Marchand Sports Media How an ESPN Original navigated the Worldwide Leader in Attention
In the 41-minute sports media podcast, ESPN original and the retired head of ESPN’s communications, Chris LaPlaca is the guest on “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.”
Through the years, ESPN transformed from scrappy underdog to The Worldwide Leader in Sports to the middle of American politics’ divide. LaPlaca was the right-hand man to ESPN’s leaders like George Bodenheimer, John Skipper and Jimmy Pitaro. He goes into detail on specific situations and controversies, while explaining the goals of ESPN communications over the years and in the future.
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What’s on tap:
* What was ESPN like when LaPlaca joined ESPN in the early days
* The Mom & Pop aspects of the business
* ESPN went from the underdogs and cool to the leaders in scrutiny
* What is the head of ESPN’s communications trying to accomplish
* LaPlaca says you never lie as a PR person
* How do you deal with the politics and with commentators, like Jemele Hill, etc.
* How ESPN handled calls from the White House for Hill to be fired
* Why did suspensions to people like Bill Simmons make sense
* How ESPN handled the Dan Le Batard politics situation
* How you deal with social media and whack-a-mole
* Understanding a crisis vs. an issue
* Stuart Scott and his critics
* How Stephen A. Smith has a thick skin
* LaPlaca remembers losing his temper with Marchand
* Marchand says he would rather argue with PR people before a story than after
* Bodenheimer told LaPlaca he needed him always available
* Pitaro has said he never called LaPlaca where LaPlaca didn’t pick up
* Why LaPlaca, Adrian Wojnarowski and Mike Vaccaro love St. Bonaventure so much
* The old days fighting in Rudy Martzke’s column with Vince Wladika’s, Lou D’Ermilio, Dan Bell, Greg Hughes, Leslie Anne Wade and more
* The truce with Wladika that Abe Madkour couldn’t believe
* How Josh Krulewitz has done succeeding LaPlaca
* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you
* On Deck Tuesday (or earlier): Marchand & Meterparel
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com