REICH COMMUNICATIONS

Where does "fake" news come from?

 

I think a lot of us are getting tired of hearing about fake news.  The president calls anything he doesn't like "fake news."  Russian President Putin denies his nation has had a hand in creating and disseminating fake news to influence voters here and our president takes him at his word.

Fake news continues to exist and it continues to shape opinions, mainly of hard-core conservatives who rely on and believe what they see on FOX and Breitbart and similar sites, as well as powerful conservative talk radio programs.

It is a very sad commentary on the current state of the administration that many of us doubt what we hear from the president and the White House.  With slightly differing stories of the meeting between the president and Putin, I must admit, crazy as it seems, that I tend to put a bit more credibility in Putin's account of the meeting than in what our own Secretary of State reported.  I heard similar admissions from some news commentators as well.

I recently saw a few accounts of how fake news stories began and how they spread.  I think it bears repeating.  This is from a source that is definitely NOT fake news.. The New York Times.

Jack Posobiec is someone known for pro-Trump tweets and spreading dubious conspiracy theories including the crazy “pizzagate” hoax that claimed Hillary Clinton was at the heart of a kidnapping and sexual slavery ring operating out of a pizza parlor in D.C.

After the Comey hearings where the former FBI director testified, Posobiec tweeted that Comey had testified that Trump never asked him to halt any investigation.  In fact, that is not true.  Comey did not say that. 

But truth seems to matter little to Posobiec nor to the many other widely-followed right-wing media and social media, who reported the tweet as fact and even expanded the falsehood.  This included, within a few hours of the initial false tweet, Brietbart News, followed by GotNews.com, a site that has frequently misrepresented media reports to put the president in a favorable light.  A day later, the false news appeared on InfoWars, the site by Alex Jones who has called the 9/11 attacks “an inside job” and also questioned whether the 2012 attack that killed dozens of children at Sandy Hook in Connecticut really happened.   

It eventually made it into commentary, repeated a few times, by Sean Hannity on FOX News.

For those who rely solely on conservative media, they have no way of knowing that the fake news is fake.  And the repeated attacks by the White House on legitimate media like the networks and credible papers like The Times and The Washington Post encourage these folks from reading or believing reports that counter or correct intentionally false news reports.

So yes, there still is fake news… lots of it.  But it’s not coming from the major media who work hard to uphold standards of good and honest journalism.  It’s coming from unscrupulous sources who bend and twist and outright lie about news to further their own agenda.  Repeat it enough, it seems, with encouragement from a president whose own credibility is dubious at best, and you can see how so many people can be misinformed and misled.    

The legitimate media allowed much of this to happen during the campaign when they didn’t question the Republican candidate as he continuously lied and contradicted himself.  Now that he is president, they are doing their job – asking questions and pointing out contradictions and lies.  And now, for doing their job, the president of this country is calling them fake.

We, as intelligent people, need to look at what is really fake and what’s not.  Before it’s too late.

Happy 4th ... Still Great!

 

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, it's important to remember that our great nation does not need to be made "great again."  It is great, although we should always strive to make it greater still. 

 

It seems the minority who would make it "great again" would like to take us back 50 - 60 years when, for some, things were great, but for many others among us, not so great.  Think of the advances we've made in racial, religious and civil liberties.  Think of the various programs that help the less fortunate among us survive.  Think of laws and policies that help protect us and our environment from selfish or unscrupulous businesses and business interests.  Think of the many freedoms we have that should never be taken for granted.

 

So this July 4th, we should reject policies and rhetoric that would divide us and make us less great.  Instead, we should celebrate all that we have that already makes us great.

 

Happy birthday America.

Weekend Thoughts... Huh?

 

There are many pressing and important issues we should be hearing about from the White House...  healthcare, Russian interference in our elections, national security, plans for infrastructure and saving our environment, precautions to prevent banking abuse and another Great Recession, improving our public schools, race and interreligious relations, just to name a few.  

But what's dominating the news today?  The president's infantile, misogynistic and untrue tweets about two cable talk-show hosts.   

When you're the president, facing criticism just comes with the territory.  Most other recent presidents have simply ignored pundits and moved on.  But we now have someone in charge who gets easily sidetracked... or perhaps manipulated. 

Instead of sending out nasty tweets, wouldn't his time be better spent trying to advance his agenda (as much as he seems to have one) and preparing for a face-to-face with our toughest adversary Putin.  Instead of prepping for what could be a crucial meeting, he is winging it.  I suppose if the meeting doesn't go well, he'll tweet some nasty comments about Putin. 

That should go over well, ya think?

Clickbait in the Newsroom

 

McClatchy Media, which owns 31 newspapers including the Sacramento Bee, The Raleigh News & Observer, The Miami Herald and the Kansas City Star, recently announced it is revamping its newsrooms to encourage reporters to do more reporting geared toward readers of it's digital rather than print editions.

On one hand, it is good that management is recognizing the growing importance of digital platforms. Some major papers like the n y times now have more digital readers than print.

