Is this yellow journalism?

Today I was asked to write an article for an event that occurred at my workplace a few months ago.  At first I welcomed the news because I’ve attended many events and I write for our internal publication all the time.  But then I was told what I’d be writing on and this is when things went south.  I was asked to write more than 500 words on an event I didn’t even attend!  And on top of that, I was told to inflate my article as much as possible.

Surprisingly, the person who asked this request did not see the problem in asking this. However I see a problem in this. Simply because I’ve been told we are the “journalists” of our organization and this to me is coming close to yellow journalism.  And I do not agree with this kind of journalism. 

 

You see, I don’t know how I can accurately report on an event without being there.  And believe me I tried to do the story justice.  I researched biographies of the speakers, spoke to people who caught snippets of the event and even looked at three paragraphs of notes someone took at the event.  Nevertheless, I still can’t capture the expressions of the audience, the vibrancy of the speaker or the overall spirit of the event.

 

 

Nevertheless, because I went to Journalism school and I took a class on ethics – I feel somewhat bothered by writing this story.  In good faith, I can not say, I’m reporting on the facts.  I can create a perceived reality of this event, but I do not know if it’ll do justice to those who’ve actually attended the event.

 

 

Despite my objections towards this piece – I managed to crank out 600 words!

 

 

I am still feeling my way through how the world of Corporate Communications works so I wanted to know, is the scenario I described “normal” practice?  Or do you think this is yellow journalism?

Political satire gone wrong?

Excessive political satire?

The New Yorker says this is political satire, but isn’t the latest cover of this magazine feeding into exactly what many Americans believe to be falsely true?

 

If you look at the illustration, it depicts Barack Obama as a Muslim in traditional attire, a picture of Osama bin Laden on the wall, Michelle Obama as a Black Panther extremist and the American flag burning in the fire place.  And to top all of this off, the Obama’s are seen doing their infamous “terrorist fist jab” as coined by Fox News. 

 

Although the above cartoon is satirical to some, to others sadly this is the truth.  You see many Americans fear the Obama’s because little is known about them.  As a consequence, the Obama’s are constantly trying to prove how patriotic they are, how they are not Muslims and secretly trying to push the agenda of terrorists.

 

The Obama campaign is rightly outraged with the distorted image and they are not the only ones concerned about the depiction of the Obama’s.

 

“We all have to watch very carefully what we say – our attempts at humour, our attempts at informing people – because some of what we say can be misinterpreted and do real damage,” says Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York.

Nevertheless the editor of the New Yorker stands behind their magazine cover which will hit stands on Monday July 21.

“I can’t speak for anyone else’s interpretations, all I can say is that it combines a number of images that have been propagated, not by everyone on the right but by some, about Obama’s supposed ‘lack of patriotism’ or his being ’soft on terrorism’ or the idiotic notion that somehow Michelle Obama is the second coming of the Weathermen or most violent Black Panthers. That somehow all this is going to come to the Oval Office,” says David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker.

Well what do you think about this image?  Is it offensive or is it poking fun at the ignorance of many Americans?

What is the best definition of Corporate Communications?

 

Today I was handed the task of defining what Corporate Communications means.  I was delegated this task by my supervisor who strongly believes the world of CC is poorly defined by outsiders.  And I agree.

 

 You see, the biggest struggle our work environment faces is the lack of understanding about the world of communications.  For instance it is common for senior members of management to mistaken communications with marketing.  As a result, we’re holding a meeting tomorrow to clear up any misconceptions about communications.

 

So again, this is where I come in.  I’ve been dealt the enormous task of simplifying CC to people who have no idea of what it is.  The time allotted?  I have one minute, no more and no less. 

 

I believe this is an enormous task because my supervisor has tried multiple times to dumb down what CC is.  I’ve heard her debate for minutes and hours with senior management and she can’t get through.  So now it’s my turn to try at our editorial meeting.  I’m not nervous because I will remove all industry jargon from my brief speech.  My only concern, just like my supervisor, I will not get through to management. 

 

So this is where you come in.  What do you suggest is the best method to explain?  Keeping in mind my supervisor has done it multiple times but to no avail.  I look forward to your responses.

Stop fear mongering!

 

 

If I was uneducated and all I did was watch Fox News on a daily basis, I’d be convinced Barack Obama is the next terrorist.  I kid you not.  Fox is so extremely right-winged that the producers and editors in their newsrooms can’t even vet scripts with an unbiased lens. 

 

I can understand the point of not knowing much about Obama however to slander his image and family on a regular basis – it appears a little excessive.  Take this for instance; they have a tendency to misuse urban pop culture terms/gestures/sayings.  You’d think their editorial staff would vet that stuff before it goes to air – not so.  It’s like they don’t believe in fact checking, but hardcore slandering.  A good example of this is when they used the ghettoized term “baby mama” to describe Obama’s wife.  Now anyone in Fox’s newsroom with some sense or at least some editorial judgment would’ve noticed this term – is dead wrong.  For those of you who don’t know, baby mama means unwed mother.  Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama is clearly not an unwed mother.

 

The poor editorial judgment did not stop there.  Fox enjoys portraying the Obama’s as a family to fear.  For instance, when Michelle congratulated her husband with daps (a fist bump), Fox incorrectly called it a “terrorist fist jab!”  I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t tell when was the last time I saw terrorists’ giving daps in the streets. 

