It used to be that wire service coverage represented a major coup for communications professionals. When the Associated Press or Reuters picked up your story, it would be seen in newspapers around the world, picked up by radio and TV stations and – more recently – linked to the inboxes of millions of web-based e-mail users. Most important, you could always depend on the balanced reporting that helped the wires build an almost unassailable brand ... Read More

With the Democratic Convention in full swing, I’m reminded of a New York Times op-ed published by Michael Kinsley a few weeks back that gently pokes fun at the empty words and doublespeak found in political party platforms. Kinsley’s criticism is aimed at politicians, but it should be taken seriously by anyone facing a high stakes communications challenge. We let politicians get away with this kind of “spin” in part because we no longer hold them ... Read More

Week after week the news media report on the latest medical studies that identify some new and unexpected risk to our health. Do cell phones cause brain tumors? Do overhead power lines lead to childhood leukemia? Does exposure to common chemicals increase the risk of breast cancer? We see the scary headlines, but few of us notice the inevitable follow-up stories that put these newly apprehended risks into perspective and often debunk the initial reports altogether. A ... Read More