Major Changes in Browns Media Approach

Wow, some very interesting changes within the Browns organization that will really change the type of information coming out of Berea, hopefully for the better. And, given the nature of the changes, it's worth raising an eyebrow at how the Plain Dealer and Toni Grossi are burying what is perhaps the big story -- that lead ABJ Browns reporter Pat McManamon will join the Browns as lead writer for its official Web site. And NFL.com's Vic Carucci will oversee a remake of the team web site. And, oh yeah, Todd Stewart has been fired and his position of executive director of communications and media relations will be filled by Julia Payne, former White House PR exec and Clinton spokesperson. In other words, it sure looks like new CEO John Collins is aggressively remaking the Browns media personnel and aiming to make the organization much more media friendly. You could also read between the lines to presume the team aspires to become the primary source of news about itself, ala the NFL and it's new cable network.

Is this welcome news or an ominous sign? Will this signal a new era of great Browns reporting and openess or a draconian lockdown on "real news" in favor of gl0rified PR spin? I'm not certain but the fact that the excellent Pat McManamon has signed on suggests to me that it's positive. He's been the best Browns reporter for several years now, both in breaking stories and in covering the team's ups and downs with the right balance of straight reporting and occasional commentary.

To be honest, I haven't really gotten into the stories that have been posted to the official web site because they tend to be either fluff pieces ("the offensive line is really coming together," that sort of thing) or player profiles. As a fan, I am far more interested in evaluating how the team stacks up against the competition or discussing potential personnell adjustments. And the official mouthpiece of the team is just not the place to do that, it would seem. That said, I will be very interesting in seeing how a real reporter like McManamon is used when working for the organization he will now apparently be reporting on. It would seem to be an obvious conflict of interest - unless John Collins is enlightened enough to truly believe that ANY news about the team is potentially good news, even if McManamon is, say, reporting negative things about Butch Davis. Heck, this potentially untenable situation might be more entertaining than some of the action on the field this season. And it might just payoff in the sense that the Browns could stand to gain in both getting more newsworthy items out and postion the organization to benefit greatly if fans actually look to them for news on the team. I'm sure other teams are going to be watching how this develops very closely.

The addition of Vic Carducci is also very interesting as the NFL.com site has grown into a very good website. In fact, it's likely NFL.com is the template for what ClevelandBrowns.com now aspires to be. Over the past year I've been very pleasantly surprised to see actual news and high quality commentary on NFL.com -- from the Terrell Owens trade fiasco, to pre-draft rumors, to offseason articles that have been genuinely critical. It's really exceeded my expectations and if Carducci helps translate that to the Browns it will be very interesting.

On a broader note, I think this type of business move is both inevitable and savvy for any large company or corporation. It has taken 8 or 9 years, but we see this sort of thing more and more often where companies invest in their media and online presence in a way that was unthinkable 15 years ago. And that fact that the Browns are (I think) the first NFL team to seriously pursue this type of endeavor is a sign that the team is actually in good hands, at least from a business standpoint. Today I am pretty darn impressed.

Lastly, the hiring of Julia Payne I'm less sure of cause I don't know much about her. I can say that I sincerely hope the Browns don't respond to media inquiries in the same way a political organization might, but it is nonetheless encouraging how seriously the Browns are treating PR and getting the right messages out. It is, afterall, an important thing and I can't blame them for trusting only guys like Grossi and Triv to essentially be the mouthpieces people see talking about the team. I'm encouraged that she is apparently highly thought of even while I'm skeptical of her coming from politics and Daniel Snyder's strange Redskin's organization. I guess we'll see how things change once the first few major injuries or controversial things come down. It can't be much worse than hearing Policy blow smoke.

*** NOTE: I will forever be lenient on Policy for his correct response immediately following the "bottle-throwing" incident, even if he retracted it all the next day. It suggested to me that, deep down, he was a good dude who knew in his heart what it was like to be an irrational fan.

I don't know if today's news is the big announcement that was intended to help the team be more popular with local fans. All of the changes announced today, as major as they will ultimately be, are probably not going to have an immediately noticeable effect on fan's perceptions. But today's news is a big deal regardless.