In over five years of writing this blog I have had very few rants or stood on my soap box. But today I am going to put something out there and see what you think…
Is it okay for them to report incorrect information? I think not.
This week I heard on three separate occasions journalists reporting so called “facts” about the Malaysian MH17 disaster in the Ukraine and on all three occasions the person they were interviewing had to correct them because the points they were reporting as fact had already been proven as incorrect and reported as so.
In a relatively new phenomenon, the rush to be the first with the news and remain relevant, i.e. beating Twitter and Facebook posts, seems to have journalists rushing to air without checking their sources ensuring what they are saying is correct. Ten years ago this would have been unheard of. Mainly because historically journalists cultivated sources, they dug and dug deep and investigative journalism was something to be admired. Today I am not so sure. It seems the good investigative journalists are being bypassed or asked to simply convey what they are observing because their tradecraft takes too long and by the time they come to the public with the full story the news cycle has moved on and their story may no longer topical.
As an Intelligence Officer with the police we followed something called the Three Source Rule. It is a simple and effective rule and it basically states wherever possible try and corroborate any piece of information via three independent sources. While it was not always possible it was a great rule of thumb. The one caveat was, and this is where the work came in, you needed to follow the information and ensure the three sources came about the information in a separate, credible and reliable way. Basically we needed to check one person wasn’t running around making stuff up and everyone else was just talking about what they had been told by that person.
Bringing my little media issue full circle. I am concerned that as information is recycled and reposted, one piece of incorrect information can quickly be re-reported by multiple blogs, social media and even traditional media and what was previously speculation is now confirmed as fact because everyone is reporting the same information.
What do you think? Is our need for fast news eroding the authority of journalists who are forced to report whatever they can quickly and just apologise for it later?
The role of media is very important and it can sway public opinion very quickly, I just think it should be based on a little more than Chinese whispers.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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Sometimes the messenger can make all the difference! If Whitney Houston had sung, “He alone who owns the youth gains the future,” and Adolf Hitler had said, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way,” we’d all feel exactly the opposite about the quotes.This comes to mind because a church in Alabama used the Hitler quote on a billboard to advertise their youth group! There may be truth to Hitler’s words but no one with any gumption about how to persuade would try to use Hitler’s words in a positive way because he’s considered one of the most evil people to ever walk the planet. Would you want to send your kids to a youth group that’s quoting Hitler?In persuasion the principle of authority tells us it’s easier for people to say yes to those who have superior wisdom or knowledge. To effectively use this principle of influence you need two things – expertise and credibility. Without both you’ll never succeed. For example, Bernie Madoff has expertise. Despite his pyramid scheme, he does know about investing. But would you trust him with your money? I hope not!On the flip side, you probably have friends you’d trust your life with … but not your money, because they have no expertise when it comes to investing.Whether it’s investing, taxes, legal advice, etc., we want people we can trust and those we view as having expertise if we’re to do what they suggest.Authority can also be borrowed. When I present I use lots of quotes from well-known people. I do so for a couple of reasons.First, if I say something, people might agree with me, but if Dale Carnegie, Ronald Reagan or Dr. Martin Luther King say it, people will more easily agree because their reputations precede them.Second, my use of quotes shows I’m well-read and that does add to my personal authority. If people view me as well-read then they naturally assume I’m smarter for it and are therefore more willing to listen to what I have to say.However, when I choose to use a quote I’m conscious of what it says AND who said it. Many infamous people have made true statements (even a broken clock is right twice a day!) but I would almost never use them because the reaction would be the same as your reaction to Hitler’s quote.Here’s the bottom line if you’re looking to be a master persuader. Keep your reputation intact so people trust you and continue to develop expertise in your chosen field. When you need to borrow authority, make sure the quote and messenger will both be acceptable to your audience. Do these simple things and your ability to get to yes will go up rather dramatically.
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Have ever you found yourself driving down the road, lost in thought or just enjoying some music, keeping a safe distance between you and the next car when all of a sudden someone comes barreling up the lane next to you and obviously wants to get over? When that happens, do you sometimes find yourself unconsciously speeding up? Maybe you’ve done so with conscious thought.Or how about when traffic is restricted due to road construction. You’ve waited patiently as cars inch along and next thing you know, someone goes as far to the front as they can get then they expect someone to let them in. Have you found yourself not being the one to let them in because you think, “If I had to wait they can wait, too!”These are just some of the many familiar situations you can find yourself in where competition begins to affect your thinking and behavior. No need to feel bad if you do speed up a bit or don’t always let someone over because it’s evolutionary. You see, you’re simply responding to the principle of scarcity – we want more of what we can’t have and we react negatively to what we might lose. That loss could be as simple as our place in line on the highway.When it comes to scarcity, competition ramps up the effectiveness of this principle of influence. When you saw the person coming up on the highway you were in competition with them for the spot in line and their desire to get ahead of you made you more determined not to lose.Think about something as simple as a sale. “Sale Ends Sunday” is a form of scarcity. You can take your time getting to the store because you know you have until closing time Sunday to get in on the deal. But what if the ad says, “Sale – While Supplies Last”? Now you realize waiting until Saturday or Sunday might mean you lose out because other people may get to the store Friday. They don’t want to miss out on the great deal and neither do you so you head to the store Friday afternoon also. Scarcity has changed your behavior but competition even more so!Another example might have occurred when you were dating. Isn’t it the case that you value your partner more when you realize someone else is also vying for his or her attention? You might have been considering putting an end to the relationship but the entrance of someone else can sometimes cause you to rethink the situation.When it comes to effectively using the principle of scarcity, limited time offers will motivate behavior but offers that involve competition will be far more effective. With that in mind, you need to think about ways to ethically invoke competition in order to get people to want your product or service even more.Perhaps the best picture of competition for products happens every year the day after Thanksgiving. That day has become known as Black Friday. Limited time deals cause people to wait in line starting at midnight in some cases! You may have seen reports of people fighting and being trampled on in the news as customers rush into stores for great deals on limited quantity items. Seemingly normal, rational people begin to act like animals fighting over the remains of a carcass before it’s all gone! That’s how scarcity works on the mind because competition is a big driver in persuasion. 
Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.