REICH COMMUNICATIONS

Moving toward zero deaths

 

I'm on my way to Atlanta this weekend for the annual Governors Highway Safety Association conference.

It's always an honor and an inspiration to be with hundreds of dedicated public servants and others who work in traffic safety for states, the federal government and non-profit groups like my client, The National Road Safety Foundation.   They work tirelessly and usually outside the spotlight to make roads, highways and our cars safer, with the goal of getting to a time when there are no traffic deaths.

That's a very tall order, when you consider that we now lose more than 37,000 people every year in traffic crashes.

Even as cars themselves have been getting safer with innovations as simple as seat belts and as complex as new systems that warn of an impending crash and actually stop the car, there are other factors that make driving more risky.  Some have been around forever -- alcohol, speeding, drowsiness.  And some risks are fairly new --distraction caused by cellphones, texting and the ever-increasing number of screens and other bells and whistles right in front of us on our dashboards. 

Laws and enforcement help reduce risks of speeding, DUI and testing while driving.  But many still do risky behavior while behind the wheel, and that's where public relations and community engagement come in.    A good example is drinking and driving.  Through many years of public education through PR, drunk driving has become an extremely negative stigma that most of us want to avoid.   We're working to make distracted driving - texting and talking on cellphones - something that's  widely accepted as a negative.   It's a big challenge, but we keep working at it.    

 

 

 

Brick & Mortar

 

 

It’s hardly news that the retail business has been struggling, as online shopping has become more convenient and more commonplace. 

Some retail segments have been devastated by online retailing.  When was the last time you booked airline tickets or a hotel stay at a storefront travel agency?   

Other segments have tried to stay in the game by lowering prices, chopping margins down to the bone.  But that doesn't work out well, as online competitors can also drop prices without having to carry the costly overhead of workers and rent.

So some brick & mortar retailers are trying things that only brick & mortar stores can do… special events that involve shoppers hands-on.   Even though grocery retailers haven’t suffered the onslaught of online, with 90 percent of women saying they still prefer to buy groceries in a store, food stores bring customers in with lots of in-store activities like food and beverage tastings and cooking and other product demos.

Eighty-seven percent of shoppers surveyed by PopSugar, as reported in ADWEEK, want food samplings at their grocery stores, and 59 percent say they’ll go to a store for a cooking class.

Book retailers (those few that remain in business) also do lots of in-store events – author readings and book signings, cooking demos and experts talking about a variety of subjects covered in books that are for sale right there on the shelves.

Some retail sectors are losing the battle, though, as 63 percent of women say they now buy fashion and accessories online and 54 percent prefer to shop online for beauty and cosmetics products.   Even the consumer electronics and tech sectors are not immune, with 59 percent of women saying they now buy those products online.  Ironically, they often go to the brick & mortar stores to see what’s available and get info from the salespeople before they go home and place an order online for a better price and/or free delivery right to their doorstep.

It’s a real battle, but many brick & mortar retailers can shift it in their favor by offering outstanding customer service, a liberal returns policy and lots of interesting and relevant in-store events.  Those things cost money, but I think smart retailers will see it as a smart investment to bring people into the stores and build customer engagement and loyalty.

It's been a year ...

The memory of her smile still lights my day, every day.

A Must-See Film

 

_{We were at the New York premiere Friday night of "We The Animals," a new film that's already being compared to Oscar-winner "Moonlight."  It's the sad story of three brothers in a family struggling to stay afloat through abusiveness and always being on the edge of poverty.  It's told uniquely from the perspective of Jonah, at 10, the youngest of the three brothers.}

_{I have a prejudice to disclose... I've known director Jeremiah Zagar for close to 15 years.  He was a classmate and remains a close friend of my son Michael.  In film school at Emerson and since, they've consulted and collaborated on various projects.  Above all, Jeremiah is a really nice person who is a master storyteller.}

_{So I'm especially thrilled to see his new film getting great reviews -- The Wall Street Journal, The L.A. Times and as a "Critic's Pick" in yesterday's New York Times.}

_{It's playing now in New York at The Angelika and the new Landmark 57 and it'll be in other cities soon.  It's worth watching for.  Here's a link to the L.A. Times review and to the film's FB page so you can watch for updates.}

_{Go see it.}

 

 

Her music lives on...

