Godin and Garfinkel Take On the Press
By some weird coincidence, both Seth Godin and David Garfinkel (names well known to any student of modern marketing) went after the media for distorting the news to artificially create drama this week.
Godin, posting today, looked at CNN’s report on yesterday’s Indiana and North Carolina primaries, and found the headline and focus only told one part of the story. While accurate on its face, the headline, “Clinton ‘full speed ahead’ After Indiana Nail-biter”, was misleading.
A more appropriate but less dramatic rendition of the results, he says, would have conveyed a very different story.
The page would have been more accurate if it had said things like, “Obama gains more than 200,000 votes over Clinton” or “Obama campaign further extends delegate lead, picking up 12 more delegates” or even “Obama pummels Clinton in the bigger state.”
That’s not dramatic, though, and as William Randolph Hearst taught us a long time ago, the goal is to sell newspapers, not to report the news.
A day earlier, Garfinkel attacked the San Francisco Chronicle for similar manipulation on a totally different topic: “Is Any Web Site Safe? No Way to be Sure.”
First, Garfinkel points out that the paper is using a technique for which journalists often diss marketers:
The headline is bad enough — but we all know that fear sells, and it certainly sells newspapers. (Don’t think I’m going to take it lightly though the next time I see or hear a journalist taking a swipe at an ad because it preys on people’s fears.)
And then he points out the neurolinguistic programming (NLP) implications of a headline that could be read several different ways.
This intersection of the journalist mind and the marketer mind is a stream where I swim regularly, and I think both of these guys are right. What do you think?
A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
Fear sells is an illusion. Those who spin the best illusion, profit the most. Making a profit on the illusion of fear does little to make the world a better place.
So I agree with James about being straight about what you are selling. I also agree with you that it is all about surviving. Survival has nothing to do with the planet or humanity thriving.
Eckart Tolle points out in his book, A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, it is all part of the collective insanity.
The first step to change and growth is to acknowledge the insanity and then look inside if we perpetuate the pain around us.
James ask the question, Does anybody really trust the media today? I would venture to say far too many do, or the media wouldn’t profit and continue to exist. So is it the media or the consumer who is responsible? I say both.
Each of us has a choice in what we believe and buy and are responsible whether we like it or not.
Fear sells is an illusion. Those who spin the best illusion, profit the most. Making a profit on the illusion of fear does little to make the world a better place.
So I agree with James about being straight about what you are selling. I also agree with you that it is all about surviving. Survival has nothing to do with the planet or humanity thriving.
Eckart Tolle points out in his book, A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, it is all part of the collective insanity.
The first step to change and growth is to acknowledge the insanity and then look inside if we perpetuate the pain around us.
James ask the question, Does anybody really trust the media today? I would venture to say far too many do, or the media wouldn’t profit and continue to exist. So is it the media or the consumer who is responsible? I say both.
Each of us has a choice in what we believe and buy and are responsible whether we like it or not.
Good for Garfinkel and Godin. The media, from newspapers to the evening news, have turned into marketers, and not good ones.
The methods they use are better suited for get-rich-quick schemes than real businesses that plan to stick around awhile and develop good relationships with their customers.
Maybe the media should start hiring real marketing experts. Sadly, their sensationalism does attract our attention, but surely there are better ways to sell newspapers.
Then again, they’re not known for their willingness to pay anyone for anything (an editor once apologetically offered me $5 when she asked me to write an article for her Lexington, MA, newspaper – this was the main Lexington newspaper).
So I doubt anything will be changing any time soon.
Good for Garfinkel and Godin. The media, from newspapers to the evening news, have turned into marketers, and not good ones.
The methods they use are better suited for get-rich-quick schemes than real businesses that plan to stick around awhile and develop good relationships with their customers.
Maybe the media should start hiring real marketing experts. Sadly, their sensationalism does attract our attention, but surely there are better ways to sell newspapers.
Then again, they’re not known for their willingness to pay anyone for anything (an editor once apologetically offered me $5 when she asked me to write an article for her Lexington, MA, newspaper – this was the main Lexington newspaper).
So I doubt anything will be changing any time soon.
I think the media is just living up to the image it has created for itself. The Hearst quote tells the true story: The media wants your attention, and little things like the truth or integrity won’t stop them from trying to get it.
Does anyone really trust what the media reports these days anyway? We have plastic news anchors spewing carefully angled stories and journalists who must apply “spin” to survive.
In a way, I’m surprised that Godin and Garfinkle bothered to take them to task. The media may pretend to provide the news, but really, everyone knows now that it is all about “stories” (in the truest fictional meaning of that term).
Call me jaded, but I believe ethics in journalism disappeared a long time ago, and my readership went with it. I’d rather read a good sales pitch. At least you know what you are being sold!
I think the media is just living up to the image it has created for itself. The Hearst quote tells the true story: The media wants your attention, and little things like the truth or integrity won’t stop them from trying to get it.
Does anyone really trust what the media reports these days anyway? We have plastic news anchors spewing carefully angled stories and journalists who must apply “spin” to survive.
In a way, I’m surprised that Godin and Garfinkle bothered to take them to task. The media may pretend to provide the news, but really, everyone knows now that it is all about “stories” (in the truest fictional meaning of that term).
Call me jaded, but I believe ethics in journalism disappeared a long time ago, and my readership went with it. I’d rather read a good sales pitch. At least you know what you are being sold!
[…] Principled Profit wrote an interesting post today on Godin and Garfinkel Take On the PressHere’s a quick excerpt By some weird coincidence, both Seth Godin and David Garfinkel (names well known to any student of modern marketing) went after the media for distorting the news to artificially create drama this week. Godin, posting today, looked at CNN’s report on yesterday’s Indiana and North Carolina primaries, and found the headline and focus only told one part of the story. While accurate on its face, the headline, “Clinton ‘full speed ahead’ After Indian Nail-biter”, was misleading. A more appropriate […]
[…] Principled Profit wrote an interesting post today on Godin and Garfinkel Take On the PressHere’s a quick excerpt By some weird coincidence, both Seth Godin and David Garfinkel (names well known to any student of modern marketing) went after the media for distorting the news to artificially create drama this week. Godin, posting today, looked at CNN’s report on yesterday’s Indiana and North Carolina primaries, and found the headline and focus only told one part of the story. While accurate on its face, the headline, “Clinton ‘full speed ahead’ After Indian Nail-biter”, was misleading. A more appropriate […]