BlackDoor MediaComm

By Deron Snyder If nothing else, the University of Maryland has proved itself to be an equal-opportunity violator of communication best practices. The school has demonstrated extraordinary incompetence in virtually every conceivable way.  As a government entity. Through its internal communication. As an institution of higher learning. Via its external communication. As an athletic department. Just as the University of Alabama and Auburn University are shining examples of excellent communication in reaction to a crisis – the 2011 poisoning of Auburn’s venerable oak trees by an Alabama fan – Maryland forever will be the first chapter in “What Not to Do” for its response to the tragic death of 19-year-old Terrapins football player Jordan McNair. “We have got politicians involved, students upset and the public wondering what’s going on,” a former Terrapin Club president told the New York Times last week after a chaotic series of events . In a span of roughly 48 hours, we re...

By Deron Snyder How does a 50-year old man go from the obscurity of managing casual restaurants in Richmond, Virginia. to become a media celebrity in a Top 10 market like Washington, DC? How does he break into journalism at such an advanced age, with no training, no experience and no connections? How does he develop a cult-like fan base that grows to include the likes of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.? The answer is easy to guess: He does it by being social. Rich Tandler was 63 when he died suddenly last month , sending a shockwave through journalists, fans and personnel associated with Washington’s NFL franchise. He was a prime example of the power of social media, which catapulted him from Applebee’s and Panera Bread to stadiums and locker rooms around the country – and even London, where Washington and Cincinnati played in 2016. The team “retired” his seat in the FedEx Field press box and marked it with a plaque. Tandler began blogging about the team, as a hobby, in...