CoSIDA Communications Watch: Current Athletic PR News, Notes and Commentary

Here are links to timely and relevant news articles for college athletic communicators and media relations professionals.

News includes more college athletic cost-cutting measures; info on social networking surveys which outline social media impact and relevance across generations; and an idea for professionals to build a "lifeline" of support via peer adviser groups.


Have a newsworthy story to share with CoSIDA.com readers? Submit your idea or article to Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of Communications barbkowal@cosida.com 


A. Professional development

Peer Advisory Group Concept
Being a mentor and having a mentor is important in your professional growth. Below, here’s a different take on support, as the Wall Street Journal reports on a CEO in British Columbia who suggests that “peer advisory groups” can help motivate professionals, give honest feedback and incentive to help the professional move forward and advance to the next level of their career.
July 12, 2009 - Building Your 'Lifeline', by Alexandra Levit, The Wall Street Journal
 

Want some reasons to be on Twitter?
Here are 10 reasons that PR professionals should use the social media tool.
July 14, 2009 - Share this with your non-Twittering colleagues- 10 reasons why PR people should be on Twitter, from SocialMediaToday.com
 
 

B. Social Media Issues

July 11, 2009 - Social networking sites offer excitement, but can ensnare athletes in their web, by Greg Wallace, Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail


July 13, 2009 - Superconnected: 71 Percent Say They Can't Live Without Facebook
by Gavin O'Malley, Online Media Daily

July 13, 2009 - At $65 Million, facebook now worth more than CBS, by Adam Ostrow, Mashable Social Media Guide


At the annual meeting this week, the NCAA Division III Management Council currently is addressing the hot-button topic of social networking, considering a recommendation to modify restrictions on member institutions’ use of outlets such as Twitter or Facebook to distribute information about athletics.
July 15, 2009 - Division III Council will review social-network communication (The NCAA News)


A study/survey of 210 sports bloggers (all non-media members) by the Penn State John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State reveals that 75 percent said they do not see themselves as rivals of professional journalists; they do see their work as providing a void left by mainstream media.
July 11, 2009 - Report: Sports bloggers believe attitude, approach set them apart (from Penn State Live)

From coaches to teams, to entire athletic departments, Twitter is taking the athletic world by storm. Here is what athletic administrators need to know about Twitter.
All A-Twitter, by Dennis Read, AthleticManagement.com



C. Miscellaneous News of Interest

A class-action antitrust lawsuit on behalf of former college men's basketball and football players was filed on July 21 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeking unspecified damages from the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Company for the use of players' images and likenesses in video content, photographs and other memorabilia. Lead attorney Michael Hausfeld said he expects the lawsuit will include hundreds, if not thousands, of former Division I basketball and Football Bowl Subdivision players.
July 21, 2009- Class-action suit filed vs. NCAA over use of players' likenesses, by Marlen Garcia, USA Today


Is this the wave of the future? Texas-based newspaper offers subscribers free access to its online edition, with non-subscribers paying to access the news website.
Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas) daily subscribers to have free access to online edition, by Gabriel Saldana, the Valley Morning Star
 

Interesting development: The University of Utah athletic department has announced it will sell field passes for its 2009 home football games. They will be priced at $500 each, with 12 available per game. Read about it on the NCAA Double-A-Zone.
 

A while back, ESPN launched the successful and popular ESPNChicago.com, which features extensive college and pro sports coverage from the Windy City. Now, the network plans similar coverage in Los Angeles, Dallas and New York City, which will give local fans a destination for their sports on-air, online, on-site and on mobile devices.  Each site will feature an integrated home for ESPN’s news and information, online video and digital audio powered by the flagship ESPN Radio station in each market.
July 20, 2009- ESPN to Expand Network of Local Sports Sites: Sites for Dallas, New York and Los Angeles to Join Successful ESPNChicago.com (via ESPNmediazone.com)



D. Cost-Cutting Measures in Intercollegiate Athletics

NCAA Division III sports: WIAC announces conference-wide cost-reduction measures, by Rob Hernandez, Wisconsin State Journal

In Review: Colleges trimming athletics costs (Philly.com)
 

July 15, 2009- Indianapolis nixes media guides (http://athletics.uindy.edu, University of Indianapolis website)