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There was a press release from the Jets on Monday that isn’t going to get a ton of attention, but it’s news of greater import than most people will realize.
Here are the first two paragraphs of the release . . .
“The New York Jets today announced that veteran sports and media communications executive Eric Gelfand will be joining the organization as Senior Vice President of Communications. He will report directly to Jets President Neil Glat.
“In this newly created position, Gelfand will be responsible for the strategic development and execution of all team communication strategies. He will oversee the media relations department, manage communications relating to fan initiatives, community relations and business activities, and will work closely with Senior Director of Media Relations, Bruce Speight, on communications relating to football matters.”
This has been in the offing for quite some time.
An assistant athletic director at an SEC school told me about this listing a year ago.
So the Jets took a while to look for the right guy and pull the trigger.
Now this isn’t going to impact football much, but this move is very important.
The Jets have an image problem – have for a long time.
A lot of it has to do with a media, locally and nationally, that considers them a punching bag, comedic fodder.
If you say this to some, they will respond, “Just win.”
Fair enough, winning helps, but it’s deeper than that.
Basic respect and decency should not be related to wins and losses.
The Jets are rarely given the benefit of the doubt.
Like all this “Same Old Jets” pablum that rears its ugly head so often when they have a losing streak or rough game. It’s a mindless tradition that links a current game to the “Fake Spike Game” or the “Butt-fumble.” It’s intellectual bankrupt, but it keeps on happening.
Hey, you can never expect the press to take the high road all the time. That is a pipe dream.
But with really good strategies, you can stave off some of the nonsense.
This isn’t a shot at the Jets’ current PR staff, the one that Gelfand will not oversee.
The PR staff that Gelfand will now lord over is so busy doing the day-to-day work of New York team media relations staff, setting up interviews, issuing credentials, putting out press releases and so forth, they really don’t have a lot of time to deal with the big picture. They are overwhelmed with the day-to-day minutia.
The Jets need somebody, with an extensive PR background, who doesn’t have to deal with the myriad day-to-day workload of this department, and deal with a big picture PR stratagem.
Gelfand worked at MSG for many years, with the St. Louis Blues and also with Legends Sports, which deals with the Yankees and Cowboys on marketing and PR.
He has worked with Dave Checketts for a long time, at the Garden, Blues and Legends. Gelfand has a good resume.
PR is an art form. That is why corporations hire high-profile agencies like Howard Rubenstein to help them plot their strategies. It’s not easy. It can’t be done from the seat of your pants. There is a lot of plotting involved.
In dealing with the tabloids like the Daily News and Post, you need to bring your A-Game all the time. There are some writers around here that delight in making the Jets look bad. This needs to change.
Only time will tell if Gelfand can help the Jets improve their image.
But nothing wrong with adding some new ideas from the outside.
April 12, 2016
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