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Lesson 322 News or Entertainment?

May 9, 2016 by larrylauer

At the recent White House Correspondent’s Dinner President Obama mildly referenced the media’s inability to resist giving extreme candidates daily exposure and expressed his appreciation for those who have continued the struggle to cover the issues.

The problem is that when a critical mass of 24/7 cable outlets give daily exposure to outrageous attacks and name-calling traditional journalists  often end up getting dragged into the circus. They seem to fear looking like they are missing something and that if they don’t participate in the drama they will lose their audience the next day.

The digital media world has created such an appetite for fast-paced emotional news that even traditional journalists can feel forced to keep looking for the next attention-grabber. This can lead to beginning every newscast with shouting the words “breaking news,” or promising “new developments” in a story where there are none, or promoting an “exclusive” interview where  nothing important is learned. And then rapid-fire anchors combined with  fast-paced editing help reinforce the emotion.

Each day it can seem that more and more news outlets are moving away from facts-based reporting and more toward fast-paced entertainment. For many it can feel like it’s much more than just making information more interesting. Indeed, the new media world seems to be producing an audience that is more attracted to the drama of the moment than mind-expanding information?

The only answer I can see for society is more media literacy education. This can take place in schools, PTA’s, professional associations, civic groups, nonprofit organizations, the media itself, etc. Apparently digital media has the power to massage us into preferring emotional experiences over  educational ones. And if that’s the case it’s hard to fix a problem that much of the general public doesn’t even recognize.

Posted in Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication | Leave a Comment »

Lesson 321 The Transparency Dilemma

May 3, 2016 by larrylauer

When communicating organizations or causes it’s difficult not to believe in complete transparency.

Back in the day when I was helping organizations with their strategic communication planning I often strived to implement a total transparency policy. Making all the data public just seemed like the right thing to do.

But when trying to explain the truth in complicated situations I quickly learned the hard way that adversaries and competitors alike can make almost any counter-argument sound credible when they have all the data they want at their finger tips. In fact, one colleague once quipped, “Give me all your numbers and I can show you how to defend any point of view!” And if that is true for organizations, what about political campaigns?

Some candidates may claim transparency, but in today’s 24/7 news media environment any effort to achieve it quickly goes out the window. The media’s appetite for a constant flow of attention grabbing statements fuels a widespread practice of carefully selecting facts, exaggerating them, and then finding new ones whether or not they are completely relevant. This then can easily slip into outright lying. Any attempt at transparency simply gives the competition too much to work with.

So maybe complete transparency is not what we really should ask from organizations or political campaigns. Maybe all we need is the truth and nothing but the truth… along with the evidence necessary to substantiate it!

 

 

Posted in Higher Education, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication | Leave a Comment »

Lesson 320 Fine Tuning the Theme

April 27, 2016 by larrylauer

A university executive once said to me, “Your problem, Lauer, is you think every problem is a communication problem.”  At first I tried to convince him otherwise. But in retrospect I really have come to believe that most serious issues and problems really do have significant communication components, and this blog reinforces that perspective every week.

So I fine-tuned the theme to: Lessons in Communication.

Weekly posts will continue to address the challenges of… making individuals, organizations, and causes better understood; understanding  the psychic and social consequences of media revolutions, dealing with the impact of 24/7 journalism and social media;  exploring the issues  related to politics and foreign policy, and seizing the opportunities of a global higher education industry to improve international understanding, develop truly international leaders, solve persistent global problems, and nudge us much closer to world peace. 

The world keeps getting smaller and smaller. But it also keeps getting more and more confusing. As we strive to make the planet a better place to live this blog will continue to explore the most serious communication and media issues we will face. Whether you are an educator, communication professional, student, or concerned citizen of the planet, I invite you to join me in my ongoing quest to understand why communication always breaks down, what can be done about it, and how media revolutions change everything.

 

Posted in Higher Education, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication | Leave a Comment »

Lesson 319 Teaching Begins With Connecting

April 19, 2016 by larrylauer

Much of the talk these days in education circles is about requiring school systems to teach a “common core” of subjects, “teaching to the test,” teachers being evaluated based on their student’s test scores, and education schools being evaluated based on their graduates’ students’ test scores. But where is the recognition that before learning can begin teachers must first make a connection with the students they find right there in front of them?

Schools exist in communities and neighborhoods that vary significantly with respect to what living conditions and cultural realities students bring to school. At a time when the world is more tuned-in than ever to the issue of “home-grown terrorism” and how neighborhood conditions influence people, it’s difficult to understand why so many are able to ignore the impact of the family and neighborhood experiences that students bring to school.

John Miller, New York City Deputy Police Commissioner, recently observed on a morning news program that his research suggests that the same conditions that produce gang members also produce terrorists. He argued that it’s not religion, but rather it’s not having the opportunity for experiencing a sense of belonging and empowerment in a situation where far too many young and older people have no jobs, receive no real recognition, and feel no hope for a better life.

