RANT: New Clue 66

This is an open BLOG post to Doc Searls (doc@searls.com) & David Weinberger (david@weinberger.org)

Dear David & Doc,

I heard on the Hobson & Holtz Report (Epi 790) about some feedback you received on your new clue # 66 from Richard Edelman. I'd like to offer my own thoughtful feedback. This is an open letter.

In thinking about your new clues 64, 65, & 66... 

To whit, that while there maybe some area of concern with native ads, they are ethically speaking full of disclosure and the standard for them is actively evolving. The problem is not with Native Ads but with Journalism. Journalism is devoid of transparency and disclosure and self certifies that they are a profession and that their professionals are totally ethical.

Your clues (new and old) are filled with a humanistic admonition to interact as people, with people, in conversation and dialogue with transparency, openness, etc. Journalism is the "man behind the curtain" pretending to be the great and powerful "Oz of Ethics"...  Like the Great and Powerful Oz himself, Journalists do not want that curtain opened.

Here are some Journalistic Clues:

1. When someone (like a Journalist) starts a conversation by telling you that you can trust them because their ethics are beyond reproach doubt their word early and often. 
2. While there might be a problem with Native Ads, there is a serious and proven problem with Journalism.
3. Journalist ethics allow reporters to lie by omission millions of times a year while claiming to be the embodiment of purity and trust. 
4. Journalism is less ethical than native ads because most people agree that ethics of native ads demands disclosure; Journalism pretends to disclose but doesn't.
5. Journalist ethics requires reporters to "shun" whole areas of discussion rather than engage in conversation, community building, and dialogue.
6. Native ads have the potential for abuse and may potentially lack in quality; Journalism wearing an emperor's cloak of ethics has abused reportage and the public trust for over a century.
7. The written code of Journalistic ethics is as byzantine and complex as a tax code, and as straight forward as Orwell's doublespeak.
8. Journalists are told to reveal ALL their sources, and to QUOTE the most primary sources; they speak all day, all week, all year to PR staff who provide them with a myriad of information, privileged access to sources, gifts, meals, insight, locations and data not to mention background "analysis" and more; all of that is left entirely out of the picture (and the story).
9. If someone was paid 10's or 100's of thousands of dollars to influence a reporter, most of the actual public would want to know that; journalistic ethics deems that irrelevant.
10. Journalists are ethical in the same way that dictators care about their people; in name but not deed. 

I hope you consider this an effort to create some conversation around this topic. Understanding that you have written 121 clues and I'm fixated on only three of them, i'd certainly understand if you don't have the time to reply or engage.

For the record I have many friends who are journalists but there are only a few Journalists that I hold in high esteem; I don't know him but Glenn Greenwald is the best example. 

Warmly yours,

Harry Hawk

@hhawk

HawkSocialMarketing.com 

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Talking About Social Media with Dr. Santa J. Ono (@PrezOno)

Spring 2015

Business leaders in the Spring of 2015 (at the most senior levels) are still not using social media tools themselves (even senior PR Pros). Yet there is plenty of data suggesting that when the C-Suite uses social tools, it helps them and their teams strengthen consumer trust in their company. The sad fact is that often C-Suite executives are unwilling to learn the needed skills or are simply just risk adverse.

Game of RISK:

In academic circles these same two issues are often seen as a barrier. There are some who only see social media (especially Twitter) as a tool for youthful and trivial interactions instead of for its untapped potential: a gate-free medium that can facilitate cross generational and cross cultural communications.  

Santa J. Ono, PhD.

Dr. Ono's usage of Twitter has been recognized  as a leading example that academic leadership can harness social media to accomplish personal, professional and institutional objectives. This leadership has been recognized within the UC Community, locally in Ohio, and by researcher Dan Ziaontz.  It takes a bit of fearlessness to present yourself to your stakeholders without a safety net; it is a common perception of social media that a tiny misstep can lead to embarrassment. Dr. Ono's acclaim stems in part from his ability to market himself adeptly in the social media realm.

Ono on Social:

President Ono recommends that individuals, departments, and companies need to find their "authentic voice." My impression of Dr. Ono is that he considers authenticity of voice to be a critical requirement for using social tools like Twitter. While Dr. Ono makes use of a variety of social networks, his reputation for using Twitter is significant. Students at UC have analyzed his tweets, and he has taken their advice to heart, proving that his use and command of Twitter are both dynamic and evolving. He informed me during the interview that a student in Canada is analyzing his Tweets as part of his PhD. research

Biography:

"Santa J. Ono is the 28th President of the University of Cincinnati, one of the nation’s top 30 public research universities. An avid user of social media, he is also an accomplished researcher in eye disease.  A new book called #FollowtheLeader (Lessons in Social Media Success from #HigherEd CEOs) says that with his use of Twitter, Dr.Ono “epitomizes the institutional champion” – 'highlighting his university’s achievements, both academic and non-academic, interacting with key stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners; and also serving as ‘cheerleader-in-chief’ whenever possible.' "

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Judith talks about the great Hartford Circus Fire

The Great Hartford Circus Fire

Judith talks about growing up in rural dairy farming Bloomfield Ct, her neighbors, and even Mr. Webster the local butcher.

Judith Survived The Circus Fire

"One of America's greatest fire disasters occurred on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut" 

She talks about surviving the great Hartford circus fire including her rescue and the aftermath (starting at the 00:08:23 mark). Judith considers herself to be the "girl in the little yellow pinafore dress" written about by Henry S. Cohn. (The Great Hartford Circus Fire: Creative Settlement of Mass Disasters Yale University Press, 1991).

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