Op-Ed

by Roger Pynn

My Partner Dan Ward’s earlier contribution here on the subject of opinions in newspapers sparked an exchange with Fast Horse founder Jorg Pierach about the value of opinion to the vanishing newspaper world I came from … and to businesses in general.

Pierach seems to feel a company risks too much by having an opinion. When it comes to newspaper companies I would agree.  When it comes to purveyors of other goods and services, I’m not so sure.

Companies that sell widgets may want to express a political opinion because it impacts their business.  Or, they may be expressing an opinion that impacts their employees, the communities in which they live and work or a social issue important to the owners.  And, while there may well be times that newspaper publishers wish to do the same, they too often run the risk of expressing their opinion about things that are important to widget makers but not the publishing company.

My partner and I disagree on this subject, and for a number of reasons, I’ve long held that newspapers ought to get out of the business of editorializing:

Expressing a corporate opinion runs the risk of undue influence and pressure upon news reporters to tow the company line;

Recognizing that journalists are trained to write for consumption by a fairly uneducated common denominator, newspapers might also recognize that those readers could find it difficult to distinguish between reportage and opinion; and,

Publishing its corporate opinion could amount to an abuse of power when considering that public officials could feel compelled to curry favor with journalists and editorialists alike to secure their positions by election at the expense of doing what they truly believe is best.

Many a newsroom resident will stiffen at the suggestion they could be influenced by what goes on the editorial page, but in an era where jobs are being deleted on a daily basis, it seems a relevant concern.  Why would a reporter or editor want to risk losing their job by writing an article that might be counter to their employer’s position?

Pierach says “The world has changed.  The model is broken.  And newspapers are dying.  In that environment there can be no scared cows.”

To the contrary, I say newspapers are so important to our society’s well-being that we very well ought to treat them the way cows are treated in Hindu cultures.  It isn’t journalism that has changed … it is the practice of journalism that has changed.  We need publishers to return to their roots and see that they report news and keep us informed so we can make good decisions.  We need them to serve as watchdogs of government, business and individuals to be sure laws are followed.

And we need them to encourage thoughtful exchange of opinions.  But isn’t that the role of the op-ed page … to offer a place for opposing views to be shared?  I’d just prefer the corporate entity behind the publications leave their opinion to the imagination and use the space to inspire civil discourse from a public not unduly influenced by the power of the press.

In the name of the … Tweet?

by Kim Taylor

Earlier this month, the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer toured the Vatican, had once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Pope Benedict XVI – and perhaps even more interesting – talked with Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, about the Catholic Church’s move in to social networking.

That’s right.  The same church that still advocates for the Ten Commandments and holds its ground on a number of centuries-old practices is joining the ranks of the social media elite.

While this move seems to contradict every prior move from the Church to remain as traditional as possible, I applaud them for embracing new media and recognizing, as my partner Dan Ward put so eloquently, the Medium is NOT the message.

So, how does the Catholic Church stand to benefit from the Pope tweeting, or the launch of their socially savvy website, News.Va?   As Msgr. Tighe put it,

“I think we’re realizing social media is creating an important debate, discussion.  It’s a growing realization on the part of the church.  But when many young people are relying on social media, if we’re not part of that, then we’re not part of their world.”

Amen, Monsignor.

My Opinion on Opinion

by Dan Ward

Thank you to Jim Romenesko and the Poynter Institute for drawing attention to a blog post by Fast Horse founder Jorg Pierach, which calls for newspapers to “get out of the opinion business.”

Pierach says that newspapers “risk alienating partisan readers, who now have the option of turning to other places for news that more closely fits their worldview,” and that the opinion pages that are good for civic discourse are “also bad for business.”

What’s next after losing the Opinion pages? If people are getting their business news from cable TV and ideologically slanted websites, should newspapers drop business coverage altogether? If more people turn to the Internet for movie reviews, should newspaper reviewers hit the road? If more go online to debate the performance of their favorite sports teams, should we lose the Sports pages?

The day that newspapers take Pierach’s advice will be a sad day indeed. Rather than giving people even one more reason to turn to outlets that “fit their worldview,” we should encourage people to seek out opinions with which they disagree, because that’s how we learn. If you are a rigid ideologue who has no use for those whose opinions do not match your own closely held beliefs, then by all means continue filtering your news. But for those who wish to listen to different voices in order to build their own judgments, the Opinion pages are critically important.

While I often critique our hometown newspaper and its news coverage that has suffered from ongoing budget and staff cuts, I find that its Opinion pages are well done. I don’t always agree with the organizational opinion of the Orlando Sentinel, but I almost always learn something. And rather than be accused of bias, under the leadership of Opinions Editor Mike Lafferty, the newspaper provides an equal measure of columns from the left, right and center.

I agree with Pierach that what sets newspapers apart is solid local reporting, news analysis and in-depth investigations. I also believe, however, that the newspaper’s role in providing opinion on both local and national issues, and in driving conversation and debate, is a unique selling proposition.

I would rather our newspapers go back to focusing on what makes them unique – including the Opinion pages – instead of changing who and what they are to compete for ever-important “Web clicks.”

That’s my opinion.

Careful What You Automate

by Roger Pynn

Automation is part of our daily lives and has made many mundane tasks easier … even more pleasant.

