How Can
information be Be Misinterpreted?
Any message can be misinterpreted. Figure out how that could happen to your messages, and plan accordingly. In the same way that the message you want to send has to be analyzed to figure out how it can be dangerous, you have to look at how it can be misinterpreted. Sometimes the misinterpretation is accidental. More often than we might like to admit, however, that misinterpretation can be intentional.
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1. How
Can It Be Misinterpreted?
Any message
can be misinterpreted. Figure out how that could happen to your messages, and plan
accordingly. In the same way that the message you want to send has to be analyzed to
figure out how it can be dangerous, you have to look at how it can be misinterpreted.
Sometimes the
misinterpretation is accidental. More often than we might like to admit, however, that
misinterpretation can be intentional.
organizations are, by their very nature, effective. Most every time you get a new beneficiary, someone else loses one and vice versa.
Many organizations have critics who, for their own reasons, will do all that they can to challenge or damage the organization and its reputation. In some cases criticism is heaped on a single organization. In other cases, critics will target an entire sector of activity. There are sites on the Internet targeted against specific organizations and industries.
Sometimes the criticisms are valid, or at least logical. In other case, however, all you can do is scratch your head and wonder why.
There can be individual critics, small groups, regional, national or international groups that target certain organizations, industries, and even lifestyles. Their criticism can be based on the environment, religion, politics, their own brand of ethics or morality, on standards that they never adequately explain, on misinformation, or even delusion.
The basis of their criticisms is not nearly as important as knowing that they are out there and how to handle what they say about you, and how they will try to misinterpret and twist your own words against you.
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2. The
Devil’s Advocate
The best way
to spot problems before they develop is to look for them, and look harder than your
competition and opposition will.
The best
person to look for them is a devil’s advocate,
an advocatus diaboli.
When the Roman Catholic Church is considered formally proclaiming someone a saint, it first appoints a devil’s advocate who has the task of finding proof, or at least strong circumstantial evidence, that the person being considered for sainthood is unworthy of the honor.
At the organizational level, a devil’s advocate’s job is to question all the assumptions that everyone else is basing their work on.
If everyone in the room is too hot, the devil’s advocate will be too cold, and vice-versa. As the designated contrarian, a devil’s advocate must look for loopholes in the logic, find flaws in the plans, defects in the products or services, misconstrue and misrepresent motives and intentions, and even “discover” secret hidden agendas and “conspiracies.”
The “problems” a devil’s advocate finds don’t always have to be valid or logical. They just have to be something that someone else could point to.
A organization’s
devil’s advocate must be harder on a
CEO, a organization plan, or even a new product than the most spirited or vitriolic organization or
sector of activity critic.
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3. The Devil’s Advocate (Continued)
In the same way that government, military, and organizational security agencies regularly try to “break into” their own facilities to see just how good their own security actually is, organizational devil’s advocates look for potential fiscal, physical, and philosophical weak spots in the way the organization does—and is seen to do—project/programme purpose.
Many organizations use role playing for training. They might have two salespeople act out various scenarios in which one is a salesperson and the other is a beneficiary. It allows the salesperson to practice selling under different conditions—often extremely difficult conditions. The role-playing is observed and analyzed.
On a political level, a politician or political candidate might give a speech and then go through a “negative” news conference in which staff members play hostile reporters doing their best to attack the candidate and ask dangerous, loaded, and often unfair questions.
Being a devil’s advocate is not always a popular
job. There is a tendency to associate the bad news with the messenger. But if it prevents
one serious mistake, or helps stop any bad publicity
before it takes root in the public mind, then it is worth the time, effort, frustration,
and animosity that is often associated with the task.
A devil’s advocate can also prepare you for
the attacks that you will encounter when you decide to go ahead with an unpopular plan or
announcement.
