Negative PR and sports labour unrest...not limited to North America

It's interesting to note that unchecked greed is not something isolated to North American professional sports.

While the National Football League (the billionaires) and the players (the millionaires) fight not just a labour, but a public relations battle (hears and minds), everything is not rosy in Spanish futbol.

The Spanish government recently decided that one La Liga game per matchday must be shown on free television. This is the equivalent of the Canadian government mandating that Hockey Night in Canada must exist or the American government saying that CBS has a legal right to air Sunday afternoon football.

The concept of sports on non-pay channels in North America is pretty-well accepted. Not so in Spain, apparently. La Liga and its member teams have taken the Spanish government to court over the decision, claiming it will effect their revenue streams. If the decision is changed, the league will collectively go on strike.

This can't be good pr for a league that pays some of the highest salaries in soccer and has some of the largest revenue-grossing teams.

Social Media Slam Dunk

Ah, it's that time of year again. The temperatures are rising, the snow is melting, and Winnipeg is beginning to turn into one gigantic, dirty puddle. Beyond that, another sure sign that its almost spring is that March Madness kicked off on Thursday.



The 68-team, three week NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship is treated like a religion by hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border. The prospect of seeing, not only college's best teams, but also the prospect of a "minnow" knocking off a "big fish" makes casual basketball viewers fanatics for a short period of time each year.



In the world of Web 2.0, March Madness is a perfect avenue for social media marketing. Facebook was one of the first social media websites to take advantage of this, when they launched a NCAA bracket pool in 2007. This year they've expanded on this app, by partnering with Citizen Sports and having a $5,000 grand prize. For the iPhone, Citizen Sports offers a mobile version of its Facebook app.

Talk Hoops offers an app for the iPhone that provides in-depth information, news, and game scores about all 68 teams taking part in the Madness.

The NCAA and tournament broadcaster CBS haven't been left behind in the social media derby. The NCAA offers on-demand streaming of all tournament games, while CBS has an app that allows you to watch every game on your iPhone.

All these new social media avenues for the tournament are a goldmine for their creators and everyone out there jonesing for more coverage of March Madness.

With these new apps you have no chance of missing the 2011 version of Valparaiso-Mississippi or Princeton-UCLA.

IPPP Time

Wow time has flown by over the past few years. It feels like only yesterday that I was sitting in the multi-purpose room at Red River College's Roblin Centre at the Exchange District Campus, having the Creative Communications program explained to me. But, in reality it has been almost a year and a half since this event. In the meantime, countless written, audio, and visual assignments have been produced, I chose public relations as my career path, and I, along with roughly 70 of my peers completed an IPP.

What exactly is an IPP? In order to graduate from Creative Communications, students must complete an Independent Professional Project. This can be a written project, audio or video project, or a promotional project. Students pitch their idea in the form of a written proposal and to a panel of instructors for approval. They then have roughly a year to complete this project.

I chose to produce a travel blog focusing on Manitoba's stunning and diverse provincial parks. Thanks to the support of the Winnipeg Free Press, I was able to market my project by having it featured prominently on the front page of their website. Manitoba Parks: A(sessippi) to Z(ed Lake) ended up being a great success.

Next week marks the completion of the IPP, when every Creative Communications student is tasked with presenting their project in front of an audience of their peers, instructors, family, and media industry professionals. The Independent Professional Project Presentations (IPPPs) will take place Wednesday, March 9 to Friday, March 11 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Students will each have 10 minutes to present their project and all the work that they have accomplished.

If you have the time, stop by and learn about Manitoba Parks: A(sessippi) to Z(ed Lake) and Steve Dreger's South African World Cup Odyssey. Watch Jeff Ward's feature film, "The Trainman" and learn about "Debuts" thanks to Lennie Eulalia's documentary, among many other excellent and thought provoking projects.

If you have the time