Conor Shea | Nov. 10, 2008
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| Courtesy photo |
| Josh Rawitch, vice president of public relations and broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, spoke to students in six classes last week. |
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Rawitch, vice president of public relations and broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, spoke to students in six classes about how to handle the glamour and pressures of working in the sports and entertainment world.
“You have to get over the initial ‘wow factor,’ and realize they are people with needs, too,” Rawitch said of working with stars like manager Joe Torre and outfielder Manny Ramirez. Rawitch, speaking to Ralph Winslow Visiting Professor Jim Bright’s J428 Public Relations Planning and Research class, said the “initial wow factor” can be a major obstacle for young PR practitioners in the sports and entertainment business. For many of them, it is the first time they’ve been in the presence of stars that they grew up watching.
“You’ve got to realize,” Rawitch continued, “these are your co-workers now.”
Ring. Ring. Right in the middle of the discussion, Rawitch’s Blackberry rang. The caller: Joe Torre.
“Sorry,” Rawitch said, stepping back into the room, “Joe needs us to change a couple things on a letter we’re sending out to our season ticket holders."
Rawitch’s work schedule, 162-game season, plus playoffs, plus a rigorous offseason, is sometimes difficult to balance with his personal life.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to cut down the number of away series I go on next year,” says Rawitch, 32, and new father of one-year-old baby girl, Emily. His wife, Erin Rawitch, who joined him in class, agreed, adding, “We never really have a night where we just sit around and watch TV.”
Rawitch, a Los Angeles native and life-long Dodger fan, wrapped up the discussion by giving students some advice on getting their dream jobs.
“People say, ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know,’” he said. “But I disagree. I didn’t know anyone in the Dodgers’ organization. I sent them my résumé, and basically annoyed them into giving me an internship.”
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