps - Much ado about nothing... (HTML deleted)— WFChamps
- Murph, you're wrong. The Phillies may be flunking "media" relations, but not "public" relations. Anyone with any common sense knows that major injuries cannot have predicted timetables for recovery and that setbacks are always possible. Reporters ask silly questions like "what percentage healthy are you today?" You guys try to get precise answers to imprecise questions. Obviously Amaro's original timetable was based on general recovery periods for the injury that did NOT include Howard getting an infection which he could not have predicted. Making up a completely speculative story 7 months after the injury and just completely out of the blue is NOT journalism and that's not the job of you guys. The guy had no evidence or sources with actual information of the situation whatsoever. So why on Earth would the Phillies respond to his inquiries and legitimize his speculative nonsense? Real news would have been a story about Oswalt throwing a bullpen session for the Phillies a week ago and how likely they are to sign him. I haven't seen anything from any of you guys on that. Now THAT is your job. Also, crying to the fans that the team won't talk to you, won't cooperate with you, won't answer speculative questions, won't do your job for you, etc. is just pathetic for any reporter. You won't give me what I want? Well, guess what, then I'm telling the fans on you! It's just pathetic and predictably backfires...and having multiple local reporters join in the bandwagon only makes it backfire even more.— JimG
- If they win I don't care if they lied to the media or if they don't let someone to watch Ryan Howard rehab. I could care less. Murph just couldn't find anything meaningful to write or RAJ might have said something to him he didn't like. It seems to me that the team turned it around a little bit and that's all I care about. When injured players are ready, they will be back. I AM SURE THAT THEY ARE MORE WORRIED THAN WE ARE.— likhon
- here we go again. A journalist who thinks he's a big deal feels slighted, and the Philly sportsmedia cabal jumps to his defense. This is the same BS that has run many an athlete out of town.— Pelti
- @JimG - What, exactly, are you saying "speculative"? Are you inferring that Howard may not have had a cortisone injection? That they are making it up? My understanding is that this is a fact supported by Amaro's own remarks. Are you saying that the reporter is drawing a direct link between the cortisone injection and the injury? I read the story and Fitzpatrick made numerous references to the fact that you can't link one to the other. I don't understand what "speculation" you are referring to. Why can't they report that many experts in the health profession would caution a cortisone shot in that area of the body? Is that unreasonable? Are you under the impression that everyone who reads the article will interpret it the exact same way you do? An informed reader with an ounce of intelligence can make up their own mind, wouldn't you say? Your paranoid diatribe sounds more like someone who has something to lose because this story got published; you appear to be invoking your own damage control. What's your objective?— Sam Crow
- Well-reasoned and written, David. As usual. But my sense remains you were pressured to jump into the fray. So, please, just stop because there's too many holes in all this. Phillies made a mistake by trying to keep it locked down (and then commenting after the proverbial cow had left the barn) and it's ridiculous for the media to claim some moralistic high ground in the name of 'journalism'.— PhillySubsMac
- Q of Day: WHO is more sensitive, Murph, Brookie or RAJ ? ....and why ?
Must submit entries by 6:00PM today. Winner gets temp membership card to Dickie Thon fanclub. Runnerup gets an evening with Kevin Stocker.— NewMick314
