Media Relations

Two Choices. Both Mean Budget Deficits. So Which Do You Choose?

Feeling the fear?  Just when I thought I'd heard enough of predictions, political gut-wrenching, and deficit despair, I watched a most unusual interview with the author of The Predator State.

In his discussion with Bill Moyers, authorJames Galbraith made some very interesting points...and lowered my heart rate (for the moment).

1. We can choose to build a better economy through deficit spending...or we can choose a terrible economy by depending on the free market to right itself. The budget deficit will grow either way.
2. A lack of quick government intervention could lead to broken local governments who depend on property and sales taxes to take care of their citizens and infrastructure.
3. The dollar is still the strongest currency in the world and countries are still willing to loan us the money we need to stabilize the global economy.
4. These times are as serious as The Great Depression when it comes to the initial panic in 1929.  But if the people and the government have the will to take the right steps, we can avoid the long suffering years of 1930, '31, '32.
5. And finally, get used to deficits.  

Meanwhile, what did Galbraith mean by titling his book The Predator State?  Watch the interview to find out.

 

 

Funny, Strange Headlines and Barack, McCain Roast Each Other

All tension aside (I'm not so sure), McCain and Obama roasted each other last night at a New York charity dinner. McCain speech here, Obama's here from YouTube.

And, with all due credit to The Columbia Journalism Review, more strange headlines collected from newspapers around the nation-scroll down (apologies if they offend): 

    

    

     

Bloggers Get Credentials at Democratic Convention

Disclosure:  I am an Independent voter and carry news about the campaigns as an online teaching tool, not to promote any candidate.

According to Associated Press, a total of 55 bloggers were granted credentials to cover this week's Democratic Convention.  Great!  And one of them is from Utah. Follow Rod Miller's blog, he posts some great photos of what it's really like to "rough it" during a convention.  Sleeping on hotel room floors....

Meanwhile, if you'd like to see how the candidates are "working the Web," remain independent (as I have) and sign up on both the Obama and McCain sites.  Yes, you'll get a lot of email...but it will be a great education in how online can be applied so practically to reach the masses.

You can watch the sites fight with each other.  As each sends out an attack, the other launches one back.  Perhaps war will oneday be fought online, rather than with guns.

For instance - I did receive my early notification of Obama's VP announcement.  Later that day I received a letter (which looked and read as if it were meant for me) from Joe Biden.

"Jeri --

I'd like to thank you for the warm welcome I've received as the newest member of this campaign.

What you and Barack have accomplished over the past 19 months is incredible, and it's an honor to be part of it. I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting involved.

I recorded a short video message about how I hope to help in the weeks ahead."

No emails from McCain yet, but the moment I found out about Biden, I went to the McCain site, and this video was the McCain rebuttal.  Click on the video, "Barack Obama selects Joe Biden, watch the ads."

Shield Laws For Bloggers and Veep Candidate Announced by TM

As the blogging community matures and gains power, legal concerns are sure to follow.  This from PRSA's daily  Issues and Trends via Editor and Publisher

Also, I paid a visit to the Web sites of John McCain and Barack Obama.  At the Obama site, I signed up to receive email updates.  Now this is clever....last week my email from the Obama team said if I wanted to be the first to know who Obama's running mate is, it will be announced via email and text.  They asked which I preferred...I answered "email."   More to come  :)

Utah TV, Newspaper Layoffs - Amidst the Birth of New Media

The pen (or keystroke) is mightier than the sword. 

The oft used quote has a hollow ring  right now. The sword is cutting deep blows at two Utah news outlets.  At least several dozen employees were laid off at KTVX ABC4, and this summer, possibly more than 30 may be asked to exit their careers at the Deseret News.  Trust me, much more will come.

Content is still king.  Talk all you want about new media, but someone has to write the content, and someone has to like the content so that advertisers will spend money to cozy up to the content.   Yes, I know there's plenty of content online.  Does it serve the community and world?  Or does it serve the ego of the writer?

I recently read that a TV station in California laid off many of its newsroom staff and asked the community to "cover the news."  Would a car maker fire all the mechanics and expect the car buyer to assemble the vehicle at home? 

Some Americans would say the traditional news media - amidst its fleeing advertisers and audience - is getting a "comeuppance" for past bad behavior.  Trust me, no matter how powerful and protected you think you are, there will come a time in your life when you find yourself in a vulnerable situation, desperate for a fair-minded underpaid journalist to tell your side of a very ugly, life-changing story. 

