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| King James rules the NBA and the media... |
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| ...much like another leader who compelled people to disregard the obvious |
TRUE LIES: LEBRON MASTERS MEDIA AND BASKETBALL WITH 'THE ESSAY'
It is rare when the world of sports affects people that don't pay attention to it. The Olympics provide the majority of these moments because the Games are linked to our national identity. The success of the U.S. soccer team at the recent World Cup piqued our interest as well. LeBron James' announcement made Friday that he was leaving the Miami Heat of the NBA to return to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, created similar seismic ripples across the country. For an individual to wield this type of attention has no precedent. James' ability to galvanize the public is as stunning an accomplishment as his skill with a basketball.
After a period of uncertainty over the past few weeks about whether LeBron would stay in Miami or move to another team, the best basketball player in the world announced his decision in a written statement that appeared Friday on the Sports Illustrated website. Titled "Im Coming Home" LeBron called the piece an 'essay.' That terminology is significant, because the verb 'essayer' in French means 'to try,' and in twelve succinct paragraphs, he tries to let the reader in to his emotional rationale that prompted his decision to return home to Ohio.
The actual piece is bylined "By LeBron James as told to Lee Jenkins." Jenkins, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, did a masterful job taking LeBron's words and crafting an article that paints James in the most positive light possible. With the potential to sway public opinion against James, Jenkins instead centered the piece around LeBron's deep desire to return to his hometown, which apparently was the perfect recipe to appease Miami fans and also enable Cleveland fans -- many of whom branded James a traitor for bolting Cleveland in 2010 to play for Miami -- to forgive and embrace the prodigal son once again on his return. Written in first-person as if by James himself, Jenkins elicits sympathy by personalizing the story for every reader.
The real media mastermind here though, is King James. Ad Age magazine reported on the scoop by Jenkins in a story titled "Here's How Sports Illustrated Got the LeBron James Exclusive," in which SI Managing Editor Chris Stone asked Jenkins if there were any preconditions James was demanding in return for the exclusive. Jenkins responded that there were none. So, how is ghost-writing a story totally from the point of view of the subject and sanitizing the session into twelve paragraphs all tied up with a beautiful bow, not a pre-condition? No follow-up questions. No differing opinions. Reinforcing this edict, Jenkins devotes a single paragraph of James' essay to the line from LeBron that, "I’m not having a press conference or a party. After this, it’s time to get to work."
Of course, this isn't journalism. It's advertising. The exclusive story, which was posted around noon Friday, is "the biggest traffic event in the history of the magazine" according to SI top editors.
Despite what any defender thinks while playing against him in the paint, LeBron's power is just as dominant over the media. He has been criticized heavily in the past, but at this moment, James calls the shots for the entire NBA and for the media that covers him.
It's a unique position of authority usually reserved for political dictators. And we're lapping it up.