Obviously, the first challenge for teachers in this and other settings is to make a meaningful connection with the actual person who walks in the door.That requires letting that person know you understand who they are, where they come from, and what they must overcome at home and with their peers. Finding that point of connection, identifying a talent to develop, and building self-esteem must precede any hope of memorizing content related to math, science and history. Teachers who can make this kind of connection, help students deal with the conditions they live in every day, and still inspire a sense of hope, are worth their weight in gold.

In the end, the discipline necessary to master academic subjects is likely to come only when doing so can be seen by the student as a possible pathway to self-fulfillment and a kind of success that seems remotely within reach.

 

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Lesson 318 Dealing with Internal Politics

April 12, 2016 by larrylauer

“If I didn’t have to deal the politics in my institution I could really make a difference with what I learned at this institute.”

That what was I was hearing after each marketing and communication summer institute I chaired for professionals in higher education. Based on my many years experience I found myself responding by telling them they should plan to spend at least half their time dealing with internal politics. I said that, but then quickly realized that this was a topic that we rarely discuss in our classrooms and conferences.

All this led me to writing a little tongue-in-cheek book about university politics called Learning to Love the Politics (www.case.org/books). What surprised me was that people outside of higher education started telling me that this was the biggest problem they faced in their organizations as well.

The book simply analyzes various leadership styles, anticipating typical barriers to supporting a more sophisticated marketing and communication program. It further describes typical situations and behaviors, and then it adapts grassroots politics techniques to deal with them.

The book further argues that internal politics are best handled within a framework of an “education strategy.” This simply means finding ways in one-on-one conversations and meetings to educate opinion leaders about the effectiveness of your work, and the specific benefits to them of supporting it. This sounds obvious, but few of us actually do it because it requires thinking ahead and organizing our work into brief easily explained categories.

Loving internal politics might be a stretch for many of us, but it is actually a subject matter that can be mastered. There are effective strategies and tactics and they clearly demonstrate how losing a few battles can actually lead to winning the day!

 

Posted in Higher Education, Internal Politics, Lessons Learned | Leave a Comment »

Lesson 317 Presidents in Crisis

April 5, 2016 by larrylauer

From a strategic communication perspective the US president’s approach to implementing his administration’s foreign policy has been  thoughtful and pragmatic. He comes across as an intellectual and approaches international problem-solving realistically.

But, I must say I have had difficulty with how he has handled some issues and crises. Two such moments have happened recently:

(1) He publicly expressed disappointment with US allies not getting more engaged with solving the problems in the middle east. While he might be expressing that privately, publicly he should be stressing repeatedly the importance of working together. Reprimanding allies publicly will only alienate them and make matters worse.

(2) The Brussels attacks happened while he was in Cuba. Mistakenly, he must have seen his primary audience as ISIS instead of his citizens because he chose to be pictured in the stands watching a baseball game. He was more determined to demonstrate that terrorists could not disrupt his schedule than to demonstrate real national leadership.

My experience suggests that at moments like this any president needs to move to a setting symbolizing taking control. This is so whether it be the president of the United States or the president of anything else… university, business, nonprofit, etc.

To do otherwise a top leader ends up handing adversaries a strong case for criticizing judgment under pressure, and then followers inevitably lose confidence they need to feel.

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Lesson 316 My Spring Break Nightmare!

March 29, 2016 by larrylauer

Two of my grandchildren are headed to college next year. Both applied to the university where I worked for almost 50 years. The cost there will total about $50,000 and so they will not likely attend. Even with a $20,000 dean’s award, an education there will now cost an additional $30,000 a year. It is an almost impossible situation for most middle class families, especially those with several children to educate.

During spring break I found myself  reflecting on what the future might have in store for my grandchildren, as well as for universities and middle class families. The plain truth is that universities have evolved to provide what families want… quality faculty, smaller classes, the best technology, and attractive facilities. And all this costs a lot of money:

(1) Everyone agrees that a high quality campus-based education requires top faculty, seasoned administrators, small classes, modern libraries, multi-media classrooms, and well-equipped laboratories. These are not frills. Cutting these without harming outcomes seems virtually impossible.

(2) And even the frills such as choices of comfortable living options, great food plans, high-end recreation and sports facilities, technology access and support, ongoing maintenance, professional police forces, and beautiful campus grounds, all have evolved to meet market expectations. They have become commonplace and are generally not regarded as luxuries.

(3) In addition, just keeping up with technology advances these days can break the bank. History teaches us that as soon as new media platforms appear they will be used.  And old ones never go away. This is the new media digital technology generation, and so providing all of it for today’s students is a given.

My spring break nightmare quickly became a fear that face-to-face education in a setting that meets market expectations is simply too costly to survive.

So will education move more on-line? Will teaching fall mostly to lower cost adjuncts? Will research scholars find their futures more often in “student-less” think tanks! And my worst nightmare… will our best traditional campus-based universities evolve into socially elite high cost country club schools?