Fighting Back in the War on the Press

 

Media people, as well as all Americans who cherish our freedoms and our democracy, have been troubled by the president’s ongoing war on the media.  His tweets and his rants at his rallies about the media being “the enemy of the people” raise fears among many of us that he is trying to move this country toward a fascist dictatorship.   A free and unfettered press is a key element in keeping a democracy a democracy.

The Boston Globe has launched a campaign to battle those destructive words from the White House.  It is urging other papers nationwide to run editorials on Aug. 16 that condemns the president’s anti-media rhetoric.   So far, more than 100 papers have joined the effort, including major market dailies like The Miami Herald, The Denver Post, The Houston Chronicle and The Star-Tribune in Minneapolis.  Small town papers are also joining.

Marjorie Pritchard, the editorial page editor at The Globe said it’s not a political move.  “It’s not about being a Democrat. It’s not about being a Republican.  It’s about the importance of a free press, enshrined in the Constitution.  It’s something we should all get behind.”

In an editorial yesterday, The Globe reminded readers about a 1974 book by political theorist Hannah Arendt, “The Origins of Totalitarianism.”   “A people that can no longer believe anything cannot make up its mind,” Arendt was quoted.  “It is deprived…of its capacity to think and judge.  And with such a people, a leader can do what you please.”    

Thus, the editorial continues, an ill-informed, frightened public is precisely the audience an authoritarian president hopes to cultivate.  Losing public trust in a free press leaves unprincipled leaders with unprecedented powers and control.

Does anyone still not understand the importance of a free press here in the U.S.? 

Mixed news on the media landscape

 

The papers have been reporting some mixed media news...two encouraging items and one discouraging, although not at all surprising.

On the positive side, Tribune Media has called off its pending sale to Sinclair.  I'm happy to see that, since the sale would have created an enormous media company with a strong conservative bent to the news it broadcasts. 

Sinclair already forces the local TV stations it owns to air brief news updates within local newscasts that have strong right-leaning and not always accurate opinion disguised as real news.  The purchase would have added 42 more stations to the the 181 it already owns, giving it coverage in 70 percent of the U.S., plus cable outlet WGN Worldwide, which Sinclair planned to convert to a FOX-like conservative channel.

The deal was called off after the FCC chairman voiced concerns about side deals Sinclair was making to enable it to continue to control the content of several stations the company had agreed to sell off in order to meet FCC standards for competition in some major markets.  Sinclair was trying to bypass rules that encourage competition and help prevent one media company from controlling content -- in this case, news content -- in individual markets.

Another encouraging piece of news is the report from the New York Times that its digital subscription base and revenues are continuing to climb, offsetting losses in print advertising.

The Times says digital subscriptions went up by 20%, to a total of 2.9 million. Add the 900,000+ print subscribers, and the total is now up to 3.8 million subscribers.  The increased subscription revenues helped the Times have 2nd quarter profits that exceeded analysts' expectations.  "Failing" New York Times?  Hardly, thank goodness.

On the disappointing front, a new poll by Axios shows how the White House's constant demeaning of the media is having the desired effect, on his supporters at least.  Forty-three percent of Republicans, the survey shows, believe the president should have the power to stop media he feels are "behaving badly." One could reasonably assume, based on the president's tweets and rhetoric, that bad behavior includes being critical of the president, his policies and his allies.  "Bad behavior" might also mean reporting on possible presidential misbehavior such as conflicts of interest, conspiring with enemies of America, and telling just a few lies to the American people and to Congress.

Permitting that sort of presidential power moves us another big step toward fascism or tyranny be rather than democracy... something the president and his supporters seem to prefer, based on action and tweets. 

