The essence of communication is clarity. Ideally, two people speaking face to face should be able to have a conversation and come away, if not agreeing, at least understanding the other individual’s position.
Since one-on-one communication is the ideal but not the reality, the media plays a key role in providing the link between the source of information on publicly relevant issues. Fulfilling that responsibility has become more difficult thanks to the organizational roadblocks put in place by virtually every taxpayer-funded agency – be it government, education, or health.
The purest form of information comes directly from the source.
The cop at the scene, the teacher in the classroom, the bureaucrat with direct expertise in a particular area can all provide the most authentic information.
Increasingly, we see information that has been watered down to the point where it is virtually useless.
Having someone ostensibly hired to communicate with the public tell the media in effect that “something happened to someone somewhere” is pointless.
Such actions lead the public to assume that a) the organization doesn’t know what’s going on or b) that it knows what’s happening but doesn’t want the public to know.
At a time when public officials decry – and rightfully so – the myriad of conspiracies on social media, those same officials are feeding into such theories when they provide incomplete information.
Many of these senior officials have the best job they will ever have. It’s a slow roll into a lucrative retirement and they live in such fear of scandal that they would rather toss the public’s right to know in the trash can than take a chance on transparency, a word officials use but don’t understand.
Many organizations have gone so far as to implement policies forbidding employees to make statements to the media.
They are apparently so insecure in their hiring practices that they don’t trust those they’ve hired.
For some reason they fail to understand that when they blow off the media, they aren’t thumbing their nose at a reporter, they are telling tens of thousands of readers and listeners that they should just pay their taxes and not ask questions.
Fundamental changes are needed.