Thankfully spring break is over. My dreams have been more pleasant. And once again I am a bit more confident we will find a better way.

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Lesson 315 Putin in a New Media World

March 22, 2016 by larrylauer

How can Putin’s words and deeds be interpreted? His rhetoric at home is about recapturing Russian prestige and pride. His actions in the middle east are making a statement about world leadership. At the same time Mr. Putin seems uncharacteristically interested in the US election. And Mr. Trump has on occasion suggested that he can get along with Putin.

Is Putin the Trump of Russia?  And what would their collaboration turn out to mean?

Russia has a rich cultural heritage. It’s history has been tumultuous, but its arts, music, ballet, theater, and literature are often acknowledged to be world-class. The fall of the Soviet Union and the years following were a blow to Russian pride. News stories stressed the struggles of the Russian middle and lower classes, the dysfunction of government, the corruption of government sponsored entities, the questionable practices of wealthy business moguls, and the decline of international prestige.

The situation was ripe in Russia (as in today’s America and 1930’s Germany) for a leader promising a better life and a revision of national pride. Trump promises to restore a stronger version of American exceptionalism. And Putin promises to restore his own brand of Russian exceptionalism. It’s easy to see the appeal. But it’s also difficult to see how powerful promises without “how-to” substance will work.

It seems to me that this is a critical question for our time:  How can we know that the leader who makes inspirational promises is legitimate, honest, transparent, substantive, and honorable… and not manipulative, dishonest, secretive, and self-serving?

Unfortunately, the lesson of the new media world we have yet to learn is how to tell the difference!

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Lesson 314 New Media and Short Memories

March 15, 2016 by larrylauer

As the political campaign enters the next stage the “media  consequence” question for us now is how many of the lies, attacks, and outrageous remarks we endured in the past will we remember as the candidates very likely will begin to sound more reasonable?

In previous posts I have discussed how ‘lies begin to sound true” and “imploding information produces confusion” in this new media world. Consumers are left having no idea what to believe. Now, as we move ahead we must add still another troubling media consequence: extremely short memories!

Political candidates, institutional critics, and social cause advocates have learned that they can get attention, receive ongoing news coverage, and attract large audiences just by making outrageous statements that include elements of conflict and light  entertainment. Then, once celebrity status is established these same people can change their tone, sound more reasonable, and gradually put distressed people more at ease. The consequence is that we can never be exactly sure of what we are getting in a leader… be it in governments, institutions, or causes. This memory loss and leadership uncertainty stage is what we are entering now in the current political campaign.

Only a society that can fact-check for truthfulness, strong  character and integrity early in the process will be able to trust the people they elect. The problem is that we have not yet learned how to do this in this age of ongoing media revolutions.

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Lesson 313 Unintended Media Consequences

March 8, 2016 by larrylauer

Not too long ago if someone made an outrageous remark about an organization I probably would have advised officials not to respond. To do so inevitably would give credibility to that person, put the organization’s spokesperson on the defensive, and unintentionally confirm the situation as controversial. Not responding would usually mean that the whole thing would just go away.

But in today’s media climate not responding can lead to unanticipated problems. For example, there is no doubt that today’s social media combined with the voracious appetite of 24/7 news very likely can lead to lies sounding true… at least true enough to seriously damage reputations.

And when a political party decides to attack the government as a whole, block everything a president does, object to every domestic and foreign policy, and reject every economic initiative, there also can be unintended consequences. In addition to creating gridlock and nothing getting done, a mean-spirited polarizing approach can also lead large numbers of people to view the attackers themselves as a huge part of the problem.

So in a new media world lies can begin to sound true,  attackers can eventually become part of the problem, and simple promises of a better life by someone outside the system can become very attractive. Feelings emerge that social progress has become hopelessly gridlocked, and very soon there is too much support and momentum for the outside person to be stopped. In other words, the desire for happy days “trumps” any demands for details about action plans.

The news media also plays a role here. Events and public  pronouncements that stand out and grab public attention are clearly news. When such stories have next day follow-up potential they are really good for business, i.e. ratings and headlines. The unintended consequence, however, is that the person able to generate grabber headlines gets what amounts to free publicity, and often a lot of it over extended periods of time. Eventually this adds up to establishing emerging leader credibility.

Similar conditions existed in Germany in the 1930’s. People had become disenchanted with government, the jobs economy was weak, international prestige was suffering, and conditions were ripe for promises of a better life. An unlikely individual emerged with that promise, as well as an additional one to restore the public’s pride in the superiority of all things German. By the time enough people saw what was actually happening it was too late to stop it.

Does all this mean that the news media has a responsibility to step in very soon and demand on-the-spot proof for comments that seem less than truthful? Or does it mean that many other organizations and schools need to accept the critically important responsibility of teaching masses of citizens about  today’s media dynamics and consequences?

For now, however, it may be that we can only cross our fingers. If we actually do elect a president based more on promises than substance, let’s all hope it all works out anyway!

 

 

 

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