Making News in the Digital Era

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................ixChapter One: Everything Is Upside Down...........................................3Chapter Two: Bright Stars and Clear Voices.......................................10Chapter Three: Leadership in the Digital Revolution..............................18Chapter Four: Creating Symbolic Images...........................................28Chapter Five: Take Charge of Your Own Success....................................30Chapter Six: Road Map of the New Online World....................................36Chapter Seven: Twitter Dispatches in 140 Characters..............................43Chapter Eight: Find Something That Works.........................................51Chapter Nine: Blogging Has Come a Long Way.......................................59Chapter Ten: Untangling Online Strategies and Web 2.0............................68Chapter Eleven: Each of Us Has a Voice...........................................75Chapter Twelve: Communications with Impact.......................................79Chapter Thirteen: Crisis Never Takes a Day Off...................................82Chapter Fourteen: Working in the World's Spotlight...............................85Chapter Fifteen: Awareness That Saves Lives......................................93Chapter Sixteen: A Good Story Has Great Legs.....................................103Chapter Seventeen: Perception Is Just Reality's Mirror Image.....................109Chapter Eighteen: Plain Language Is Sexy.........................................112Chapter Nineteen: Die, Press Releases!...........................................117Chapter Twenty: Nothing Is Secret, or "No Comment"...............................122Chapter Twenty-One: Strategic Planning While You Wait............................128Chapter Twenty-Two: Mission Statements Are Useless...............................134Chapter Twenty-Three: The Price of a Forgettable Slogan..........................141Chapter Twenty-Four: A Handshake Rather Than E-Mail..............................147Chapter Twenty-Five: Be Clever and Bold..........................................152Chapter Twenty-Six: Ready for 15 Minutes.........................................158Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Camera Never Blinks....................................163Chapter Twenty-Eight: Core Values and Clear Vision...............................166

Chapter One

We are inundated today by marketing and promotional message clutter, which is driven by fierce competition among businesses, organizations and individuals with agendas - all vying for attention. In this digital age, it seems as if we are in a world of high-intensity information overload. We attempt to tune out much of the noise, yet many of us remain captivated by the clever, credible and original.

The online environment is new for many organizations desiring to create attention and have their messages heard. Resisting or rejecting contemporary ideas for communications means risking being lost in the shadows and dust. It is a time when better techniques are needed to boost awareness and reach objectives.

The challenge is how to successfully achieve meaningful results through effectively and credibly connecting with audiences and, in particular, the media, both mainstream and online. The goals for a business or organization may include growth, enhanced image and reputation before key audiences, increased financial security and being recognized as a leader.

We are living in the online era, a fact that cannot be avoided. There are approximately 199.2 million Internet users in the United States, according to eMarketer. Two out of every three people in the country are actively online.

Organizations can no longer afford to cling to old-school tactics and hope to succeed. It is a new era, in when reaching objectives and success is equated to management of prominent awareness, engagement with audiences and effective competitive differentiation.

It has become a bewildering world, filled with noise, clutter and change, especially in how we communicate and how we scramble to get the attention of the media. The methods of our conversations are evolving; the style of discourse is changing. How we get our news, are informed and share information is changing as well. Even those we have conversations with have changed, as we sometimes share with and learn from people we may never meet in person.

In our own organizations, we want to be clear, decisive and efficient leaders, managers and communicators. But then things get complicated. We know what we want to say, and we want to act quickly, but since many people need to be involved in the approval process, we have numerous meetings to make sure we have covered everything. And time passes even as the rest of the world races by. Many of our efforts to communicate are held back by rigid internal processes and politics, as well as inflexible old habits.

In the media, an entire industry that clung too long to old business models and old habits is changing and dying before our eyes. The newspaper business as it has traditionally been known is crumbling as advertising dollars and readers have swarmed to the efficiency and instant convenience of the Internet. The definitions of what is news and who is a journalist are swiftly being altered.

Every week, if not every day, we hear of more newspapers failing or struggling to stay alive. Newsrooms are cutting staffs, cutting sections, cutting pages. Some of the best newspeople in the business have lost their jobs. The industry has been trying to find a silver bullet, a new business model, to attract more readers and larger revenue streams online. It has not had much luck so far. The traditional American press is on suicide watch.

Frank Rich, a respected columnist at the New York Times, pulled no punches about the situation of traditional media when he observed in a May 10, 2009, Times column: "Newspaper circulations and revenues are in free fall ... [and] the reporting ranks on network and local [TV] news alike are shriveling."

