For those who think Democracy should be
a collaborative experience.
September 29, 2008
More Presidential ~ Grace under Fire
Unite and Concur took on Divide and Conquer at the first presidential debate. The post debate spin was clear that John McCain came across as more combative and Barrack Obama came across as more conciliatory. McCain hit attack and did not engage Obama directly, while Obama looked to McCain as he spoke and acknowledged points of agreement. The McCain campaign had an ad out before midnight showing a medley of clips of Obama telling McCain where he agreed with him. The McCain campaign clearly thought the acknowledgement would make Obama look weak, and many Obama supporters voiced the same concern. Some suggested that Obama showed grace under fire, and wondered if that would play well on Main street.
The debate tested Unite and Concur principles, and it passed the test.
Obama was regarded as appearing “more presidential” by 46% of debate watchers, in contrast to the 33% who regarded McCain as more presidential.
As the author of Unite and Concur, I encourage all of us to show grace under fire and to appear presidential when our political ideas are challenged. The verdict is in and the polls have shown – grace under fire and a collaborative approach to dialogue is effective.
September 8, 2008Spinspotter ~ technology to keep the news honest
A web application is about to be released that will use algorithms to catch the spin that your gut misses.
It’s called Spinspotter, and it reviews web pages based on guidelines provided by Society of Professional Journalists’ Code Of Ethics, and rates them for web content.
I look forward to reading it’s rating of my own writing…I think.
May 7, 2008Communication standards ~ Political bullying…in kindergarden?
I thought I already knew how divisive the political environment is. I thought I had heard it all. But I learned something that surprised me when a viewer called in to a TV interview show I was on for my Unite and Concur eBook. The caller relayed sordid tales of political bullying in her child’s elementary school.
Since that day, I have heard other tales of the political divide trickling down to our kids.
My eBook talks about how to handle political bullies, and you can get some quick tips here.
Have you or your family members been subjected to political bullying? Please email me or post comments here with your tales. Thanks!
And have a great, bully-free week.
April 10, 2008Firestorms over show hosts Imus, Shuster and Rhodes’ suspensions illustrate confusion over aggression and assertiveness
Almost exactly one year ago, Don Imus was fired for an inappropriate comment on the air. Two months ago, NBC’s David Shuster was suspended for an inappropriate comment on the air. Last week, Air America Host Randi Rhodes was suspended for an inappropriate vulgar slur during a station-funded appearance. She resigned today rather than apologize. All three events stirred firestorms.
The arguments in defense of name-calling and personal attacks demonstrate common misunderstandings about the difference between aggressive and assertive communication. Many people confuse strong expression with vulgarity, disagreeing with disrespecting, and holding people accountable with personal attack. Those conflations muddy the real issues. People think that objecting to Imus’ firing, and Shuster and Rhodes’ suspension is the same as silencing them. It’s not. It’s about maintaining communication standards in our airwaves
Imus is back, and apparently is willingly continuing to be assertive without being viciously aggressive. Shuster is back without incident. Rhodes chose to quit instead of apologize. I hope Rhodes maintains her passion in her new ventures while toning down her vitriol.
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Related posts which may interest you
- Air America Radio suspension of host Randi Rhodes raises communication questions
- Blog guidelines: How to start a reasonable dialogue about reasonable dialogue
- I do question his judgment
- Get real ~ You can wish your candidate had more experience AND still support him or her
- Women in politics ~ a more collaborative approach
Air America Radio suspension of host Randi Rhodes raises communication questions
Air America Radio’s suspension of talk show host Randi Rhodes stirred anger among her fans, drew cheers among her detractors. As a communication author and teacher, I herald it as an example I hope other outlets follow.
If you’re asking, “Randi who?”, she’s a liberal talk show host who is generally considered smart, outspoken and often caustic. Air America Radio suspended her last week for calling Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro “f*&#%^$ whores.”
To me, this kind of language is indefensible, but there are plenty of people who try. If you follow the discussions whenever a media figure gets suspended for poor word choice, you get the impression that you have to be disrespectful in order to disagree. The real issue of Rhodes suspension is whether you condone calling public figures F&%#& whores. It doesn’t matter how you feel about Clinton or how you feel about Rhodes. Either you approve of this kind of attack or you don’t.
Air America’s press release read:
“Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station. ‘Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts.”
To ignore this kind of vulgarity is to condone it. I know, I know, it sells. Randi Rhodes commanded high ratings. I predict she will command higher ratings if she returns to the air, keeping her feisty nature but losing her vulgar tirades. I predict she would keep her current fan base and gain a new base of people who like their commentary to be clear without being caustic and corrosive.
If you’ve read any of my books you know my philosophy is to say what you mean, and mean what you say, without being mean when you say it. Practice that yourself, and then hold the people you support to the same standards. Advocate clear, substantive dialogue from the candidates and media outlets you support.
Email This Post
Related posts which may interest you
- Firestorms over show hosts Imus, Shuster and Rhodes’ suspensions illustrate confusion over aggression and assertiveness
- Women in politics ~ a more collaborative approach
- Get real ~ Unintended transparency
- Old school politics ~ Obama supporters vs. Clinton haters
- Get real ~ You can wish your candidate had more experience AND still support him or her
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