The truth please

I would like to wish you all a Very Very Happy New Years. I am currently back in the homeland of Montreal, Canada, and apart from the heaps of snow and ice, I think I am starting to remember why I left this city. Also, seeing that I am so severely jet lagged, I don't know how merry my new years celebration will be. Like to be in bed by 12:30... which would be around 5:30am (London time).. yep not gonna make it tonight.

So I read this quote in The Gazette today, which is an english Montreal newspaper. "When there are two conflicting versions of a story, the wise course is to believe the one in which people appear at their worst." H. Allen Smith
I thought rather fitting for my blog. According to this quote, we tend to believe a story when the outcome is really bad. And this brings me to my next point, when it comes to conveying a story to the public through any sort of medium like a newspaper, television, radio etc.. how do we know where the truth is, and does it really matter?

According to the book "Where the Truth Lies", by Julia Hobsbawn, truth in the media is never possible. There will be as many different versions of a story as there will be newspapers that cover it. And depending on what kind of paper (magazine) it is, the story will change. What Hobsbawn says is that the more credible the paper, the more factual the story. Basically, the tabloid is nothing but nonsense. The stories that appear in these magazines are simplifications of the actual story that are intended to ignite a sort of emotion from the reader, be it rage, sadness or drama. Her book is a collection of essays that intend to bridge the relationships of PR and journalism. What can be concluded is that the relationship between the two is one of perpetual mistrust. Both pointing fingers at the other stating that truth in the media cannot be found because of the other.

PR people complain that journalists do not appreciate the work they have done, which can be summed up in a press release with all the information a journalist needs (they never have to leave their desk in search of facts), and a journalist states that although they are given the facts, it is always given with a substantial amount of "gloss", that helps to hide the ugly part of the story. Although this may be true, we can also argue that the press will distort a story even when it has been presented to them in such a clean way, because selling newspapers is ever more important, and depending on the audience, the story must change. Although PR is in the business of selling an idea, journalism is in the business of selling a story.
In all, Hobsbawn tries to finds the truth, but has little explanation of what "truth" really means. She tries to link the relationship between PR and journalism yet a lot of the essays featured in her book argue the exact opposite.
What I can conclude from these readings is this: According to journalists, PR people may not be "spinning" a story, but they do try to present their clients in the best possible way. Ignoring certain facts, may be to some, a spinster at work.

Masters of Spin

Please fast forward to 5 minutes on the scroll bar. 

This scene comes from this years new movie "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People", and describes exactly the harsh reality of "spin" in the media today. Although, in this scene the main character is a journalist writing for Vanity Fair magazine, and not a PR practitioner. The similarities of both lines of work when faced with conveying a certain message to the public remain the same.

I have actually just finished reading the book, and have not yet watched the movie, although I have noticed that most names have been changed when the book was adapted into a screenplay. For example the writer and main character's real name is Toby Young, yet in the movie he is called Sydney Young. Although the movie does follow a relatively same storyline, the name of the magazine (Vanity Fair) and people Toby comes into contact with during his 5 year struggle in New York City have been changed. The movie therefore demonstrates a highly fictionalized version of the actual story.

The changes made all depend on the contracts a studio and writer agree to, perhaps it was thought the movie would do better in the box office if certain aspects of the book were changed. Whatever the reason for this case, according to the many reviews I have read, this didn't change the fact that the movie was a total flop.

Putting all this aside, "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" is a real eye-opener to the merciless world of the celebrity-studded power of Hollywood culture. Toby quickly learns that to amount to anything in this cold, stiletto clad, over- achieving New York maze, you must understand the power of publicity. But at what price? Eleanor Johnson the all and powerful celebrity publicist, works to spin her clients for publicity in order for the magazine to gain more big-name interviews. Although she tries to work in her clients favor, the idea of "any publicity is good publicity", often comes into play.

As an academic of PR currently studying in London to earn her Masters degree, it is a rather shame that my line of study has been seriously criticized for its lack of credibility. People believe that PR agents "manage" information to earn money, or to properly communicate to the public, practitioners spin their stories in their favor. 

Although I do disagree with the misuse of information, I don't disagree with the idea of hiring someone to help you "re-brand yourself." Telling lies or completely fabricating a story is one thing, but if I were Britney Spears I wouldn't be against my publicist explaining that the reason I tripped during my opening performance at the VMA's was because the heel of my shoe broke, and not because I was so high on drugs the stage looks like a roller coaster. Is the truth in this case really in the publics interest? Is a small lie in order to help save someone's train-wreck reputation such a disaster? I do intend in the days to come, to uncover the real reason why an actual story and the one that appears in the media are sometimes as different as night and day, and who is to blame or congratulate.  

 

I would like to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas, and for those of you who share the other religion, a very Happy Channukah!