Over the years, I’ve had a few occasions to pick up the Rocky Mountain News. If there was ever a newspaper that totally captured the essence of a community, this was the one. The Rocky Mountain News had the rugged look and feel of the mountains, and the independent spirit that reflected people who endured and thrived in the wilderness.
Sadly, the Rocky Mountain News was unable to survive. It leaves, however, words of wisdom that should be tacked on the wall of every communications professional everywhere.
Get the news. Tell the truth. Don't be dull.
Try finding that in a focus group.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Charles Gibson and Blogs
I enjoy the site mediabistro.com. Despite the fact it daily reports on the imminent demise of the newspaper industry, it has interesting insights into the news business at the national level, along with some occasional good gossip.
I found this post regarding Charles Gibson unusually pertinent to this forum. For those of you under 30, Charles Gibson is anchor of ABC’s nightly newscast (yes there are still network newscasts).
ABC's Charlie Gibson, not a big fan of blogs, has become the last Big 3 anchor to launch his own.
A gentleman of the Old School, Gibson, 65, says his only concern is the pretentious navel-gazing endemic to the blogosphere. Two words rarely apply there: Unexpressed thought.
"There are a lot of people who think they know things other people want to hear. I'm just not sure I'm one of them," Gibson said. "I think these things can tend to be a little self-serving and self-aggrandizing. That's my only objection to blogs. I don't know that we'll show our dirty linen, but I'll try to be as honest as I can and do a little 'value added' stuff."
He tapped his first entry out in 45 minutes. When he's too jammed up to write, he'll take a pass for that day.
"You can't be a slave to this stuff." He says he would never allow someone else do the blog under his name.
Gibson reads blogs "on occasion;" none regularly. "Is there time in the day to read these things?" He says he checks out Brian Williams' "every once in a while," and Katie Couric's about once a month.
I found this post regarding Charles Gibson unusually pertinent to this forum. For those of you under 30, Charles Gibson is anchor of ABC’s nightly newscast (yes there are still network newscasts).
ABC's Charlie Gibson, not a big fan of blogs, has become the last Big 3 anchor to launch his own.
A gentleman of the Old School, Gibson, 65, says his only concern is the pretentious navel-gazing endemic to the blogosphere. Two words rarely apply there: Unexpressed thought.
"There are a lot of people who think they know things other people want to hear. I'm just not sure I'm one of them," Gibson said. "I think these things can tend to be a little self-serving and self-aggrandizing. That's my only objection to blogs. I don't know that we'll show our dirty linen, but I'll try to be as honest as I can and do a little 'value added' stuff."
He tapped his first entry out in 45 minutes. When he's too jammed up to write, he'll take a pass for that day.
"You can't be a slave to this stuff." He says he would never allow someone else do the blog under his name.
Gibson reads blogs "on occasion;" none regularly. "Is there time in the day to read these things?" He says he checks out Brian Williams' "every once in a while," and Katie Couric's about once a month.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Everything I Know About email I Learned From Abraham Lincoln
If war is hell, communication to and from the front line may be even worse. During the Civil War, a new form of technology, the telegraph, was employed. This provided generals in the field the ability to update Washington in practically real time, and vice versa.
The telegraph office was located in the War Department building right beside the White House. Abraham Lincoln spent hours in that office, receiving and sending messages. As the first online president, Lincoln’s method for using this new technology is instructive for us today as we travel in our own electronic world.
1. Develop a hierarchy of communications. Electronic messages were Lincoln’s least preferred means of communications. His communications vehicle of choice was a direct, in person exchange. By walking among the different departments, he could not only deliver a message, but also hear a reply, see the body language, and engage in a dialog. Too often today, we rely on email as a crutch, and use it as a primary form of communications. Worse still, we use email as a way to avoid personal interaction. I know people who would rather email a colleague than get off their chair and walk down the hall. How ridiculous is that.
2. Words are important. The impersonal context of an email places an increased emphasis on precise words. Today’s e-mails are the literary equivalent of casual Fridays, substituting comfort and ease for discipline and rigor. Lincoln maximized his impact by using carefully-chosen words.
3. Less is more. Lincoln once chided General George McClellan about a ten-page telegram sent in May, 1863. The president’s response was four sentences. A large blank email screen should never be used as an open invitation to fill it with words. You will earn the respect and gratitude of your audience by sending messages that are succinct and to the point.
4. Message candor. Lincoln’s telegrams were frank and direct. Since the subtle nuance of interpersonal communication is virtually impossible to duplicate in the virtual world, it should be avoided.