 

 It draws me to the conclusion; Fox’s department is run by junior staff members or interns.  Now I’m not knocking these positions because I’ve been both and I know how hard they work.   Nevertheless you’d think before something goes on air – someone senior should vet the copy.  Because calling someone a “baby mama” isn’t cute, it is insulting.  I really doubt Fox would call Laura Bush a “baby mama.” Simply put, Fox enjoys the ghettoization of the Obama’s.

 

A news outlet such as Fox disappoints me.  They believe in “yellow journalism” and I would hate to be the corporate communicator for such an organization.  I could only imagine how creative he or she has to be to explain Fox’s repeated racial slurs and blunders. 

 

Please stop spin doctoring!

It irks me how some companies think it’s okay to mislead the media.  They believe misleading the media will bring them to their event.  But what they don’t know is – the media hate being lead astray.

Last week, I wrote a media alert and as always – the cabinet office has to approve all communication items.  Well after I received my alert from the cabinet office, I noticed it was tweaked in the weirdest way.  The president’s office added names of local and national dignitaries.  I questioned their motive because I HATE spin doctoring ANYTHING.  It troubles me because of my training from J school.

So when I got my media alert back, I asked why name of dignitaries were added when this was a bold face lie.  The answer I got was troubling.  Basically, they believe the more names that appear on the media alert is the more enticed the media would come.  I told my supervisor, this isn’t so.  I told her, the media will come out based on newsworthiness of the item, whether it appeals to their viewership/readership/listeners and if they have the resources to come. 

Sadly, the extra fluff on my media alert will have to stay.  Once the cabinet says it’s okay – that’s it!  Sadly, these people fail to understand that news isn’t about a popularity contest.  It’s a lot more than that.  Nevertheless, these people will continue to give communicators a bad name – something I am not proud of at all.

 

Joke of the week

Top Secret After numerous rounds of ‘We  don’t even know if Osama bin Laden is still l alive’, Osama himself decided to send George Bush a letter in his own hand writing to let him know he was still in the game. 

Bush opened the letter and it contained a single line of coded message:

         370H-SSV-0773H 

Bush was baffled, so he e-mailed it to Condoleezza Rice. Condi and her aides had not a clue either, so they sent it to the FBI. 

No one could solve it at the FBI so it went to the CIA, and then to MI6. Eventually they asked the Mossad (Israeli Intelligence)for help. 

Within a minute the Mossad emailed the White House with this reply:
 ’Tell the President he’s holding the note upside down.’ 

 

How to survive survivor at work

 

Politics, politics and then more politics.  I live and breathe in the real-life version of survivor.  Where I work (which will remain nameless) is filled with alliances, backstabbing and no one can be trusted.  How do I survive?  I keep to myself and try to put the best outside.

Putting the best outside is really difficult when you know people are trying to break you down.  I mean they thrive on gossip and petty things.  Nevertheless, the best part is, if I can survive the insane politics here – I can survive anywhere.  

The funny thing is I’ve been told this is how the Public Relations world is.  It’s all about dealing with different personality types and a lot of cut throat politics.  When I was told this, the fist thing I did was have a nervous laugh.  But then the person who told me this – wasn’t joking.  A few months after our talk, I can see all the politics for myself.  For instance, I know who to talk to for certain things, who has power and who is a good ally when a potential threat comes on. 

If you’re in a similar situation, the best advice I can offer is this:

1) Don’t get involved in office politics – do your work and go home

2) Be aware of your environment.  Understand who’s who and what they can do for you.

3) Be careful of those looking for new gossip.  Don’t fall prey to them!

4) Always know where your priorities lie – if someone tries to dump work on you, let them know how full your plate already is

5) Smile.  Don’t let office politics bring you down!

 

Joke of the week

 

Live life to the fullest

Isn’t it time for you to try yoga?

Yesterday, I had an amazing experience.  I had the chance to reconnect with my mind, body and soul and all in the name of health.

 

All now my abs are burning from the wonderful experience I had. 

 

What I did, I had an informal class of Moksha yoga without the heat.  Imagine having the ability to do things with your body, you didn’t even dream of?  Well I did it and now I feel wonderful.  You can feel this good too, but you need to come out of your shell and experience the amazing things yoga can do for your body.

 

If you know me, you know how health conscious and obsessive I am about trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Well the best thing about Moksha yoga, you’re challenging your body to do new and great things.  Working internal organs you haven’t used in a while and taking out deep toxins in the process.

 

Time to venture from the old adage of, I can’t from I CAN.  Come enjoy a FREE session with certified yoga instructor, Bessie Chow on Thursday’s, Saturday’s or Sunday’s for yoga.  Classes are currently held at the major intersection, Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton. 

Regardless, if you’re fit like a marathon runner or out of shape like Homer Simpson, time for a change and just in time for summer.

 

If you’re interested, contact me at: journaliststar@yahoo.ca and I’ll put you in direct contact with Bessie.

Joke of the week

The Pastor’s Ass

 
The pastor entered his donkey in a race and
it won.  The pastor was so pleased with the donkey
that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local paper read:
  
PASTOR’S
ASS OUT FRONT.
 
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local paper headline
read:

 

BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR’S ASS.

 
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.

The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.
  
The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:
  
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.
 

The bishop fainted.  He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.

 

The next day the paper read:
  
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.
 
This was too much for the bishop, so he
ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:

NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.

 
The bishop was buried the next day.

  
The moral of the story is . . . being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery . ..even shorten your life.

 
So be yourself and enjoy life.

Stop worrying about everyone else’s ass and you’ll be a lot happier and live longer!

Have a nice day