Hockey Team Marketers Keep Track of Media "Penalties"

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As Boston magazine reporter John Gonzalez worked on a profile of Jeremy Jacobs, the executive vice president of the Bruins ice hockey team, "Jacobs's apprehension about the piece appeared only to grow. The day after the story went to press, a lawyer retained by Jacobs sent us a letter inquiring about some of the sources for the article," writes Gonzalez. Then, marketing executive Wendy Watkins "called one of the [Boston] magazine's sales reps to ask whether or not the story about Jacobs was going to be 'positive.' If so, Watkins said, the Bruins might be interested in buying a series of ads. If not, however, the deal would be unlikely." When Gonzalez asked Watkins about the offer, "she said she typically makes such calls whenever one of the company's 40,000 employees is going to be written about. Watkins insisted that the offer to advertise with the magazine was not an attempt to influence the story." She also told Gonzalez that "the realities of the business" mean that "if somebody gets hatcheted by a publication," they aren't likely to advertise with them.