The Sun Also Sets

After a six-and-a-half-year run, the New York Sun will cease publication. The September 30th issue will be the struggling daily’s last.

In remarks to the paper’s staff, the Sun’s Editor, Seth Lipsky praised the publication’s employees, readers and investors.

“They invested in the ideal of the scoop, the notion that news is the spirit of democracy, and in the principles for which we have stood in our editorial pages — limited and honest government, equality under our Constitution and the law, free markets, sound money, and a strong foreign policy in support of freedom and democracy,” Lipsky wrote of the paper’s backers. “They liked the way the Sun reflected the dynamism of our city and spoke for its interests in the national debate.”

Lipsky's words beautifully sum up what we all lose when a newspaper folds. As the poet John Donne wrote:
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,

and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

New York Sun

"Craig's" List of Communication Trends

Craig Newmark, the man who put the “Craig” in Craigslist, recently opened up to PRWeek and waxed poetic on a number of topics, including communications, public relations, media and politics.

When asked about the habits of Millennials, Newmark stressed that communications professionals need to focus on peer-to-peer communications, such as Twittering, blogging, and Facebook.

“Trust doesn't come from the top down anymore,” Newmark said. “That was true in [Mad Men's] Don Draper's days, but not now. Truth now comes on a peer-to-peer basis, from the bottom up.”

If you’d like to know Newmark’s suggestions on how communicators can go about engaging these peer-to-peer networks (as well as his thoughts on many other issues), read the interview.

Financial Freefall

Our county’s financial health is in serious trouble, so it amazes me that golden parachutes are one of the sticking points in the Wall Street bail-out debate. The democrat’s proposal to limit the compensation packages of Wall Street executives is meeting some serious opposition.

I disagree with both sides. While I am against padding the pockets of greedy executives, I equally oppose placing restrictions on their salaries. In fact, I oppose their salaries all together.

If anyone I know screwed up their job this badly, they wouldn’t be in negotiations; they’d be out on the street. Perhaps I am running with the wrong crowd, but most people I know would be hitting the bricks searching for new work.

I’m all for bailing out Wall Street, on one condition: We fire the CEOs who got us into this mess.

If you purchased a failing restaurant with the hopes of turning it around, I seriously doubt you’d keep the same manager and chef on staff. When you invest in potential it is essential to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I remember reading about a skydiver who ran into serious trouble when, during his descent, his main chute became tangled and would not open. Being a quick thinker, he prepared to open his auxiliary chute. Being a smart thinker, he realized that the only way his safety chute would open successfully was if he first cut away the malfunctioning parachute.

Our financial markets are in trouble and the best way to soften our landing is to cut away a few golden parachutes.

And the Band Played On

Last weekend, the clash of cymbals was overshadowed by a clash of cultures (due, in part, to the perceived denigration of a cultural symbol). It all happened when Princeton University headed to South Carolina for a football game with The Citadel.

The free-wheeling, irreverent style of Princeton’s marching band did not sit well with the steeped-in-tradition manner of the Citadel cadets. They took particular offense to the fact that the Princeton band marched down the “Avenue of Remembrance,” a highly revered area that honors past cadets killed in action. The cadets taunted the band and there were allegations of pushing and shoving.

When the musicians finally took the field for their halftime performance, they were met with a chorus of boos, jeers and epithets.

That noise you hear is the sound of cultures clashing.

Culture is a learned set of attitudes, values and beliefs that are usually passed down from generation to generation. It takes time for culture to evolve. It takes longer for culture to change. Witness the difficulties in finding a lasting solution to the Middle East crisis.

What any group of people like, dislike, believe and value is engrained deep within them. Instead of trying to change people we would be better suited trying to understand them first.

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Upside-Down Fruitcake

In his insightful book “The Image,” Daniel Boorstin defines a pseudo-event as a happening that:

1. Is not spontaneous,
2. Is planted primarily for the immediate purpose of being reported,
3. Is ambiguous,
4. Is intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy

In other words, if magician David Blaine packages his hanging upside down for 60 hours as “news” then guess what? It’s news. He may be right. A quick Google search for “David Blaine Upside Down” returned 4,810 results. I think I’ll still file this latest feat of "magic" under Pseudo-(from the Greek word meaning “false”) Event.

The Maddow of King Larry

MSNBC has a new hit on its hands and her name is Rachel Maddow. In just its second week, her program finished #2 in cable news in both Total Viewers and the 25 - 54 age demographic, topping CNN’s Larry King.

