NEW YORK: Last week was a busy one on the PR front for Sports
Illustrated, which hired two agencies to help publicize an awards
ceremony, and lost a key member of its PR team.
Art Berke, SI’s vice president of communications, has recruited Beverly
Hills-based Bragman Nyman Cafarelli for relations with the entertainment
press and Goodman Media International for sports-related PR. The event,
the 20th Century Sports Awards, will air December 2 on CBS.
The magazine’s PR division, however, took a hit when director of PR
Robin Shallow left to join Times Mirror Magazines. Shallow, who becomes
director of corporate communications, is already recruiting two new
publicists, which will up her internal team to five. Times Mirror
Magazines publishes around 20 special-interest titles, including Outdoor
Explorer.
Shallow’s move was motivated by a desire for extra responsibility. ’I
wanted to head a department,’ she admitted. In the wake of her
departure, Berke said he plans to increase the responsibilities of
existing members of the communications staff in lieu of replacing
her.
Tracey Raab will look after the Sports Illustrated for Kids and Sports
Illustrated for Women titles, while Joe Assad is slated to handle all SI
trade publicity. Rick McCabe has been promoted to senior publicist.
SI is coming off a stretch where its publishing savvy has been to the
fore. The magazine successfully warded off a challenge by ESPN: The
Magazine to its dominance in the sports magazine arena, not least by
welcoming the competition, while emphasizing improvements to its own
product. Through a series of small changes, SI didn’t even flinch in the
face of ESPN’s launch.
