What is ‘false news?’ Some might define the term as “almost everything out of Donald Trump’s mouth,” but the truth is that false new is nothing new. It has been a feature of the mass media since the concept of news was born. False news is simply something that did not happen. The purposes of false news range from making the perpetrator feel more powerful … Continue reading False News
Two major communications gaffes were highlighted in the news media in Canada and the U.S. during the week of February 8, 2017. One was the reaction of Tim Horton’s executives to interview requests from the Globe and Mail; the other was the decision of the Trump Administration to bar leading media outlet reporters from a White House press briefing. Both decisions, according to reports in … Continue reading Media strategy
The world of communications has never before gone through such a large number of changes in such a short time. In the space of a few years, news and information gathering and distribution have jumped around faster than a flea on a dog. We have gone from newspapers and broadcasts packed with as many stories as editors and producers could jam into them to the … Continue reading New era
Online and telephone scams are a serious threat to everyone and to communications in general these days. And they are getting more effective all the time. Usually, online and telephone scammers are phishing – seeking information they can use to pilfer money from bank accounts, extort payments from people or to order products in ‘your’ name that they can then sell to make their illicit … Continue reading Scams
Here’s some basic information and perhaps some solace for the many executives out there who fear and even hate the news media. They believe journalists are ‘out to get’ whatever industry the executive represents whether it is oil and gas, financial, real estate , sports or even pharmaceuticals and food. In many cases, this fear and loathing is based on ignorance of the job of … Continue reading Not out to get you
Even if you believe the interviewer really did ask a good question, keep it to yourself. Maybe it was the very question you hoped would be asked so you could deliver your important message. But journalists can be a suspicious lot. The greener ones will take the compliment about the ‘good question’ and feel more kindly toward the interviewee. Maybe. The craggier ones will think … Continue reading “Hey. Good question”
It’s the latest invective political pundits and political morons throw at each other during those live panel debates on TV. Fake news is big news. Google it and you get more than 14 million hits. Donald Trump (who knows a thing or two about faking) didn’t invent fake news but his behaviour and prevarications produce an internet manure that helps fake news grow big and … Continue reading Fake news
Journalism has changed a great deal over the past few years and will continue to change as social media replaces so much of our traditional viewing and reading sources. What hasn’t changed, however, are the rules of journalism. The difference between getting your news from professionals or from the local gossips is the motivation of the teller of the tale. A professional journalist looks upon … Continue reading Journalism tech is new but rules aren’t
… There is more need than ever for the executive caught in a crisis to tell his or her story forcefully and clearly Continue reading Media: A changing landscape
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