But be there's a troubling aspect of the McClatchy initiative. According to a story in Media , the chain is having one-on-one sit-downs with reporters, analyzing their recent stories to see how many clicks, shares and likes each story got on the papers' online sites. And they are being coached, and eventually judged, on how much digital engagement their future stories get.

This means, according to the story, reporters will be pushed to give readers more of what they want, as measured by digital metrics.

That sounds good, in theory, but is it really a good thing for a news organization​?

Might reporters gravitate towards sensationalism in hopes of their stories getting more clicks? Might they put greater emphasis on celebrity news or high-profile court stories as a way to get more eyeballs, while giving short shift to important but less sexy investigative stories looking at local civic affairs?

While media companies are, after all, businesses, their business is very different from other companies that must give the customer what it wants in order to survive. Media have a responsibility to give what the customer needs, albeit in a way that upholds journalistic standards.

It's a tricky line. With luck, the McClatchy papers will find a good way to navigate that line while still giving readers what they need. Other papers, and the companies that own them, will be watching.  Hopefully this won't be the start of further degrading local news coverage.

No more "Fair and Balanced"

 

FOX News Channel is dropping its longtime "Fair and Balanced" tagline, which had been around since the early days of Roger Ailes' tenure there.

The new descriptor is "Most watched.  Most Trusted."

I'm not sure how accurate either of those phrases is.  MSNBC has been piling up huge ("huuge!") audiences since the start of the year, and it often beats FOX in terms of "most watched." 

The "most trusted" part is up for debate.  I suppose that phrase might be accurate if you only count pro-Trumpers and conspiracy theorists.  In terms of accuracy in reporting... I don't think so.  FOX often seems to echo the delusional statements coming out of the White House or from late-night Pennsylvania Avenue tweets, supporting ideas like Comey's testimony "totally vindicated" the president.

MSNBC certainly has its bias in terms of its commentary anchors like Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, but they're not repeating and legitimizing total falsehoods we see eminating from Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart and the like.

I still think the most honest and trustworthy news outlets are the major dailies like The Washington Post, The New York Times, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, the Associated Press.   The opinion pages of those papers may have their bias, but it is clearly labeled as op ed or editorial.  The hard news pages are, in my opinion, truthful and trustworthy.

FOX?   Maybe most watched...maybe.  Most trusted?  Not so sure.  Not by the majority of us.

VW Horsing Around

 

Adweek reports on a new VW ad being shown in Europe that's winning awards.  It uses humor to get across the point about a van's maneuverability.

Adweek says some at VW were concerned that the ad might not play well in the wake of the scandal the company had over rigged emissions tests.  But it's being well-received by consumers... an also by judges at the various ad award shows.

 

Here it is... silly but cute, especially if you like horses.  

 

 

Bad Policy, Bad PR

 

The president's statement announcing plans to withdraw the United States from the worldwide Paris Climate Accord was a bad move for this country on many fronts, including PR.

It's ironic that, in making his statement, he said the world has been laughing at us for this "bad deal, but they won't be laughing at us anymore."

Actually, it’s just the opposite, as leaders and citizens here and abroad are scratching their heads in despair and laughing at the utter stupidity and arrogance of the man whom less than the majority of us elected last November.  (Click here for a Washington Post fact-check of his speech Thursday.)

His arrogant dealings with EU and G7 leaders last week and his grand proclamation Thursday regarding the Paris Accord have quickly moved us from a position of world leadership and world respect to the back of the pack.  In the process, the former “leader of the free world” is making himself irrelevant on the global stage.

Despite his misguided rationale, based on flat-out wrong thinking on both climate change and economics, those who do understand the importance of global attempts to slow mankind’s destruction of our planet are taking action on their own and in concert with each other – ignoring the U.S. government’s official position.

It is encouraging to see so many coming together to say that despite the official edict of the Administration, they will continue their efforts to adhere to green initiatives set out in the Paris Accord.  As of this morning, less than 24 hours after the president’s grand reveal of his decision, which seemed more like the crowing of a new Apprentice or The Bachelorette winner, more than 90 major city mayors, governors of three of our largest states, and countless captains of industry have rejected the president’s position and made it clear they intend to work together toward lessening our carbon footprint.  Proof that the president has made himself irrelevant on this important issue.

At the same time, the chorus of disappointment and rejection by so many world leaders, including our closest allies, points out that our Administration stands alone on this crucial issue.   

The president said his decision was based on the need to put America first.  Unfortunately, this move threatens to hurt American business, not to mention the health of future generations of Americans.  Government support of alternative energy efforts could have created tens of thousands of new and lasting jobs here, instead of a few hundred low-paying and dangerous jobs at a coal mine the president said his efforts will soon open.

China just announced major plans to expand its alternative energy initiatives, which it estimates will add hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs and bring in something like $300 billion for the Chinese economy.  Even if those numbers are exaggerated, it’s still a lot of jobs and money that could have been helping our economy right here at home.