Rich continued: "The causes of journalism's downfall - some self-inflicted, some beyond anyone's control (a worldwide economic meltdown) - are well known." He characterized it as "self-destructive retreat from innovation."

With the advent of new forms of media, made possible by the online digital revolution, we seemingly have infinite avenues to find news and information at our fingertips, and we can explore new ways of having our voices heard. We care less today about what someone is pushing at us and more about our own personal choices - a trend that has turned the whole world of marketing and advertising upside down.

The big advantage is that today we can do something about it. We all can be actively a part of the online discourse to have our voices, news and information heard and seen. It only takes learning the new ways to work in the digital era.

Just as we in the communications industry would no longer consider sending a news release to the media in the mail or via fax, for example, we must also question the relevance of even using such things as news releases and other more traditional communication tactics.

With downsizing of mainstream media, those journalists who still have jobs are under increased pressure to find new and clever stories that have not appeared elsewhere. Why, then, would they consider a press release? Nonetheless, the PR industry - clinging staunchly to its old-school ways - continues to send out thousands of press releases, most of which are never read.

The harsh truth today is that nobody cares when an organization talks about itself. Today's publics, or a company's particular audiences, only care how they benefit from an organization's products or services.

The old style of advertising and marketing is changing before our eyes as revolutionary new creative methods, which are more efficient and cost less, take shape, usually online. The idea of big, pricey Madison Avenue-type advertising agencies is becoming obsolete.

The days of massive spending on advertising campaigns to debut new products or ideas are waning. Generating influence requires clever exposure across the diverse and evolving channels of the traditional news media, together with a savvy use of the new spectrum of digital media, including blogs, podcasts, social networking, streaming video and engaging people in conversations online. An imaginative one-minute video on YouTube that was made on a shoestring budget has the potential today of being viewed by millions of people and delivering substantial results.

There are already warning signs that the traditional model of many public relations agencies that embraces hourly billing, and tactics that have not changed in decades, is headed for trouble. In the digital age, it is possible for any individuals or organizations to manage their own communications outreach efficiently, relying on assistance from specialists and consultants, without the need for a full-blown PR agency.

It is no surprise, then, that corporations and organizations, including the big public relations agencies, are scrambling to understand how to communicate in the complex digital world of instantaneous deadlines, where all the rules are changing. Even the tactical steps of how to connect with journalists and bloggers, as well as the burgeoning popularity of online interactivity and social media communities, are new.

There has been a flurry of excitement over the exciting new tools of the digital revolution. Should an organization or CEO have a blog? How about podcasts and streaming video? What are the merits of a special wiki to explain a technical industry or complex issues? What about the plethora of online services that promises to deliver your press release into the hands of thousands of reporters?

How do you make intelligent choices about what works to attract attention and what does not? We must begin by stepping back and taking a more strategic and realistic view of the competitive landscape. Put aside for a moment all the tactical choices for things like interactive sites, streaming video, viral word-of-mouth tactics, social networks, branding in a virtual world, online newsrooms, blogs and so on in order to focus on understanding far more important dynamics: What's driving interest in the digital environment?

Here's a reality: The ability to inspire and communicate passion, value and clear purpose to achieve solid results in today's digital revolution is always strategically driven. It begins with a clear vision of a business or organization's core purpose and developing a credible, authentic voice.

What's an organization's authentic overarching story that will stop audiences in their tracks, to listen and engage? Strategic purpose today focuses on who you are, rather than who you say you are.

It comes alive by having a clear grasp of both the established techniques of communications and the evolving world of both mainstream media, as well as a dizzying array of new communications methods online. An effective communicator today must know how to work in both worlds of communications with a firm grasp of trends, protocols, ethics and opportunities.

Effective and responsible awareness leadership, the kind that delivers the results you desire, is an imperfect, evolving craft at best, and it can be extremely powerful.

The practice of influential communications with the media comes from realistic knowledge of what makes appealing news, what is and is not a story identifying the best news outlet to reach your audiences, finding a reporter who agrees with you about the story, and working with the reporter to develop a story with which you will be pleased. The goal is to reach and engage audiences.

What Starbucks pulled off in May 2009 is a good example of comprehensively using traditional and online media. The coffeehouse chain wanted to tell its message to a new generation of coffee drinkers and encourage them to retell the story online.

Starbucks put up large advertising posters in six major cities. To build awareness, it turned to popular online social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, and challenged people to find the location of each poster, snap a photo and post it on Twitter.

Faced with competition from other food chains, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks issued this promise in the poster advertisements: "If your coffee isn't perfect, we'll make it over. If it's still not perfect, you must not be in a Starbucks."

