| 10 May 2010
SECRivals recently had the opportunity to interview SEC front office Public Relations leader, Charles Bloom. We would like to thank Charles for taking the time out of his extremely busy schedule and accommodate us ... given the fact that it may be the dead period for some fans, the gears never stop turning within the SEC office.
Charles Bloom has one of the toughest sports PR positions in the country ... if not THE toughest. Mr. Bloom is essentially the dead stop that takes the brunt from both sides. On one side, the fans and media alike are consistently taking shots at the league, and it is Charles' job to field this onslaught. At the same time, Bloom and his staff are keeping tabs of what is going on internally within the league ... never an easy job within the SEC.
As the Associate Commissioner of Media Relations for the SEC, have we mentioned that Bloom does not have an easy job?
SECR: Charles, first thank you for taking the time for us. We realize that your schedule is extremely busy and will not keep you long. Looking at your position with the South Eastern Conference, how do you juggle over seeing 20 different sports, including a primary focus on football, as well as the entire gamut of media related offerings (online digital media, the landmark television contract, et al) ... how do you juggle all of that on a daily basis and still stay on top of it all? How large is the staff that works with you?
CB: We are fortunate in the SEC to have plenty of media and public attention. I've been on the other side of the spectrum where you are begging for media coverage. Our institutions, with its student-athletes, coaches and staff, deserve the recognition they receive. When you use this principle, it gives you the impetus to get things done. The most difficult thing is staying on top of the new technologies, including social media, internet broadcasting and other new media. I have found out that the more you know, the more you don't know. It's a constant learning process. Our five-person staff in our office does a great job on the daily media services for our 20 sports, but the "global" issues, we are trying to get our arms around.
SECR: Touching on the landmark television contract, from a fan's perspective, I literally could not believe my eyes last season ... games that fans would have never had access to were on at least regionally ... if fans missed the game, then the SEC Digital Network was there for direct download ... Once again, the SEC showed the other conferences "how it should be done" ... Exactly how ecstatic were the staffs at ESPN (highest ratings since 1999) and CBS Sports (which beat ABC by half a point)?
CB: ESPN and CBS have been great partners for us and I think they would say the same thing. I feel that one of the major reasons that we are so attractive to our television partners is the depth of our league. During any one football weekend, you could have 4-5 different games that feature a Top 25 team. That can also be said for our other sports. Also, the atmosphere at our stadiums and the passion of our fans add to the pageantry that make us the envy of every other conference in the nation.
SECR: The television contract brought a conference (SEC) further to the forefront than it already was (if that is possible) ... is it possible to re-duplicate these numbers again this football season ... has the SEC only scratched the surface at this point?
CB: Last year, both Alabama and Florida made its way to the SEC Championship Game undefeated. That added a lot to the drama of the season and made our ratings high. I think the depth of the league will be greater this year and that may add more to the season.
SECR: Many fans do not realize the commitment the league has towards academics when it comes to Student Athletes ... can you point to a 'feel good' story regarding an athlete that many fans do not realize happened? Or is that even possible due to the fact there are so many success stories out there?
CB: We spend a lot of time internally discussing academics and athletics. Each year, we surpass our previous year totals for the SEC Academic Honor Roll. It's hard to single out any one story, knowing others may not get the recognition they deserve. Our McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year this year are truly outstanding. Auburn swimmer Jordan Anderson is a Rhodes Scholar while Tennessee track athlete Phoebe Wright is a double major in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
SECR: Last football season, with the SEC Media Policy regarding venues such as Twitter, You Tube, and other social media outlets, fans and journalists alike were confused as well as angry ... if you could go back to that point in time and change how the Media Policy regarding Social Media was implemented ... what would you change and why? Do you foresee further social media changes coming prior to this season?
CB: I think a lot of the initial language of the media policy was over reaching. We did make several changes to the policy after the initial release, with assistance from national journalism groups. In today's media, there are lot of changes being made on how institutions/conferences, both college and professional, are providing information to its fans and how they are handling the media. We are looking for a solid middle ground on this. I don't forsee any major changes from what we ended up with at the end of last season.
SECR: Traditional journalism as we know it is evolving. Some will say that traditional print journalism is dying or fading into the distance ... I do not believe that statement. Five years ago, most sports editors laughed at the online realm ... now they are finding themselves in positions in which they must adapt to the online world or fall behind ... more or less joining the fray that they previously scoffed at ... what is the SEC's official policy regarding bloggers and do you ever foresee bloggers (that have paid their dues) being able to at least regionally cover the SEC as a credentialed representative? We realize that a league the size of the SEC has a brand to protect, but honestly, the fan's are missing a component that most (not all, but most) official media representatives are not allowed to do: covering sports in a non-biased vein, but with the fan's perspective in mind. At the same time, we are aware that most member institutions have their own policies ... in most cases, the policies are set to ensure non-admittance rather than admittance ... does the SEC have plans on working with the member schools to come up with a league wide policy to help bloggers gain access?
CB: That is a difficult question to ask. The conference itself does not have a policy that denies media access to its press boxes. Our policy deals with what you can do with a credential once you receive it. Blogging does have its positives, but it is difficult for us or our institutions to differentiate between what blogs would have access and which ones would not. And, our press boxes are not large enough to let every blogger in.
SECR: Last season, a lot of fans became disgusted with the blown calls (not all were blown) ...the SEC became reactionary due to the technology that was available to them ... some people even began to believe a conspiracy was afoot within the league office to ensure the two top rated teams faced each other in the SEC Championship Game ... at the time, it was mentioned the replay officials did not all of the angles the television viewers had available to them ... how difficult was that problem to deal with? Also, we are glad to see XOS Digital to step forward with HD Replay ... do you believe HD Replay will put much of the smoking gun conspiracy theorists to rest?
CB: Sports officiating is one of the toughest jobs out there. Everyone expects perfection, and it is understandable. I think I can speak for officials in every sport and in every conference in college sports, that they work with integrity and they make every effort to do the best job possible. The last thing an official wants is to be part of story on a bad call during a game. I think HD Replay will help. The technology is so great now, fans at home were getting better looks than some of our instant replay officials. Hopefully, HD Replay can help us make better calls.
SECR: SEC Football Media Days was a literal circus last year ... do you foresee a larger crowd for this year's event? Have their been any discussions regarding changing the venue due to the capacity size?
CB: We think SEC Football Media Days will be bigger than ever this year. It's a rather large event and we promote that very fact. We look at Media Days as the unofficial beginning of the season - a celebration of sorts. We like the location at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. The hotel staff is outstanding and the central location makes it beneficial for people coming out of town.
SECR: With the chatter surrounding the potential of expansion within the SEC ... would the league consider an expansion that only covered a particular sport (such as basketball) while leaving the other sports as they currently are? Why or why not. (ie: pull in other Universities for basketball only while leaving football as is).
CB: The SEC has been very successful in its history as a well-balanced league supporting all (or most of its sports). I don't see any change to this philosophy. It has worked for us since 1933 and don't feel a change to this is necessary.
SECR: A person is coming through college and wants to attain a career in Public Relations ... what is the advice you would give this person for them to be able to achieve their dream?
CB: I think getting experience as a college student is an absolute must. If we are looking to hire an entry-level position, we need someone ready to work who has the skills. On the job training does not exist, especially in our small shop. Also, don't get into it if the major reason is that you love sports. There's so much more involved than that.
Again, we would like to thank Charles for taking the time for us. Down the road, we will be looking forward to recontacting Mr. Bloom for a more in-depth discussion regarding several of the key sticking points from this interview. We appreciate the openness that we received, while some questions were thinly answered, no questions were dodged.