This is bad policy that is creating very bad PR for the United States.  I hope the bad PR will be temporary, just as the bad policy will be minimized by the grass-roots efforts of state and local governments and companies who intend to ignore the president’s edict.  Good PR will return eventually, with a new Administration that will set this bad policy and other negatives straight so that U.S. can again be “great again” in the eyes of the world.

 

 

 

What We Do ...

 

The National Road Safety Foundation has been around for nearly 55 years, promoting safe driving behavior primarily aimed at teens.

We are proud to work as the Foundation's public relation arm.  But we do a lot more for them than publicity.  We develop partnerships with Federal and state agencies, as well as with advocacy groups like SADD.  We also create and manage contests to get teens engaged in creating and spreading safe driving messages. 

Here's the latest newsletter from The National Road Safety Foundation, which gives you an idea of the scope of work we do for them.  Click here to see the full newsletter.

New York looks to the waterways this week

 

Today marks the start of the 29th annual Fleet Week in New York Harbor. 

It's a time when we New Yorkers, as well as tourists, notice a sea of white throughout town, as members of the Navy, Coast Guard and Marines explore the city, in their dress whites.  With an expected 3,700 servicemen and women expected, they're pretty hard not to notice.

At least ten ships from bases up and down the East Coast, including a Canadian vessel from Halifax, will be docked along the Hudson and most will be open for the public to board and tour. 

It's always an exciting time to be in New York.  And so many New Yorkers can be seen offering warm greetings and words of thanks to our seafaring visitors.  

More info is here.

Creativity in a Bubble

 

A couple of recent missteps by advertisers and their agencies reminds me of how too many ad concepts are created in a bubble.

We all saw the upset that a recent Pepsi ad created when many people thought it trivialized the Black Lives Matter movement and what it represents.

This week McDonald’s faced a twitter-storm over a new ad that’s been running in the U.K.  The ad, critics say, exploits childhood bereavement for a deceased father.  McDonald’s agreed to pull the spot after a huge outcry in England, all of it negative for McDonald’s.  Thanks to social media, the news spread far beyond the U.K., hurting the McDonald's brand.

Another ad, for Nationwide, caused a stir after it aired on the 2015 Super Bowl.  The insurance company had to defensively explain its intentions as social media chatter turned overwhelmingly negative.  Both the Nationwide and McDonald’s ads had a common theme that went awry -- deceased family members.

Why does this continue to happen?

I think it’s because of how ad concepts come to be and how they are presented to clients.  The creative process is, sometimes, hatched and incubated in a bubble. 

Many years ago when I had just started my own PR business, I had an ad agency client.  It was a well-known and well-regarded shop, known for its creative flair.  The agency was invited to present to a potential new client – a copier company.  PR was part of the RFP, so I was asked to participate in the pitch.  The PR component was fairly straightforward – product PR and case histories.

I sat in on the agency’s internal sessions as they were developing strategy and creative for the pitch.  They had just hired a supposed hot shot as EVP and Creative Director and this was the first pitch where he was leading the charge.

The internal meeting where the new CD presented the proposed creative was a big dog & pony show, but honestly, I was not impressed.  In fact, I thought the whole creative concept was wrong and maybe even a bit offensive.

When the CD finished, there was silence in the room.  Finally, someone broke the silence to say he thought it was very creative.  Once the ice was broken, everyone else was effusive about what a groundbreaking and creative idea it was.  I was a bit intimidated and feeling out of my element, so I kept my mouth shut.  I was happy just to be part of the pitch.  But I had my doubts.  Creative, maybe.  But good for selling copiers, or that particular brand of copiers?  I wasn’t convinced.

I remember the day we went up to Connecticut to present to the client.  The agency president introduced the new EVP/CD, reeling off his accomplishments and all the creative awards he had won.  The new guy talked a little about strategy, and then introduced me for the “mundane” PR stuff, sating he wanted to save the best for last.  I briefly presented the PR component, and the client-to-be said it all made sense and they liked it.

And then, the drama having been built up and the “routine” PR stuff out of the way, came the ad creative presentation.   As they were presenting, it just wasn’t making a lot of sense to me.  But these ad hotshots know what they’re doing, I thought to myself, struggling to get myself to nod and smile as the creatives presented.

They finished and then the client’s marketing director got up.  He said, the PR stuff made a lot of sense, but what the hell were we thinking when we came up with the creative?  He blasted the agency guys and all but threw us out.  As I was leaving, he pulled me aside and said he liked my stuff, but he wanted to hire only one team for advertising and PR, so I was out of the running because I was with that agency.

Twenty-something years later, I now have enough confidence to speak up honestly if I were to find myself in a situation like I was back in the internal creative session.  But back then, I figured all these ad guys at a hot agency must know what’s right. 

Now I know that there’s so much sucking up and fear of being the lone man out on the limb.  It’s part of being in a bubble, where people are afraid to speak up.  It’s like that in too many agencies, just as it’s in many corporate board rooms and now, it seems, even in the White House.

The bubble mentality is what probably got these ad agencies, and their clients McDonald’s, Nationwide and Pepsi into hot water.  Hopefully, they’ll learn from this… but probably not.