Granted, the Internet has given some very talented people their 15 minutes of fame.  They may write well, and have enormous talent with video and audio.  But do they have a compass?  Can they be bought with a freebie, a pat on the back or the neighbors' praise? 

If America's great experiment in democracy is to survive, a free press (broadcast, etc), one that doggedly tracks the actions of government and the powerful, is the only protection we have from those who could evenutally undermine freedom as we have known it.

I'm a big fan of new media, but not at the expense of those who selflessly practice the true ethics of journalism. 

My fervent wish is this: That traditional media quickly finds a new business model online, AND most importantly, a new revenue stream to preserve and protect those who create content..which is still king.

The Daunting Daily Fishbowl. Even Your Neighbors Are Now "Citizen Reporters."

“If the British government can’t keep Prince Harry’s presence in a war zone a secret, why do organization leaders think they can hide anything? Revealing a widespread cover-up was the dream of any journalist. Now that dream is shared by millions of citizen journalists.”

This from an article in PRSA Issues and Trends by Gerald Baron, called Building Trust in a Media Maelstrom.

Whether they like it or not, businesses, government, organizations, associations...even your late night scrap-booking club are open to a scrutiny as tiny as an atom and as huge as the universe as we know it today.  Baron's article asks: "So how can trust be built in this kind of negative environment?" His excellent answer: "Remember the three drivers of the instant news world: speed, direct communication and transparency."

The next time you are are asked to keep something "out of the media,"  flash Baron's article in the face of the asker.  Especially this part:

"Those involved in responding to the Virginia Tech incident reported more than 1000 reporters were on scene. Add to that number the tens of thousands of bloggers, passersby with cell cameras and individuals commenting on news sites who are part of the new army of 'citizen' journalists.' "

Enough said?  If you are a one-person PR team, as is the case with so many companies in America, be ready for the day when the "Media Maelstrom" pays a grueling visit. 

In this new media world, how do I sleep at night as a consultant?  I keep a list of senior, experience-rich contractors. I know their rates, and when a client calls me in "freak out" stage, (usually at 5:00 p.m. just prior to a three-day holiday) I get on the phone and recruit a customized crisis team and have an instant budget in my head.  I know I can't do it all alone.  I pay well, I pay immediately on invoice, and strive to be financially generous with those who keep my life sane.

One more thought on all of the above...an excellent quote by Warren Buffet:

"If you lose money for the firm, I will be understanding.  If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless."

Amen, Warren.

Get Rich Saving The Earth - The Greatest PR Strategy I've Ever Heard

Yes, it sounds strange.  I sat in a room of 75 people at Sundance Resort in Utah last weekend.  Robert Redford, who casually and unexpectedly strolled in, introduced his friend, Fred Krupp, who has written a just-released book:  Earth: The Sequel.

Krupp, who is President of the long surviving Environmental Defense Fund, gave me amazing hope for the future of the planet by using the ultimate PR approach...."If you don't want to be green to save the earth, then do it for the money."

I've only just "paged" through his book, but some of his statements truly thrilled me.  I haven't heard this kind of optimism in decades.

Utah, my home state, will surely wince if the government puts restrictions on coal power.  But those who fear, or depend on coal for their own personal survival, will find this a reasonable read.    

Fred's speech was witty, he was respectful of current energy providers, did not strive to instill fear, nor did he speak too emotionally about nature’s challenges.  He talked like a businessman, discussing a new and cleaner future.  He challenged all entrepreneurs and current businesses to become the next Bill Gates or William Buffet, via help from the government through the Cap and Trade System (read all about it...in his book).

Fred predicted, with what he cautiously said was a “90 percent” certainty, that the federal government will, within 18-24 months, have a global warming policy in place, explaining that all three presidential candidates had one in their platform.  I laughed heartily when he said, “If you don’t want to be green to save the earth, then do it for the money.”

This is my second "energy crisis."  I was young in the 1970's during the oil embargo, and have felt forever afraid of the direction we've taken since that scare.  I would like to thank Fred Krupp, his organization and his publisher for putting the ultimate "spin" (I hate that word but here, it works) on going green.  He is right.  Money motivates.  In this book, he and Miriam Horn show us the money.  Now all we need is a leader who admits the earth is warming and unites a fractured society to stand bravely behind strong incentives to reinvent energy.

Saying "I'm Sorry" Too Much Like "Crying Wolf"

Every day in the news, someone apologizes for something they said that truly offended a group of people or an individual.  I think "I'm sorry" beats being defensive.  The public has a heart and knows how to forgive.

What concerns me is that some people in powerful positions say radical things all the time and when called on the carpet, are now simply saying "I'm sorry,"  and expecting it to go away.

