I was on the phone with my next Pipe DREAM JOB’er for roughly 20 minutes, and in that span, I was put on hold for a minute here and there, and heard the phone ringing in the back several times. It was a day that appeared routine for this man, and I was just honored to be given 20 minutes of time in his busy schedule. But if you were the guy who represented the Mets players and organization, your schedule would be pretty busy too.
Such is the life of Jay Horwitz, the Mets Media Director. Horwitz works in public relations, which means that he is in the middle of everything—literally. Horwitz works as the liaison between the Mets players and the media.
“When the Marv Alberts’ want to do interviews they come through our office,” said Horwitz, who has at least double the amount of reporters than most teams, as he works in the largest media in the world.
Horwitz, who grew up in Clifton, New Jersey, always had an interest in sports and during his college days at NYU, interned in the Sports Information department. But Horwitz’s intended career path wasn’t leading to a sports job.
“When I went to college, I wanted to be a press secretary,” said Horwitz, who was a political science major. “I just got diverted.”
Horwitz was accepted for a doctorate program at NYU, but chose to continue to work at the sports department as a Sports Information Director. He then moved on in the same position at Fairly Dickenson before landing a job with the Mets.
Now currently in his 28th year as the Media Director for the New York Mets, Horwitz has a multitude of media-related tasks throughout a season, ranging from press notes, which are given to the media before a game to inform them of any key storylines or statistics to look out for, as well as game programs and the yearly press guide. But this is just what he works on during a typical 9-5 workday. At night, Horwitz is assisting the media during each and every game, be it home or away, day or night. While Horwitz loves every minute of the job, he admits there are sacrifices to be made.
“There are no Sundays at the beach, no Friday night movies,” said Horwitz, who not only has to manage long work days, but the grueling task of trying to please everyone he works with.
“The press thinks you’re too protective of the players and the players don’t think your protective enough. And the owners don’t think your protective of their interests,” said Horwitz.
But while Horwitz must worry about all three parties, at times, he is reminded that his own interests need to be protected, too. The Mets, like any other organization, has faced its public relations nightmares during Horwitz’s span at the franchise. Some may believe its Horwitz’s job to paint a positive picture and always defend his players, but that’s not necessarily the case.
In 1993 during one of the worse seasons in Mets and Major League history, outfielder Vince Coleman swung a golf club at pitcher Dwight Gooden in the clubhouse before a start. The press was told that Gooden had a sore shoulder and couldn’t pitch. Low and behold, the truth was discovered by the media.
“We looked like morons in the paper the next day,” said Horwitz, who confessed he and his department suffered a hit to their credibility.
In recent years, whether it was Armando Benitez-Rey Sanchez clubhouse haircut incident, the Grant Roberts drug debacle, or Lastings Milledge’s controversial rap album, Horwitz is right there in the mix. But he has learned from the Gooden-Coleman PR episode.
“In New York, you can’t lie, people will find out,” said Horwitz, who may choose to downplay certain situations when speaking to the media. “You try and say what it is and it’s not that big of a deal.”
What is a big deal to Horwitz and the Mets are the back pages and news headlines. In recent years, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has made it publicly known that he encourages any and all player moves that will steal headlines from the cross-town rival Mets. Horowitz feels the same way about the Yankees.
“In this market here, the back page affects ticket sales and how the public perceives you,” he said. “I’m aware of it for anyone who says they’re not aware of it is crazy.”
But the back pages have not been all that kind to the Mets following their collapse this season. Horwitz, who begins his day reading every local paper, has to read about it all. It is his line of work that deals with those journalists who bashed the Mets.
“You knew the press was going to be negative,” he said. “It makes [work] doubly hard when the team loses.”
Although the season is over, the winter months are still busy for Horwitz and the Mets organization. He and the Public Relations department work diligently on the 600-page press guide for the upcoming season, the caravans during the year, which features Mets players, coaches and wives participating in community events, and any local charity work that players get involved with. And of course, Horwitz is constantly taking phone calls from players and the media.
Even with his busy schedule, Horwitz still finds time to root for the Mets.
“After 20 years. I live and die with our team,” he said.
What about his plans for the next 20 years?
Well, that question will have to wait for his next free 20 minutes.
Published Nov. 27, 2007 in Binghamton University's "Pipe Dream" Newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment