melissa 365
recent unt public relations graduatea little glimpse into what i do and things i like
www.linkedin.com/in/melissalaurelsmith
It looks like my first official post-grad job might be with the Allen Americans. There has been talk and nudges and insinuations, but nothing official or in writing yet. I may be a paid employee in the next few months, or have to wait it out as an intern until the season is over in May or June. I think I will end up happy either way—I love this organization and everyone who works there. It is a fun environment and while much of my work will center around fun events and game nights, there will be some serious business involved where some ethical considerations could come into play.
There are several ethical issues associated with the sports world. The majority of these deal with players and officials, but as a part of the Media Relations team, I can see a few problems that could potentially arise.
A huge trend within the sports world is betting. I don’t foresee this being a personal issue because my interest in gambling is limited to Las Vegas and trivia nights in bars, but it is something I will have to watch out for. This is only the CHL, but I wouldn’t want anyone in my organization following the same moral code as Pete Rose or Michael Vick.
During games I deal with at least four or five reporters, and I will have to make sure all of my interaction with them remains ethical. Of course I want my team to be covered and described in a positive light, but in the end I will have to let the writers do what they want without any persuasion. I already know all of the regular’s names and have fun but professional rapports with each one. This is also the case with the off-ice officials. They make important decisions throughout the game, and I am the one who is responsible for supplying them with everything they need pre-game and throughout the night. I will always have to make sure what I say regarding the games and their decisions is fair and balanced, no matter what my personal feelings are.
Being fair and balanced will also come into play when I write the game stories at the end of each night. I always try to keep a positive outlook on a loss, but you can’t go so far as to fudge or misinterpret the truth. Our mission is to play good hockey and fill the seats, but if I lose the trust of those who read our stories online, we could lose them as a fan as well.
I suppose I will also have to consider my relationships with the athletes. Of course all romantic involvement is discouraged, but there is nothing permitting everyone from being friends and going out together. There are a few potential problems I can see with this, though. You can be friends with a player one day and see them traded a thousand miles away the next. You always have to remain objective when writing about these people, even if you consider them a friend. Professional athletes are required to follow a number of rules, from things like behavior in their personal lives to the medications they are allowed to take. If you find out an athlete you consider your friend has been taking steroids, I can foresee this being a big battle between your personal and professional ethics.
All of these worries and what-ifs are worst-case scenarios, in my opinion. I don’t imagine all of these things will come up in my career, but it is valuable to think about them early just in case. As long as I keep my journalist promise to always tell the truth and my public relations code of always acting in the best interest of my client and its audience, I should be okay. Hopefully these two never collide.
Before I hit double digits, one of the highlights of my weeks were the days when my new Highlights magazine would come in the mail. Highlights was the typical gift of choice for my great-aunt. A smile would instantly appear on my face when I saw its shiny cover peeking out of the mailbox. First, I would skim the crafts section to read what sort of crazy concoctions they would recommend to my young mind: foam door hangers, bird cages made from tiny milk cartons or toilet paper roll kaleidoscopes. Then I would peruse the jokes section and pass judgment on Mike Anderson, age 8 or Amanda Bradley, age 11 for their lame attempts at humor. After that let down came the hidden-picture-in-a-picture section where I tried my best to locate a fork or boot intermingled in an amazing pen sketch of a picturesque forest where two bunnies were dancing alongside elves and deer. Those were so hard, though. I never gave those more than a couple of minutes before giving up. Then came the “Goofus and Gallant” comic.
Goofus and Gallant were by far one of my favorite things ever. Goofus, with his bad boy bangs and smirk and Gallant with his prim sweater vest and kind yet pursed smile. The two lived in a kind of parallel universe, completely oblivious that somewhere out there was their twin in the EXACT same situations making the opposite choices and handling the consequences in their own way. Secretly, I preferred Goofus over Gallant. I believed he was much cuter and usually found myself sympathetic to his plights. I always figured that if we ever met when we were teenagers, he would instantly fall in love with me and I would be able to change him. Unfortunately, he was only a comic character and our paths never crossed.
I have always, however, maintained this feeling in the back of my mind that maybe there is another me out there in some parallel universe. This Melissa is in the exact same situations and making the opposite choices. There are times when think to myself, “Am I being a Goofus or a Gallant?” meaning “Am I being a complete idiot with awesome hair, or am I making the correct decisions to put me on a path to success?” I am graduating next week and am finding myself thinking about this a lot. Do I still love PR? Should I settle on the first job offer I receive even though I know it won’t make me happy? Looking back on my college career, while I have made some Goofus-like decisions, the Gallant in me is what shines though the brightest. I have always tried to do what is smart and was always thinking about the future and how to accomplish my goals. I will graduate in a good place, thanks to my Gallant mindset. I don’t see that changing, but it is nice to think that my Goofus is out there somewhere wreaking the havoc that I never did.
