Sunday, March 17, 2013

How are you getting your news?

If you're reading just one newspaper or looking at one news website or watching only one cable channel or local station for your news diet, you may be news malnourished. Here are reasons to get your news from multiple sources:

1. To be interesting - variety is the spice of life. If you and your friends all read the same stories or listen to one radio station, your conversations could become dull.

2. To understand the other side. Zig Ziglar said he read the Bible and the newspaper every day, so he'd know what the devil was up to. It's great to have an opinion, but you'll sound smarter if you know what your opposition is saying.

3. To be innovative - if we all get our news from the same sources, we will have group-think. At most jobs, original ideas and creative input are valued. If you're a CEO, you must have fresh eyes. Get news from trade journals, social media, alternative sites, newspapers from a different state, and you will learn.

As a journalist, I know that there is so much more news going on that does not get into one newspaper or one newscast. Local news has become a headline service: some producers are required to have 20 or more stories in a half-hour newscast. This means about 12 to 15 seconds per story. If you want to go in-depth, you have to go beyond the headlines.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

A Happy Meeting Partner

When your client is happy, it makes you happy, too. One reason the following letter sent after a presentation last month means so much to me is that David had been part of a media training workshop ten years ago, and he remembered me, as mentioned below.


Lorri,
I'm not just saying it to be nice -- you did a fabulous job! You brought a lot of value, entertained the audience, and they all left with great information and action items. I also appreciate the generous way you shared the stage and worked with Jim Hinshaw. You guys crafted a wonderful presentation! BTW, the editor in chief of Contracting Business Magazine was in the audience and he said you did a great job too.

I think I told you this, but in case I didn't... Years ago when we were all at PRIMEDIA you did a Media Training seminar for all of the managers. I thought it was great. You gave us terrific techniques and the right way to think about working with the media. So when we were talking about this event, and the idea of teaching about the media, you were the first person to come to mind. I told everyone that you were THE person to do it. You didn't let me down; it was great.

I hope we have another opportunity to work with you.

Thanks!
--David