5. Take a breath. Just because it is possible to instantaneously send a message, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to do so. Drafts of Lincoln’s telegrams have words and phrases he crossed out after venting his frustration. Lincoln may have been direct and frank in his telegrams, but he also understood that not all messages are appropriate for the electronic medium.
The preceding points are borrowed from author Thomas Wheeler, who has studied Lincoln’s telegrams and written a book on the subject. He writes that to suggest these documents are somehow lessons to be followed in our use of emails would be to demean them, the reason they exist in the first place, and their author. Reading them, however, should make us all more thoughtful in our use of this technology. I couldn’t agree more.
The telegraph office was located in the War Department building right beside the White House. Abraham Lincoln spent hours in that office, receiving and sending messages. As the first online president, Lincoln’s method for using this new technology is instructive for us today as we travel in our own electronic world.
1. Develop a hierarchy of communications. Electronic messages were Lincoln’s least preferred means of communications. His communications vehicle of choice was a direct, in person exchange. By walking among the different departments, he could not only deliver a message, but also hear a reply, see the body language, and engage in a dialog. Too often today, we rely on email as a crutch, and use it as a primary form of communications. Worse still, we use email as a way to avoid personal interaction. I know people who would rather email a colleague than get off their chair and walk down the hall. How ridiculous is that.
2. Words are important. The impersonal context of an email places an increased emphasis on precise words. Today’s e-mails are the literary equivalent of casual Fridays, substituting comfort and ease for discipline and rigor. Lincoln maximized his impact by using carefully-chosen words.
3. Less is more. Lincoln once chided General George McClellan about a ten-page telegram sent in May, 1863. The president’s response was four sentences. A large blank email screen should never be used as an open invitation to fill it with words. You will earn the respect and gratitude of your audience by sending messages that are succinct and to the point.
4. Message candor. Lincoln’s telegrams were frank and direct. Since the subtle nuance of interpersonal communication is virtually impossible to duplicate in the virtual world, it should be avoided.
5. Take a breath. Just because it is possible to instantaneously send a message, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to do so. Drafts of Lincoln’s telegrams have words and phrases he crossed out after venting his frustration. Lincoln may have been direct and frank in his telegrams, but he also understood that not all messages are appropriate for the electronic medium.
The preceding points are borrowed from author Thomas Wheeler, who has studied Lincoln’s telegrams and written a book on the subject. He writes that to suggest these documents are somehow lessons to be followed in our use of emails would be to demean them, the reason they exist in the first place, and their author. Reading them, however, should make us all more thoughtful in our use of this technology. I couldn’t agree more.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Letters Matter
One item that caught my eye should remind all of us that letters matter. Not just words – letters.
Earlier this year, the state of North Carolina distributed licence plates with the first three letters, WTF. After being notified of what WTF stands for in today's text messaging world, officials announced they would take back any license plate that had the letters WTF before the three numbers. Now, being a former state employee and not up on the latest technology, I guess I could see how this happened. The lesson here might be that all future letter combinations on license plates should first be approved by a group of 12-year-olds.
On the other hand, last year the airport in Sioux City, Iowa finally decided to stop trying to change its three-letter airport identifier, and instead make it the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. There are now announcements on everything from luggage tags to t-shirts that proudly ask people to “FLY SUX.”
As an Iowan, I once decided to show my pride by buying a vanity plate that proclaimed to the world my home state. I took my cue from a plate I had seen that used the two letter VT (the abbreviation for Vermont) followed by the word NATIVE – the plate read VTNATIVE. Unfortunately, the state abbreviation for Iowa is IA, so my plate read IANATIVE. That plate lasted about three months. Yes, letters really do matter.
Earlier this year, the state of North Carolina distributed licence plates with the first three letters, WTF. After being notified of what WTF stands for in today's text messaging world, officials announced they would take back any license plate that had the letters WTF before the three numbers. Now, being a former state employee and not up on the latest technology, I guess I could see how this happened. The lesson here might be that all future letter combinations on license plates should first be approved by a group of 12-year-olds.
On the other hand, last year the airport in Sioux City, Iowa finally decided to stop trying to change its three-letter airport identifier, and instead make it the centerpiece of its marketing campaign. There are now announcements on everything from luggage tags to t-shirts that proudly ask people to “FLY SUX.”
As an Iowan, I once decided to show my pride by buying a vanity plate that proclaimed to the world my home state. I took my cue from a plate I had seen that used the two letter VT (the abbreviation for Vermont) followed by the word NATIVE – the plate read VTNATIVE. Unfortunately, the state abbreviation for Iowa is IA, so my plate read IANATIVE. That plate lasted about three months. Yes, letters really do matter.
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