Folio Edition 1: Getting it right in a world gone wrong
Written by
Sam Hiner
Client Services Director
Open source of information is what makes the world more connected, it’s a beautiful thing being able to jump onto Twitter and check out moving images of countries you’ve never visited, discussing cultures and topics you’ll never truly understand and yet being able to form an opinion.
Except, at the core of it all, that’s actually the problem isn’t it?
Social media is a place where — if unchecked — misinformation thrives, reputations are on a knife edge and cancel culture lurks beneath the bridge like the hideous troll it is.
I’ve always been a quiet admirer of Elon Musk, a controversial character at the best of times, but what he’s done at Twitter has had me in two minds. On one side there’s the bemusement and sheer bafflement (is that a word?) of a man with the same time in the day as me or you, taking over the reins of another billion-dollar company and running it from his iPhone – It doesn’t sound like the best resourced plan in the world.
Then again, there is the ‘Community Notes’, something of which I am a big fan. Rather than allowing people to mindlessly share misinformed video, form a virtual mob, and direct them at the poor person/group they’ve decided to target – ‘Community Notes’ fact checks posts that start to receive a lot of attention, reducing – not always stopping (people can still be idiots) – misinformation in its tracks.
That’s a fairly good example of social media platforms themselves taking action against misinformation, but I suppose that also depends on your political views. What about other media types? – Well, that takes me to the last bastion of hope (tad dramatic, probably): the journalist.
Underfunded, under resourced and quite often misunderstood. The journalist is a rare and dying breed, but we need to protect them as much as the bees in our gardens and the battery health in our smart phones.
Not only is a journalist’s responsibility to communicate information in the public’s interest through investigating stories they believe to be relevant and important, which is a job in itself. But they’re also a referee in a world of competing communications from international brands trying to get their five minutes of fame.
Journalists are also the givers and takers of life when it comes to brands communicating their messages to a publications closely guarded community. It’s why most press releases that are sent out via email at 5pm on a Friday titled ‘WOW You’ll never believe this new innovative sustainable product’ never see the light of day – a modern tragedy.
Guardians Of The (fact-based information) Galaxy journalists are the referees that stop foul play, the binmen that throw away the rubbish, and the police that ban and block content from entering our news streams. I admire them for this, and this is what we must protect.
I love a good spar with a journalist too. Picking up the phone to pitch your story or follow up on a press release to be greeted by “Yes, Sam, but that’s not news is it?” really gets my dander up. It’s something that I experienced a lot in my early career and taught me how to pitch, but also what to pitch and – ultimately – what made something news.
It’s a line and a lesson that I’ve carried into all my writing throughout my career, and the value that I — and in turn — we bring to our clients. If something isn’t newsworthy, then it’s not going to be published.
The challenge then is finding the right angle, and making it newsworthy – all while being factual and transparent.
I’m not going to turn this into a lesson on how to write a good press release or feature article, there are better places to turn for that advice, but I am going to use it to tell those PR and marketing agencies that don’t do it, to pick up the phone. Call your journalists, pitch those stories properly, get honest feedback, have a door slammed in your face and work to prise it open – it’ll make you.
So in a world where it’s easy to be wrong, look to the professionals and trust in them that the content on their platforms — often paid for by their audiences — is of truth, accuracy and worth your time reading.
Here’s to the journalists, the truth finders, the door slammers, the referees and the rest of them. Until the next spar that is, when I’m sure I’ll be wishing you took my first press release email about my ‘innovative new sustainable solution…’