 |
| Ari Fleischer Targeting Sports World |
After 21 years in politics and communications, ARI FLEISCHER resigned last July as White House Press Secretary for GEORGE W. BUSH. Prior to that, he served as Communications Director for the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Press Secretary to New Mexico Senator PETE DOMENICI. He was communications director for ELIZABETH DOLE's presidential campaign, and joined the Bush campaign after Dole quit the '00 race. Fleischer hired IMG to help his company, DC‑based Ari Fleischer Communications, find clients in the sports world. He spoke recently with SportsBusiness Journal New York Bureau Chief Jerry Kavanagh.
Question: Mother Teresa said, "Facing the media is more difficult than bathing a leper." Is it really that tough?
Fleischer: It is [laughing]. The media's job, and they're the first to acknowledge it, is to find conflict wherever conflict can be found and to write about it.
Q: have you hired IMG or has IMG hired you?
Fleischer: It's really mutual. We both looked at each other and thought there were good things we could do for one another.
Q: Of all the directions in which to go, why sports?
Fleischer: It's just a natural love of mine. It's an interest I've always had. Now that I've left the White House, I've gone back to reading the newspapers the way I used to, which is the sports section first.
Q: Is that like going from the fire into the frying pan? From politics to sports?
 |
| Sports Figures, Like Politicians,
Bombarded By Press |
Fleischer: It is. There are many similarities between what you go through in politics and what you go through in sports when it comes to the media. Who else has a section of the paper dedicated to themselves? News figures and sports figures. Who else has live coverage of their events? Who else is under daily, intense, sometimes ridiculous scrutiny? Politicians and sports figures. I'll give you an example. As soon as President Bush ‑-or Governor Bush -‑ lost the New Hampshire primary, the media was asking, "Are you going to fire KARL ROVE?" Now that some people are saying DICK CHENEY is unpopular, people are asking the president, "Are you going to keep Cheney on the ticket?" If you're an owner of a football team, and your team starts out 0 and 3, the immediate question is, "Are you going to fire the head coach?" To a manager, "Are you going to bench the guy?" after a player let a ball go through his legs.
Q: SANDY MONTAG of IMG said, "If you watched [Ari's] press conferences, you could tell by his sports references that he took a special thrill in that."
Fleischer: I used a lot of sports metaphors in talking about government business. I think it's a way that average people can quickly grasp what government is up to if you can break down complicated issues and put them in sports terms.
Q: Many people believe that when it comes to sports and politics, everybody's an expert.
Fleischer: Yeah, you can watch both on TV and you're entitled to have a voice in both. It's another reason there are sections in the newspaper dedicated to both, because tens of millions of Americans are interested in both.
Q: After declaring war in 1941, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT urged commissioner KENESAW LANDIS to keep baseball going for recreation and to take people's minds off their work. How important are sports in this country?
Fleischer: Hugely important. Sports, as we saw after September 11 when baseball resumed, helped show America was getting back to normal. Sports -‑ what else is so attractive to tens of millions? What else can bring people to their feet to cry, to cry with sadness and joy. It's a marvelous outlet for the American people, and for people around the world.
Q: PAT WILLIAMS of the Magic said that after 9/11 he was so proud to be working in sports because he feels it's the heartbeat of the country, what gives America its juice.
 |
| Yankee Stadium Rocked Following
Bush's First-Pitch Strike |
Fleischer: When the president threw that perfect strike right down the heart of home plate in the World Series in the Bronx in 2001, it was a little over one month after the attack. The crowd roared "U‑S‑A, U‑S‑A, U‑S‑A" so loud, the stadium shook. And it was at a time when everyone in this country wanted to feel good about being an American. And who would have thought that a ceremonial first pitch would give everybody a reason to cheer "U‑S‑A, U‑S‑A?"
Q: Do you have a favorite sport? Favorite team?
Fleischer: Favorite sport is baseball. I'm a big baseball fan and football fan. Favorite baseball team is the Yankees. Favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins.
Q: You have said there is a powerful tie between the pressure that government leaders and sports figures are under because of the way the media covers them. Does the media coverage really create pressure?
Fleischer: Absolutely. The media is the same, and that's why the tie between sports and government will work. Because reporters bring the same aggressive, tough‑minded mindset to the coverage of both sports and government.
