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September 11, 2008
It’s Hard to Let Go
I was on a panel on Tuesday in Washington D.C. for communications professionals from the National Institutes of Health. They wanted to know how they operate in an environment where media authority is dispersed, confidence in government as a trusted source has declined and respect for science is profoundly diminished. One source of communicator frustration is the current controversy over vaccination of young children, where the data is overwhelming on safety and efficacy, yet the risk of autism raised by celebrity Jenny McCarthy is deemed newsworthy by mainstream media. I was joined by Barry Schwartz, professor from Swarthmore College, Susannah Fox of the Pew Foundation, Rick Weiss, former science editor of the Washington Post and Pere Estupinya of El Pais of Madrid, Spain.
Here were the key points from the panel:
1) Information overload is causing paralysis and poor decision making. Professor Schwartz’ book, The Paradox of Choice, points up the need for trusted sources to break through the morass. He contended that there is more concern for influence than veracity, adding that with the need for speed comes inaccuracy and lack of peer review. “You retain trust by making sure those who receive information understand what you are saying.”
2) E-patients can be a critical audience and media at the same time. Fox said that, “This group is giving back as well as getting information. They can be a very important asset in the battle against single issue interest groups which are political machines. They will swarm inaccuracy if you empower them as agents. But they demand a genuine conversation.”
3) Many health stories are information, not news, in today’s news context, according to Weiss. “As PR people, you will have to be faster. A press release on a study issued the next day will not cut it. You will also have to offer compelling web based visuals with 3-D animation.” Weiss won the award for comment of the day when he quipped, “This is the first continental breakfast I have ever attended where prunes figured prominently on the buffet.”
4) Articles for mainstream media may be more complete and better written, but blog posts are more influential. This statement came from Estupinya of El Pais, who contends that readers do not differentiate between accuracy of MSM and blogs. “My articles are better than my posts because I spend a lot more time on the articles. But I get much more conversation going on my blog posts,” he said.
5) Journalists post on blogs for speedy entry to conversations. Fox noted that she is asked for interviews by CNN and other MSM sources on the basis of her blog posts, not her longer scholarly papers for Pew.
6) Content should be customized to the medium and the demographic group. For example, according to Fox, both Latino and African American young men use their mobile phones “like Swiss Army knives” in that they use them for everything. Therefore, to reach that group, content must be in easy to access text format. Here are statistics from Estupinya: among Hispanic English-dominant speakers seeking health information, the web accounts for 53% of total media interaction while radio is 35%. Among Spanish dominant speakers, the web accounts for only 17% of media interaction, while radio is 53%.
During the question period, I got a small window into the complicated, often frustrating world of public relations officers in government. They are not allowed to access social networks such as Facebook and MySpace while in the workplace. Posting video material on YouTube is seen as overly risky. My advice to them on Tuesday was to recognize that the battle for opinion cannot be won simply on the basis of a surfeit of facts. A uniformed government official debating Jenny McCarthy on vaccines is fine, but that official must be able to tell stories about families who regret not having their kids inoculated before their trip to Italy, then come home with measles. Effective PR is about facts, but also ease of access and compelling examples.
Posted by Edelman at September 11, 2008 6:16 PM |
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Comments
Professor Schwartz's comment that "there is more concern for influence than veracity" states the matter well. This causes problems when the media is addressing audiences that don't or can't educate themselves or completely analyze the information they're taking in. It's a fact of life that many people, including some in positions of influence, are not great critical thinkers. This makes the need for responsible communicators, from journalists to PR professionals, all the greater. Persuasive writers and speakers have great power, and should make sure they're delivering correct, well-thought-out information.
Posted by: Michelle van Schouwen at September 11, 2008 12:33 PM
You mentioned that public relations officers in government cannot access social networks such as Facebook and MySpace while in the workplace and that posting on YouTube is seen as overly risky. Risky for what -- It is of concern to me whether the lack of access is fear of loosing control of messages or if it is a blatant lack of transparency on the part of the government.
Noemi Pollack
npollack@ppmgcorp.com
www.ppmgcorp.com
Posted by: Noemi Pollack at September 12, 2008 7:43 PM
I am so glad you are A-OK. Keep slugging and writing. Bill Doescher
Posted by: Bill Doescher at October 21, 2008 10:09 PM