But, when you automate customer satisfaction surveys you run the risk of pouring salt in a wound. I know, because I’m still smarting from an episode two days ago in which Bright House Networks’ automated customer satisfaction surveys caught up with me 24 minutes after I’d gotten off a call to alert them that their service technician had stood me up.

Worse … I’d taken two hours off work to be there during the two-hour window Bright House had prescribed three days earlier when my home phone service failed. So, three full days without service and now I have been put off another day and my cell phone rings with an automated request to tell them how I liked the service. Stick with me, it gets better.

There were only to be five questions. All were to be answered on a Likert scale … 1 was excellent, 2 good, 3 average, 4 poor and 5 absolutely unsatisfactory. I actually answered the first two as excellent because they wanted to know how the initial response was when I called in my request for help. The young lady had been delightful and tried to walk me through my problem, finally realizing they needed to come fix something.

Questions 3 and 4 were different. “How did I like the service?” I rated it absolutely unsatisfactory and the automated voice came back and said, “5 means absolutely unsatisfactory. Are you sure? If so, press 5.” Question 4 wanted to know on the same scale how likely I would be to recommend Bright House. Give me a break … absolutely not. A 5, again … and again I was prompted to be sure I wanted to trash the service I received.

Finally, “is there anything else you’d like us to know? If so, just press 1 and leave your message.” My reply: “I can’t believe I’m getting this call. Check with your service department. They can tell you how happy I am.”

I wish I could give you a happy ending to this story, but the following day instead of sending out a technician at the appointed hour, one arrived two hours early … followed by another at the appointed hour. Neither fixed the problem. Thank the Lord for cell phones.

Public Relations and the Casey Anthony Trial

by Kim Taylor

Very little “warm and fuzzy” news can be associated with the trial against Casey Anthony. Most coverage of the trial consists of what goes on inside the courtroom, and sometimes worse, what goes on outside the Orange County Courthouse … neither of which shows Orlando in the most positive light.  But, a few local businesses seem to be benefiting from the massive TV exposure provided by the trial.

First, after a week-long plea from the sequestered Pinellas-based jury, their wish was granted to watch the NHL Eastern Conference finals … made possible by Orlando-based Bright House Networks which swooped in on a proverbial white horse and provided the game on big-screen TVs.

Then, Friday afternoon, Judge Perry reminded viewers why he seems to be one of the most likable judges in town by slyly asking the jurors:  “Was there a package in the jury room?  From the Dessert Lady??”  If you’ve been to the Dessert Lady in Downtown Orlando, you know what a treat that “package” was.

Regardless of whether these moves were orchestrated behind-the-scenes by smart PR people, or if they just publicly benefited from Judge Perry’s kindness, they’re offering a glimpse of positive publicity for a city at the center of one of the most damning trials in years.

College a “Waste of Time”?

by Roger Pynn

College Dropout Dale Stephens is a quitter who is being rewarded for failing to make the grade … and, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is doing nothing more than encouraging mediocrity, in my humble opinion, by handing Stephens a “fellowship” to stay out of school for two years.

Stephens is so full of himself that at the advanced age of 19 he has concluded that “higher education is broken” and feels compelled to tell the world in an opinion piece published at CNN.com that college is a waste of time.

His rant is a classic example of impetuous youth. He has started UnCollege, “a social movement empowering individuals to take their education beyond the classroom” and asserts that the Internet is replacing what he thinks is a “major function” of college … to “signal to potential employers that one is qualified to work.”

I have a message for Dale. As an employer who has hired many a college graduate, I can tell you that a college degree tells me only one thing: that you have the ability and tenacity to learn. Clearly, he does not yet have the latter.

Someone should tell him as well that, according to a 2008 U.S. Census Bureau report, workers over 25 with bachelor’s degrees on average earn nearly double that of someone with a high school diploma … $60,954 a year vs. $33,618; and those with a master’s degree average $71,236, while those with doctoral degrees average just $5 short of one hundred grand.

That means that over a 45-year working lifetime those with a bachelor’s degree would, on average, earn $2.7 million vs. the $1.5 million of a high school graduate; and those with master’s degrees would rack up $3.2 million, while a doctoral degree would push that average up to $4.5 million.

Dropout Stephens, of course, is going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg because quitter motivator Thiel is handing him $100,000 to pursue his dream of the next Facebook in Silicon Valley rather than staying the course and learning things in a college environment that also promotes learning the fine art of growing up.

(Note: The University of Central Florida is a Curley & Pynn client. As well, the author is past chairman of the board of directors of the UCF Foundation, which raises money for the university.)

American Violence Down Except, Apparently, in America

by Dan Ward

Great story by Linda Shrieves about boosting security in hospital settings , but what appears to be a glaring error distracted me from her otherwise solid reporting.

“Hospitals have long been considered sacrosanct – places for healing and helping – but they are no longer immune to America’s increasing violence, experts say.” (Italics added for emphasis.)

Just last year, the Sentinel reported that violent crime was down nationwide and in Orlando, and the latest FBI statistics show that this trend has continued.  The seeming disconnect between a stagnant economy and a decrease in violent crime has been reported at length over the last few years.

So why raise fears of increasing American violence?  How was such a statement missed by an editor?  If it’s the “experts” talking about increasing violence, why were they not challenged?

This isn’t just nit-picking.  Most communicators (reporters and PR pros, alike) turn toward comparisons like these to tell stories and get points across.  But accuracy is key.  If you’re comparing apples to apples, make sure you know what’s going on in the orchard.