The good news? The openly gay Maddow is fresh, funny and gutsy. The bad news? Her success may lead to even more crowing from her #1 supporter, the increasingly annoying Keith Olbermann. Media Bistro

Citizen Journalism Update

The cell phone camera strikes again. A new online video shows Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard disrespecting the National Anthem before a charity football game. In the video, which can be found (where else?) on YouTube, Howard looks into the camera and says “’The Star Spangled Banner' is going on now. I don’t even celebrate that (bleep).”

FYI, Francis Scott Key penned the song 194 years ago this month.

Read My Lips: Lip-Synching and the MTV VMAs

Remember Milli Vanilli? The famous recording act that fell from grace in 1990 after they were caught lip-synching at a “live” concert? Remember Ashley Simpson and the embarrassment that followed her bungled attempt at lip-synching on Saturday Night Live (in the ultimate revenge, Miss Simpson now actually sings live during her performances)? These events were followed by weeks (well, maybe days) of outrage from “serious” performers. You know…the type of musicians that reach the pinnacle of their careers by performing at the ultimate pseudo-event, The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

Pot, meet kettle.

Well, guess what the majority of performers at this year’s VMAs were doing? I might be mistaken, but it seemed to me that most of the big stars were either mouthing it or singing along to a prerecorded tape.

There were some of today’s big names: Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers and Kate Perry (who not only lip-synchs, but shamelessly rips off the very talented Jill Sobule with her song “I Kissed a Girl”) mouthing away. But where was the outrage? If this was a real event, there would be plenty. But in the world of pseudo-events, everyone lets it slide. Except for my new hero.

As Kid Rock took the stage at the VMAs, he shouted “There’s no lyp-synching…this is all real!” Could this bad-boy rapper from Detroit be the voice of reason? Might actual musicians rise up and shout down the lip-synchers? As Milli Vanilli (or someone) once said, “Girl, you know it’s true.”

Less is More: Nonverbal Cues and Customer Service

I am slightly obsessed with the dying art of customer service and recently had a minor epiphany: The appearance of customer service is more important than actual customer service itself.

If you’ve ever spent hours navigating voice mail (which would surely be Dante’s 10th Circle of Hell), wandered aimlessly through a box store searching for assistance, or polished off three magazines and a Diet Coke while on line at the supermarket, you know my pain.

Sadly, I have learned to accept bad service due to the absence of a live person. What irritates me; however, are the visual cues that often accompany a sub-par shopping experience. You know what I mean: Four associates on the floor, but only one register is open. Waiters who refuse to make eye contact, bypassing your table. The list is endless.

As Beebe, Beebe and Ivy point out in their text Communication Principles for a Lifetime, nonverbal cues often make a stronger impact than verbal messages. I can still enjoy a less-than satisfactory meal, as long as the server appears apologetic. A long line at the bank? No problem, as long as the teller gives me an empathetic smile once I get to the counter.

Consider a few of my recent adventures in customer service:

At a Rite Aid drug store, a long line formed at the check-out counter as one of the cashiers took her break. Unfortunately, the young lady decided to spend her 10 minutes sitting on the floor behind the counter, in view of all the customers standing on line.

Two nights later, I dined at a local restaurant. After our water glasses had been bone dry for several minutes, I looked around for our server and immediately found her…sitting at a nearby table drinking coffee and sharing a dessert with several other waitresses. I felt bad interrupting her bites of tiramisu, but assuaged my guilt by reminding myself that the main function of a server is to serve.

The next day, I went to a Sport’s Authority store to pick up a new golf glove (it did not help my game). To help pass the time during the many hours I have seemingly spent on check-out lines at Sport’s Authority, I have taken up the habit of counting the number of employees I can spot who are not helping customers.

On this particular day, there were seven employees gathered around the store’s front end. Two of them were running registers, one of them was running to her break (at least she did not sit on the floor), and four others gathered around a closed register, deep in discussion (a move believed to be originated by employees of Staples).

I think the bottom line here is that I can tolerate inadequate service, provided I don't see employees who could improve that service simply by doing some work. If the Rite Aid clerk spent her break on her cell phone in the parking lot, the extended line would be bearable. If the waitress snacked in the kitchen, I would have managed to live without water (well, for a short while). And had the “Sports Authority Four” shared their laughs in the stock room, my wait on line would not have seemed so unavoidable.

Finding employees who truly care about pleasing the customer is becoming the Holy Grail of the shopping experience. This explains why many businesses, especially in large cities, gladly hire unemployed actors. These out-of-work thespians may not really care about the customer, but at least they can act like they care. And that’s good enough for me.