Not only did the Starbucks campaign generate considerable buzz online, but it also captured significant mainstream media attention, including a half-page story in the business section of the New York Times.

Because of the near-instant credibility and widespread audience reach that comes with news coverage, media outreach - traditional and online - can be the most influential tool in an organization's marketing strategy. You can boost brand awareness for an organization, prominently position a product or service, attract new customers, provide clear and accurate information in a crisis, and help to right a wrong, among other desired results.

In the field of public relations and communications, it used to be that we just had to keep track of mainstream journalists - those who worked at newspapers, wire services, magazines, radio and television - as they moved around their industry or within their organizations. Today, as communicators, we have more formidable challenges to tackle.

In my experience in the field of strategic communications, I have identified six strategic top-level action items for today's communicator to consider. I have found that these serve as a beacon for lighting a meaningful path to success:

Advocate change: Learn the styles, trends and new protocols of today's mainstream and online media as it shifts and jockeys to find a niche. Champion change in your own organization. Old habits die hard at many organizations, slowing them from learning new styles and embracing new techniques. While it might be an old habit and more comfortable, for example, to send out a press release, that kind of outreach has become less effective in today's competitive world. Embrace storytelling: Learn how to tell what your organization has to say in an appealing story. Forget slogans, marketing lingo and advertising catch phrases. Storytelling is an astonishingly influential technique for any organization or business to attract attention and trigger word-of-mouth buzz that will ultimately enhance leadership positioning. The media, whether mainstream or online, is always looking for a good story. Use plain language: The communications clarity of business and organizations is too often polluted by obfuscated language of industry shorthand or overworked business school jargon. As a communicator, translate opaque into plain and clear language that everyone will understand. Reach out to few to achieve more: Develop working relationships with those individuals - whether journalists, bloggers, analysts or others - whose opinions tend to influence others in your industry or business sector. Chances are, the list of authentic influencers is astonishingly short. In technology's consumer products area, for example, David Pogue of the New York Times and Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Leader are the primary thought leaders. What they write and say often influences what the rest of the media reports. (Note that there are influential people like Pogue and Mossberg in every industry and field of expertise.) Aside from promoting your own organization, strive to become a valued and trusted resource to such thought leaders in the media. The days of blasting out press releases to thousands of people are quickly coming to an end for the simple reason that a release sent to everyone is the antithesis of what any journalist wants or needs for a story in today's media environment. Stop marketing and promoting; start listening: We are living and working in a new world influenced by vast choices online, a world of diminished influence for traditional advertising, marketing and promotion. This is the hardest thing for many organizations to grasp. We must let go of old ways, listen to the people who matter most to our organizations - customers, clients, buyers, stakeholders, the media - and get into conversations with all of them. There's an old belief that the best kind of promotion is when an influential thought leader says something nice about you, and it's never been truer than today. Listening and conversations lead to those who matter most to your organization telling others nice things about you. They become an army of ambassadors who are on your side, which can enhance the best kind of awareness. Become the credible voice and face of your organization and industry: Look around at today's most respected organizations. In many cases, the top executives have high visibility and are recognized as leaders with near-celebrity status. They define and differentiate the image, integrity and reputation of their organizations through their own consistent openness and transparency as industry leaders, often leaving less outward CEOs to stand in the shadows.

It is not that difficult to achieve organizational image leadership and a clear voice to capitalize on all the communications opportunities around us. It begins with the discipline of letting go of old habits that often no longer work, recognizing that if we do not get more savvy as communicators, we might wake up someday to find that our competitors have.

Chapter Two

There are important voices that gain trust and change how business is done worldwide. We hear the voices of these highly successful leaders and executives who use the awesome power of the media, online and mainstream, to build trust in the brand value of their corporations, activist groups, associations and nongovernmental organizations.

During the course of researching this book, I spoke with many bloggers, journalists and visionaries in the field of communications. They shared their opinions about today's most interesting executives, providinganinsider'sperspectiveonthelatesttrendsincommunications. I also interviewed outstanding leaders of corporations, nonprofits and associations who are recognized for being credible, transparent and effective communicators.

A few select yet exceptionally influential executives generate media coverage that is usually reserved for rock stars, only this group is far more grounded and credible. It includes such people as Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Layli Miller-Muro, Tony Hsieh and Sir Richard Branson. They know how to enhance their own images, worth and the way we view and respect them as leaders.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Making News in the Digital Eraby DAVID E. HENDERSON Copyright © 2009 by David E. Henderson. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.