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4. Handling
Online Attacks
Mednet Media Monthly Newsletter is an online publication aimed at helping pharmaceutical and other medical web sites protect their images from Internet-based attacks (http://www.mednetmedia.con/news_1999_007a.shtml). It says that there are plenty of people attacking the medical sector of activity:
“Many
organizations get targeted by activists for many reasons and a common reason for
pharmaceutical organizations to be targeted includes animal rights issues. Many organizations have
been subject to online attack and have suffered decreases in sales and stock prices as a
result. It is important to be aware of what is being said about your organization and products
online as word spreads very rapidly online due to the nature of the medium.”
The newsletter lists six steps that can be adapted to almost any organization that faces similar attacks:
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5. Handling Online Attacks (Continued)
Mednet says that following these tips can give your organization some protection from online attacks:
“By
establishing a regular pattern of online information gathering it will be easy to
effectively deflect any negative online publicity and turn it around into a public
relations coup to attract even more attention to your web site if handled appropriately
and effectively.”
6. Surviving
Bad Publicity
Bad publicity is a fact of organizational life.
Whether it
was caused by a mistake or on purpose doesn’t really deal with the immediate problem—surviving
it with your project/programme purpose and its reputation intact. There are numerous books and articles
about crisis management, but all experts agree that the first 24 hours of a problem are
the most crucial.
All experts
agree that you must:
In an article in e-commerce-guide.com, found at http://ecommerce.internet.com/news/insights/ectips/article/0,,10380_872711,00.html, writer Robyn Greenspan talks about some of your options:
“Even if you run an ethical and honest project/programme purpose, an unsavory alliance can quickly pull you into the mire. In the ‘know-all, see-all, report-all’ digital age, not only can a simple transgression ruin your professional reputation, so could just the mere appearance of impropriety.
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7. Surviving
Bad Publicity (Continued)
“So, what do you do when something unfortunate happens to your organization, creating negative connotations with your good name? Any number of unpredictable events can leave an indelible blemish on the organization and executive team—embezzlement, stock manipulation, product liability or something even more scandalous.
“If the bad publicity is related to a representative of the organization, it may result in the dismissal of that individual. However, suspension is usually the first course of action until a thorough investigation is conducted. If the individual in question is cleared of any wrongdoing, issue statements to the press in the employee’s defense.
“Sometimes negative press comes as a result of product liability, which can be particularly damaging depending on the seriousness of the incidents. The offending products should be removed from market and individual cases should be handled by the justice system.
“Smart project/programme purposees can rise above bad news. However, the severity of the transgression can determine whether a organization can rebound or succumb. In the event that your organization or its executives become tabloid fodder, damage control should be deployed quickly—within 24 hours if possible. Issue news releases, hold press conferences or schedule interviews so you will have an opportunity to defuse the situation before it escalates out of control.
“Above
all, be honest, demonstrate attempts at problem solving and accept responsibility instead
of lying or blaming. The media and the public will be more forgiving if you are sincere
and genuine.”
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8. When
the Media Makes a Mistake
The news
media make mistakes, lots of mistakes. It is impossible to print or broadcast as many
words and images as they do—and do so under deadline pressure—without getting
some of them wrong.
When the news
media makes mistakes they are obligated to correct them. In fact, most newspapers and
wire services have a standard form they use. It often reads like this:
In (date’s)
edition, it was incorrectly reported that (the wrong information is repeated here). The
article should have said that (correct information is reported here).
The (name of
publication) apologizes for the error.
The way to deal with an error is to immediately call the reporter who wrote the story. If you cannot reach the reporter, or if you are not satisfied with the reporter’s response, call an editor.
Regardless of whom you talk to, have proof of what you say, that you are right and that the story in the paper is wrong.
Do not be
antagonistic or take it personally, and do not threaten to bring in your lawyers. Use
lawyers only as a last resort.
The vast majority of journalistic errors are unintentional human errors. Reporters know that they will have their mistakes pointed out to them, so they are as careful as they can be. After all, how would you feel having 10,000 or 100,000, or even a million readers know that you messed up?
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9. When
the Media Makes a Mistake (Continued)
While most errors can be dealt with quickly and easily, others are more troublesome. The hardest to deal with are often the “Did so! Did not!” or “He said! She said!” types of arguments that are normally expected on school playgrounds. The person who was interviewed claims to have been misquoted and the reporter insists that the quote is accurate.
