Media Relations...Balanced Journalism...The Truth? Oh My!

As someone grounded in the attributes of truth and balanced journalism, it sickens me to see how news reporting has devolved into total sensationalism, pop culture, and one-upmanship.

Today's news outlets scratch and claw each other for attention, not always the truth.

Truth is polarizing, and we see it clearly play out daily in the U.S. and across the Middle East this past week.

Many years ago, working for a large healthcare network going through financial challenges, I would routinely get calls from the beat reporter covering healthcare for the Washington Post.?

Avram Goldstein scared the crap out of me.?

In those days, before social media, reporting WAS journalism and was taken seriously.

As a global news organization, The Washington Post was stellar and well-read. Anything printed on its pages became gospel, especially after winning First Amendment court battles to publish The Pentagon Papers and shortly thereafter layout of the entire Watergate scandal.?

To me, The Post was Katherine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Woodward, and Bernstein. So, when ‘Av’ called almost daily for information or comment, I always remembered one important point burned into my psyche before going on the record with any response…’this is the newspaper that brought down a U.S. President. It could chew up this healthcare spokesperson and toss him to the back lot without a second thought.’?

That was my grounding with Av, who was smart, sharp, and at times devious, yet mostly fair in his reporting. He wanted his readers to get the full story and of course the truth. When you pitched or were part of a story placed in a major news outlet, it meant something…almost a badge of honor.

Not so much anymore.

“Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its ‘news media’ eyes to you.”?

Fast forward to today. The ‘Social Dilemma’ is alive, Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, and while our news information is expected to be truthful, its new grounding is within a social media, pop culture, and TMZ framework demanding a virtual fix of any information. The buzz phrase of the day gets picked up by everyone and the story runs amuck – truth or dare.?

So, as traditional news has 'lost that lovin' feeling,' the term media relations has shifted from learned expertise into an opportunity for everyone.

How do practitioners working for all businesses and industries place the story now?

Well, a pivot became the play. They evolved into news producers themselves building their own story content and publishing through today’s social media channels.?

The good news…you are the news producer, you control the channel, the message, and most times the outcome.

You build a brand and business by feeding your social media sites with content relevant to your audiences. You can optimize, change it up for key stakeholders, completely push your agenda, take any balance, and spin in any direction you choose.

That’s the modern-day marketing tool. Use the right channels – including media – to manage the right messages to the right audiences to drive the right business to your products, services, or political agenda.

The shift is long gone. Newsrooms are shutting down, newspapers are consolidated – bought and sold every day – video news is slanted and polarized politically while everyone stares at the tube on their laptop or phone looking for some truth.?

“What’s past is prologue,” as Shakespeare proclaimed in The Tempest. Well, we’re in the middle of a shit storm, and everything that has happened before positions us for the now. How will the stewards of today’s ‘earned media’ protect the message and the truth?

It’s a slippery slope, and I, for one, miss being afraid of the Washington Post.?