It's scary indeed, but we need to keep reminding ourselves that 43% of Republicans still means only about a third of all Americans, when you factor in independents.  The majority still has the power, but we need to remember that the power exists only if we vote.  Otherwise, we will continue to be held up by a powerful minority.

 

Who do you trust?

 

Despite the endless and increasingly desperate taunts by the president about fake news, network TV remains the most trusted source for political and major breaking news, according to a new study by the Video Advertising Bureau, reported by MediaPost.

Regardless of political affiliation, more than two-thirds of Americans surveyed said television is their primary and most-trusted source of information.

Newspapers appear to be the second-most popular source of information, slightly ahead of social media for most demographics except "blue collar," where social media takes a slight lead.

Social media continues to be a leading source of 'fake news,' fueled by political entities (Democrats and Republicans alike) and, as we now know, foreign powers like Russia who have been using misinformation online to fuel discord here and even impact our elections.  While the president constantly rails against the legitimate media, he has done absolutely nothing to have our government try to deal with that misinformation -- propaganda -- coming from our enemies via social media. 

That propaganda, and those putting it out there, are the "enemy of the people," not our media.

Fake News is not coming from the media . part 2

 

 

What's fake is the lies and spin from the White House and the president's people

 

...continued...

 

In a perfect example of "fake news" of his own creation, Trump tweeted last weekend about a meeting he had with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times.  In the tweet, he said, "Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times.  Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of fake news being put out by the media and how (it) has morphed into phrase 'enemy of the People.'  Sad."

What is sad is how wrong Trump got it.  Sulzberger had to correct the president with a statement that said, in part, "I told the president directly that I thought his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous.  I told him that although the phrase 'fake news' is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people' and that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists that will lead to violence." 

Sulzberger added, "I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration, he was free to tell the world.  I made it clear that I was not asking him to soften his attack on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair.  Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are harmful to our country."

In his typically childish name-calling manner, Trump later tweeted, "The failing New York Times and the Amazon Washington Post do nothing but write bad stories even on positive achievements and they will never change."

So here we have an example of how the president misreads the gist of a meeting and tries to put untrue words into the mouth of a journalist.  If he got this wrong, I hate to think what he got wrong in his private meeting with Putin.  Interesting that we're seeing different versions of the meeting coming from Trump and Putin and, crazy as this sounds, many Americans believe Putin over Trump.

It's clear to me that the real "fake news" is coming from the White House, whose occupant has repeatedly and demonstrably lied to us about things ranging from his tax returns to porn stars, who's paying for the wall (we taxpayers, it seems), tax breaks for the middle class (and enormous tax breaks for the super-rich), jobs coming back to Harley Davidson and Carrier, and on and on and on...

Although we're getting tired of all the fake news coming from the administration, we are not accepting it as truth and we remain thankful that the media help with accurate reporting and fact-checking. 

We will not be bamboozled, and we have the media to thank for that.

 

I

 

 

Fake News is not coming from the Media

What's fake is the lies and spin from the White House and the president's people

The president's constant whining about fake news is growing tiresome and many of us try to simply ignore it at this point.

But when he calls the news media "an enemy of the people" in tweets, in his campaign rallies and even on the world stage with foreign leaders present, he is doing a major and a serious disservice that weakens our democracy.  As president, part of his job is to strengthen our democracy and the pillars that help hold it up and keep it strong.  The free press, as outlined in the very first Amendment to the Constitution, helps keep citizens informed and acts as a critical component of the system of "checks and balances" that keeps our leaders honest and responsive to we, the people.

 The homepage of the American Civil Liberties Union emphasizes the importance of a free press.  "The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing."

“The press is to serve the governed, not the governors,” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in 1971 in New York Times Co. v. United States.

Our president seems to have lost sight of that, acting as if the media exists solely to echo and amplify his position and to never question or disagree with whatever he says or does, even if what he says is blatantly untrue or misleading or if what he does is legally or morally questionable.  

...continued.. click here