To avoid taunts of “fake news,” allow me to clarify. I’ve dusted off the post from a year ago that commemorated the publishing of my 1,000th post. The odometer now reads 1,087. Yet, the post has even more relevance today as companies navigate the Coronavirus era, making judgment calls on what to communicate to the …more
Update: I dusted off this post because the content remains relevant today. The President continues to struggle with the concept of delivering a clear and consistent message. Yet, he’s a “natural” at generating earned media. . Before addressing the question, let’s consider the high-level objectives of the typical communications campaign. Increase awareness, often in …more
The latest study from the Pew Research Center confirms that social media continues to be the driver behind a good chunk of the news consumed by Americans. Being a glass-is-half-empty kind of person, it’s encouraging to see the numbers haven’t changed much over the last couple of years. Taking a closer look at …more
Before addressing the question, let’s consider the high-level objectives of the typical communications campaign. Increase awareness, often in the form of media coverage. Strive to fortify the brand. Of course, the ultimate goal is to win people over to your way of thinking so they “buy.” By this definition, Trump’s unconventional approach to communications has …more
French President Emmanuel Macron has concluded that government legislation is the antidote for “fake news.” Before going further, it’s worth stepping back and considering what constitutes fake news. I see two components to the equation. First, you have the source. Does the media property practice the tenets of journalism? Does the media property have a …more
I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how even smart people often fail at discerning poor quality information from the good stuff. It turns out that my cousin, Todd Quinn, a business and economics librarian at the University of New Mexico, deals with this issue every day and even teaches classes to help …more
Nieman Lab published an article last week, “Even Smart People Are Shockingly Bad at Analyzing Sources Online,” that lives up to the headline. In one exercise, those in the study — a mix of fact checkers, historians and students — were asked to compare two websites and make a judgment call on the one they …more
I shared half of my top posts for the first half of 2017 last week. Here’s the second half, starting with the star of today’s reality TV shows, President Trump. . . 6. Trump’s Job Description for Press Secretary: Make Communications Great Again Given how many times President Trump has thrown Sean Spicer under the bus, …more
In this era of fake news sites and outlandish assertions touched by social media suddenly morphing into perceived truths, Russia also depends on the advertorial as a “weapon” of choice to tell its story. With ex-FBI Director James Comey’s recent testimony reigniting the Russia maelstrom, it’s easy to forget that Russia’s approach to disrupting the …more