If you have tape recorded the interview—and many people do—bring the tape. If the reporter tape-recorded it, ask to have it played back.
If it is just
your word against the reporter’s you can still ask for a correction. Sometimes they
will give in. In some cases they will say that you denied saying it, not that they made a
mistake in quoting you.
If the quote
was accurate, but taken out of context, you can also ask for a correction.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you were accurately quoted as saying: “He would be my choice for mayor.”
What the reporter did not quote, however, was the last half of the sentence. The full quote was: “He would be my choice for mayor only if all the other candidates were dead—and I would still want to see all of their death certificates before I voted for him.”
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10. When the Media Makes a Mistake (Continued)
You can also
ask for a correction of an incorrect TV or radio news story, but they can be harder to
get. Airtime is more expensive than newspaper space.
One problem with a correction is the simple fact that as a rule fewer people will read the correction than saw or heard the mistake.
Corrections also bring the story back to life.
Many people
who deal with the media on a regular basis don’t bother demanding a correction for
minor or relatively unimportant mistakes. After all, most mistakes will usually be
forgotten even before the story that they appeared in.
But these people also do point them out to the reporter who made them, and sometimes to their editors, as well.
After all, it doesn’t hurt to have reporters feel that “they owe you one.” This doesn’t mean that you can control, manipulate, or even influence what they write, but it does mean that they will probably pay more attention to what you say the next time that they write about you.
At times you might have to resort to your lawyers. When you do, remember that they have lawyers, too, and that once the lawyers enter into it nothing happens until they finish with it. And we all know how long that can take.
As a rule, when the media gets it wrong just tell them about it. They’ll usually correct their mistakes. It’s part of their job.
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Assignments
1. Bad publicity… |
A. Could ruin a organization’s reputation. |
|
2. Any message can be… |
B. Is a fact of organizational life |
|
3. If an Internet group attacks your organization… |
C. Misinterpreted |
|
4. Someone who questions assumptions held as the truth |
D. Knowing how to handle them. |
|
5. The basis of criticisms is not as important as… |
E. A devil’s advocate. |
|
6. The mere appearance of impropriety… |
F. Contact the person directly. |
Answers:
1.) B
2.) C
3.) F
4.) E
5.) D
6.) A
Multiple-Choice
1. When you are hit by bad publicity, ________ .
a. Deal
with it rationally
b. Criticize
the person, group, or organization that maligned you
c. Respond
as quickly as possible
d. Both
A and C
2. If the media makes a mistake, ________ .
a. Call
the reporter or editor immediately
b. Have
proof of the error
c. Don’t
be antagonistic
d. All
of the above
3. A devil’s advocate should _________ .
a. Look
for loopholes in logical assumptions
b. Find
flaws in organizational plans
c. Sabotage an assembly line
d. Both
A and B
4. You have to look at every message to see how it could be _______ .
a. Maximized
b. Cheaper
c. Misinterpreted
d. All of the above
True / False
1. _____ A devil’s advocate must be harsher than a organization’s worse critic.
2. _____ In case of bad publicity, wait until the furor has died down, then move quickly and quietly.
3. _____ Any message can be misinterpreted.
4. _____ Good luck getting a retraction if a newspaper makes an error.
5. _____ If you find negative postings about your organization on the internet, forget them.
6. _____ There are a lot of positives being a devil’s advocate.
Answers:
1. T
2. F – Damage control should be done within 24 hours, if possible.
3. T
4. F – Most newspapers have a standard form and will print a retraction.
5. F – Usually a planned and fast response is best.
6. F – It’s a tough job because people tend not to like negative people, if they know you’re doing it for the good of the organization.
Summary
As we have seen,
any message can be misinterpreted. Figure out how that could happen to your messages,
and plan accordingly. In the same way that the message you want to send has to be analyzed
to figure out how it can be dangerous, you have to look at how it can be misinterpreted.