Q: Is it possible we are overstuffed but undernourished with our appetite for information today?
Fleischer: We certainly have a wide variety of information to pick and choose from. For some consumers, they can be overstuffed. For others, it's not enough. But what I love about it is, no one is in control of information in our country. It comes from a wide variety of places and sources. And that means sports. Look at the proliferation of channels. You've got three ESPN channels. You've got pro football getting into its own channel. You've got a lot more coverage from a lot more places. Of course, you've got the Internet and sports radio.
 |
| Not Every Problem Is The Same,
As Kobe Bryant Can Attest |
Q: What is the biggest crisis facing sports today?
Fleischer: It really varies from team to team, I think, from individual to individual. Certainly, if you're KOBE BRYANT, you've got a unique problem. If you're Major League Baseball, you have a different nature of problem. If you're the baseball players' union, you have a different type of problem.
Q: You have spoken to the NFL clubs at one of their meetings. NFL Exec VP/Communications JOE BROWNE said some of the media directors were amazed about how much you already knew about their business.
Fleischer: I'll tell you where the genesis of this is. In 2002, MLB brought the top rookie prospects to the White House. It was part of a four‑day training program. They spent half a day at the White House. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development MEL MARTINEZ addressed the players. About half of them were Hispanic, and he talked to them in Spanish about what it was like to come to America speaking no English and make it to the top ranks of American citizenry. The kids were captivated. It was a great success story that they warmed to. And my turn came. I talked to these players, these 19‑, 20‑ and 21‑year‑old star athletes -‑ millionaires all -‑ about the scrutiny and intensity of the media and the importance or keeping your head in the game on the field and in the clubhouse when you're talking to the media. Don't make mental errors in the field. Don't make mental errors in the clubhouse. Much to my surprise, these baseball players, these future stars, their eyes were wide open. They were absorbing it all. They found it relevant. And that's when the idea hit me how great the similarities are between what I did for a living and what sports figures go through.
Q: The Mets were one of the first teams to bring in a consultant to coach players on dealing with the media. The NBA has had a program for its rookies for some time.
Fleischer: In baseball, you have infield and outfield practice every day. In football, you go through daily basic drills. Same thing when it comes to communicating with the press. There are certain basic thoughts, basic drills, fundamentals that everybody could use a coach for. You've got a coach hitting fungoes. It also helps to have a coach who can guide you through some of the tricky PR aspects to this business, for both the players and the teams.
Q: Time Magazine has put the odds of your winning celebrity Jeopardy! at 4 to 1, which are better odds than it gives ASHLEIGH BANFIELD (7 to 1) but worse than it gives AL FRANKEN (3 to 1) and CHRISTIE TODD WHITMAN (2 to 1).
Fleischer: I should be worse than Ashleigh Banfield. I put my odds at about 50 to 1. It'll air the first week in May. I have a feeling I'll be one of those people who's frozen, standing there holding my buzzer.
Q: What are you reading?
Fleischer: I've been flying through the Harry Potter series, so I'm on the third book right now. I'm also reading a biography of THOMAS JEFFERSON. I've probably read more books since I left the White House in July than I read the previous four years.
Q: Do you have a favorite sportswriter?
Fleischer: No, but I just renewed my subscription to Sports Illustrated. I hadn't had it in a few years and I signed it back up again.
Q: You're doing a lot of catching up.
Fleischer: Oh, yeah. It really is interesting how your life does change. My wife didn't know I liked "SportsCenter" so much. I used to get home from the White House and I'd watch the cable talk shows. Now I watch "SportsCenter."
Q: Favorite piece of music?
Fleischer: I like country music. That's probably my favorite.
Q: Favorite movie?
Fleischer: "The Lord of the Rings" series. I'm still kind of old school. I love "Risky Business."
Q: Favorite actress?
Fleischer: Cameron Diaz.
Q: Favorite actor?
Fleischer: Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise.
Q: What is a typical day off like?
Fleischer: I'm writing a book, so I don't really have a day off. When I have time I crank out my book. But typically, especially at this time of year, I play baseball. And so on Sundays, I play in an old man's hardball league. It's called the Ponce de Leon League, in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. It's a bunch of 30 and older men. You've got to be 36 or older to pitch, and there's nothing like hitting a 55 mile‑an‑hour fastball.