What about thinking before you speak?  What about pulling back on the anger, and the inside joke humor and seriously considering the words you use?  Has being hurtful or mean-spirited become so profitable (and secretly fun to those of us in the conversation) that we are choosing to lose our civility?

Luckily, some are catching on to this.  Whether you love him or hate him, according to Radar Online, Rush Limbaugh and staff had a scary PR moment yesterday concerning Barack Obama.  Here's how they handled it.  Did they do well?

Black Eyes for PR?

Today, I feel like I have two black eyes.  With a presidential election in the news every minute, I couldn't help reading today's  Washington Post commentary that felt like a punch in the head.

Once again, PR is listed as "spin."  I hate that word.  And the traditional media is also getting some interesting and unconventional treatment.  The following by columnist Howard Kurtz:

"The no-spin zone is part of the Obama campaign's identity, with the candidate stealing a phrase from John McCain in telling crowds he wants "a politics that's not based on PR and spin but is based on straight talk."

Another example of how much Obama is discarding traditional media, and doesn't use typical PR types to spin his campaign:

"All traveling campaigns have a bubble-like quality, but Obama seems unusually insulated. One moment of absurdity came Tuesday, when reporters on the press bus were asked to dial into a conference call in which Obama announced a congressman's endorsement -- even though the candidate was nearby and just as easily could have delivered the news in person to the bus captives. Obama answered a few questions, but reporters are generally placed on mute after they speak so there can be no follow-up."

OK then. Will my profession and will traditional media die, mistrusted by all?.  Hardly.  But if you want to live in the new world, transform what you do for a living.  It will take a few years, but you too can join a new level of less control and more mass democracy in delivering messages.

FYI, thanks to SPJ's daily newsletter, Press Notes, for tossing this column my way.

The Free-fall of the News Business

Newsrooms are laying off reporters and using freelancers, even citizen journalists with blogs, to help bring the news to you.   It used to be that a reporter had to validate her/his sources.  Now the source may actually be writing the story...and the news outlet may or may not scrutinize it.

I feel as if we are poised on the edge of a news credibility free- fall.   A free and open press (or broadcast, new media, etc.) is not only threatened on one end by media conglomeration (many news outlets owned by big business), but by public mistrust on the other. 

As a world citizen, regardless of my profession (media relations) or the news coverage I hope to get for my clients, I need accurate news in order to live calmly and confidently.

Without accurate news (I know, I know...I've heard people say it is never accurate), I am mercilessly manipulated, government makes bad decisions, elections are skewed and businesses have no true forecast of the future.  When business becomes unsure...so does the economy. 

An article from Publishing 2.0 offers additional details. Also, a frightening example from PBS's Media Shift, The Benefits and Pitfalls of Using Social Media for Reporting:

"Such is the case of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of slain former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Back in the old days, after a major event like Bhutto’s assassination, a reporter might jump through hoops trying to score an interview with a member of her family. These days it seems that at least some reporters can’t be bothered, and turned immediately to social networks to see if they could gain insight into his thoughts.

Several big news companies — among them London’s Telegraph and Agence France Presse — lifted quotes about Islam from her son’s Facebook profile. The only problem was that the profile was fake. In this case, traditional media in all its experience didn’t know that social media sources can be a minefield, and it exploded in their faces. Had the “joke” not been discovered sooner or the fake quotes more inflammatory, this could have had serious political implications."

I'm in no position to help ailing newsrooms, but I hear the pain in the voices of the reporters at the other end of the phone.  Things are very intense in the journalism world.

What I can do...is offer up some gut-checks:

1. If you are already a citizen journalist providing information to legitimate news outlets, I sincerely hope you have openly disclosed any conflicts of interest.  If you haven't, both you and the news outlet using you could suffer a credibility loss that is publicly brutal and long-lasting.

2. If you are a PR or media relations executive, I hope you haven't tried to place stories about your company or clients under the guise of being a freelancer or citizen journalist.  Please, for the sake of the reputation of my chosen field - public relations/media relations - re-evaluate your strategy.  Ask the question: What will it mean to my future career and the future of my client/company if I engage in this activity?

3. If you are posting online and saying great things about your company/product/clients without disclosing your conflict of interest, be warned...the public gets smarter by the day and resents news manipulation.

4. If you are a political blogger raving about your candidate of choice, have you made a donation to her/his campaign? Are you a campaign volunteer?  Are you on the payroll? If so, you owe it to all of us to disclose the fact.

In ten years we will know the outcome of this frightening, yet invigorating turning point. I want good memories, not nightmares.