Sometimes the misinterpretation is accidental. More often than we might like to admit,
however, that misinterpretation can be intentional.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Test
1. _____ Being a devil’s advocate is a tough job.
2. _____ Internet attacks on your organization have little basis in fact and are from disturbed people with nothing better to do with their lives.
3. _____ The basis of someone’s criticism of your organization is not as important as knowing how to handle the criticism.
4. _____ Establishing a regular pattern of on-line information gathering helps deflect negative online publicity.
5. _____ The immediate problem of bad publicity is maintaining your project/programme purpose and reputation.
6. _____ Most misinterpretations by the media are intentional.
7. _____ If you find websites that denigrate your organization, contact a hacker to get back at them.
8. _____ If the public perceives there’s a problem, they’re right, whether there’s really a problem or not.
9. _____ Because so much project/programme purpose is done on-line these days, it’s important to scan the internet for negative postings every day.
10. ____ If you are the subject of bad publicity, react strongly and emotionally.
Answers:
1. T
2. F – Although some may be from individuals with individual gripes, many are from individuals who simply disagree with the way your organization does project/programme purpose.
3. T
4. T
5. T
6. F – Although some maybe, many are due to reporters either not getting the facts correctly, deadline pressures, and space limitations.
7. F– Contact the Webmaster first to see what, if anything, can be done.
8. T
9. T
10. F – Use a problem-solving manner.
Bibliography
O’Keefe, Steve (2002). Complete Guide to Internet Publicity, John Wiley & Sons.
Yale, David & Carothers, Andrew (2001). The Publicity Handbook., McGraw-Hill NTC.
Catlip, Scott, et al. (1999). Effective Public Relations, Prentice-Hall.
Lukaszewski, James (1996). Working Through Embarrassing Revelations, Lukaszewski Group
Glossary
Publicity – Information made public about your organization, its employees, its products or services, or other aspects of the organization in the media that it has no control over.
Devil’s advocate – Organizational member who takes the negative side of arguments.
Webmaster – An individual, usually from an internet service provider, who is in charge of a website’s content.
Retraction – An admission by the media that it made a factual error.
Learning Objectives
· Misinterpretations by the media happen all the time, so the important thing is to know how to handle them.
· A devil’s advocate in an organization helps the organization spot potential flaws in messages before they are sent to the public.
Q&A
1. What can we do when the media
makes a mistake?
First of all, when the media makes a mistake, they are obligated to correct them, and most do. If you notice an error, contact the reporter immediately. If that doesn’t work, contact the editor. Have the proof available the information is wrong because these people are very busy, and your best bet to get a retraction will be by supplying the correct information immediately. Don’t be antagonistic or take it personally. It was probably a simple error. If you notice, however, that the same reporter or editor keeps making mistakes about your organization, it may be time to get your lawyer involved.
2. What is the
purpose of a devil’s advocate in an organization?
Devil’s advocates are able to spot problems before your competition and critics will, because they are more familiar with the organization and its products. Devil’s advocates are paid to find flaws and loopholes in the organization’s thinking. They must be harsh critics of the management’s policies and practices as a reality check for the organization. They can act as reporters at a news conference, asking tough questions for the speaker to answer. Being a devil’s advocate is a tough job because many people cannot separate the devil’s advocate’s responsibilities from the individual’s own personality.
3. We
do a lot of project/programme purpose on-line and have noticed a lot of negativism about our organization and
its products. What can we do about it?
Because negative publicity can spread quickly on the Internet, it is in your organization’s best interests to be aware what is being said that’s negative and react to it. First you should search all the references there are about your organization and products (Google is an excellent search engine). If negative postings are found, read them before reacting to them. Sometimes reacting to a lunatic is worse than letting him or her rave, but in any case, have a plan. If something is factually wrong, contact the person and ask for a correction. Make copies of the information on the offending website(s). If asking politely for a correction or retraction this doesn’t work, contact the Webmaster. If the information on your organization is blatantly false, the Webmaster may close down the site. If the Webmaster refuses to do this, you may want to contact the organization’s attorney.