Exploitative PR?

This is from Michael Grange's blog for The Globe and Mail. He discusses the UFC taking advantage of good pr coming from a man who fended of an attack by a mass murderer.

Which brings us to the dramatic events in a New York City subway station earlier this week, where a Maksim Gelman, 23, accused of killing four people in a weekend crime spree, allegedly attacked Joe Lozito with a butcher knife.

The burly father of two survived the first swipe and told reporters he used a wrestling move he picked up from his years of watching UFC fights on pay per view to help subdue his attacker.

"It was my instinct to get him down," Lozito said. "Like getting an opponent down in MMA, what do you do? You go for the legs. When we were on the ground he was flailing at me with that knife. I just wanted to get control of that right wrist. In the process, he got me on my thumb and left triceps, but I was aiming towards getting control of his wrist for sure."

Dana White, UFC president, invited Lozito to be the guest of honour at the upcoming UFC card across the river from New York, in Newark. This picked up heavy news coverage from the New York media.

New York State is the last major market in North America that refuses to sanction mixed martial arts events. This good news story will likely go a long way to convincing state legislators to change their minds.

When I first read the blog post, I thought that it was a good PR move, but after thinking about it a little more it seemed a little exploitative. Four people were killed by the attacker. Taking advantage of any PR, for financial gain, out of this story doesn't quite seem right?

Blogosphere, what do you think?

Hockey goes Pink

It's almost surreal to imagine grown men shooting, hitting, and fighting in a pink jersey, but in Anchorage this February 14th that will be the case.

Minor league sports is a cutthroat business. In order to maintain a small, loyal fanbase and attract new customers, teams have gone to every extreme to draw fans to the arena, diamond or stadium. Minor league hockey is no exception and promotional jerseys have become the norm, with Valentine's Day jerseys being worn by hulking, behemoths every year.

These promotional jersey's have become a public relations staple for minor league hockey teams and obviously have been proven to be a successful tactic, as teams constantly trot them out, year after year. Valentine's Day jerseys are just the tip of the iceberg though. Teams have commemorated New Year's Eve, Christmas, beach night, and Milwaukee legend/Mr. Belvedere star Bob Ueker, among many others.

The Alaska Aces, of the ECHL, join a long line of team's that have tried to draw in couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Here are some of the best of the worst.

Bakersfield Condors



Las Vegas Thunder




Grand Rapids Griffens

New ideas at the FreeP

It's nice to see that the Winnipeg Free Press is taking steps to evolve and diversify at a time when the future of media industry is uncertain and constantly in a state of flux.

I was just reading an article about the "News Cafe" that the paper plans to open in the Exchange in the spring. The Free Press describes the cafe as a place that people can come for food and interaction with journalists. I like the idea of having working journalists in the downtown area, instead of just operating out of the Free Press offices on the edge of the city.

This new office/cafe seems like an ideal spot for more co-operative work between the Free Press and journalism students in Red River College's Creative Communication program. That seems like a win/win for both parties involved.

Whether this new Free Press venture lives up to its potential remains to be seen, but it's nice to know that the "old guard" of the Winnipeg media is thinking outside the box. The staff has introduced a lot of new features in the last year, including Winnipeg Free Press TV, live-tweeting of events, interactive chats, and large amounts of video content. The Free Press seems to be catching on to the interactive role that media plays at the present time.