BlackDoor MediaComm

Photo by  Mihai Surdu  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder Regarding the age-old question – “Is man basically good or evil?” – Aristotle left no doubt where he stood. He contended that moral excellence is not man’s natural state, and it is achieved only through determined and repeated effort. That sustained endeavor helps man distinguish what is morally correct and leads him to lean in that direction. Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” resides between the extremes of good and evil. This middle is particularly relevant to journalism in three areas of ethics and credibility: unsubstantiated saturation coverage, gratuitous shock value, and stereotypical characterizations (Dickson, 1988) . The media’s tendency to overindulge in these areas represents a moral failing, whereas exhibiting restraint would allow the industry to find the mean. The principle in reference to journalism is more relevant than ever, as the 24-hour news cycle and the proliferation of digital news continue to...

Photo by  Fancycrave  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder So much content. So many eyeballs. If the former can catch a glance from the latter, a wonderful and meaningful encounter could ensue.  They even might wind up meeting on a regular basis and spending quality time together. That would make content ecstatic, because one its greatest fear is dying of loneliness. So, it attempts to put itself in front of eyeballs as many ways as possible, but it’s really helpless after that point. Eyeballs have all the power and call all the shots, with no shortage of content to choose from. Nonetheless, some content wants to be picky, wants to be selected by the particular type of eyeballs it believes it’s   made for. Other content couldn’t care less about which eyeballs it hooks up with; the more the merrier.   It doesn’t want to appear cheap and easy, but … its often perceived like that anyway. Such is life as 2020 approaches, with content at every turn on m...

Photo by  M. B. M.  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder There seems to be an app for just about everything nowadays, including fun nonsense. There’s an app for virtual shaving, compete with falling whiskers of the color and length you choose. There’s an app that allows you to milk a cow, seeing how fast you can fill a bucket. There’s an app for popping pimples, tapping on aquarium glass, and taking bathroom breaks . But strategic communication professionals could really use a yet-to-be-developed application. This technology would compute the intrinsic value of staying in touch with contacts and asking about their families. The merits of making a personal connection with powerful and influential people. The significance of being seen as a positive, open, and caring individual. Yes, there’s an app for building relationships. But as far as I can determine, there’s nothing to tell stratcomm professionals what a relationship might be worth and how it might increase...

Photo by  Inspirationfeed  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder “As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” – Donald Rumsfeld. Few individuals can express an idea as eloquently as former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. But his most famous quote boils down nicely as follows: Crises happen. That much is known. But the who, what, where, when, why and how are often unknown. One morning, you’re the happy leader of the world’s largest hotel operator. The next morning, you’re announcing that 500 million guests might’ve had their personal data stolen by hackers . “We deeply regret this incident,” Marriott’ President and chief executive Arne Sorenson said in a statement Friday. “We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of our ourselves. We ...

Photo by  claire jones  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder I was at church about 30 years ago when my pastor mentioned a movie theatre where imperceptible suggestions were flashed on the screen.  One message was, “Drink Coca-Cola.”  The other was, “Eat popcorn.”  He said sales of Coke and popcorn shot through the roof as a result, even though moviegoers received the prods only subconsciously. That story always impressed me and served as proof of subliminal messages. But in my studies on message development and placement this week, I learned that the tale is a hoax. Turns out that James Vicary, the man who coined the term “subliminal advertising” and conducted the theater experiment in 1957, eventually confessed to lying about the results. There are questions as to whether he actually conducted the experiment at all. I’m still debating whether to share my findings with Rev. Wilson. But despite Vicary’s admission, the notion of subliminal adverti...

Photo by  David Beale  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder -- "Where there is no vision, the people perish" Proverbs 29:18. Just like people, organizations are at risk of perishing when guidance and direction are insufficient. Picking out prime examples is easy, considering how hindsight is 20-20. But perhaps no company proves the point more convincingly than Blockbuster. By 1993, the video rental chain had more than 3,400 stores and was encouraging consumers to “make it a Blockbuster night.” But the leaders' FutureVision googles were faulty and led to failure in navigating an oncoming tidal wave that turned the company’s fortunes upside down. A June 1999 article in the Chicago Sun-Times asked readers to “imagine a Blockbuster night without Blockbuster, a time when no video store will ever slap you with a late fee or fine you for failing to rewind. Because in this world, there are no videos, only home computers.”   In that world, Amazon ...

By Deron Snyder If nothing else, the University of Maryland has proved itself to be an equal-opportunity violator of communication best practices. The school has demonstrated extraordinary incompetence in virtually every conceivable way.  As a government entity. Through its internal communication. As an institution of higher learning. Via its external communication. As an athletic department. Just as the University of Alabama and Auburn University are shining examples of excellent communication in reaction to a crisis – the 2011 poisoning of Auburn’s venerable oak trees by an Alabama fan – Maryland forever will be the first chapter in “What Not to Do” for its response to the tragic death of 19-year-old Terrapins football player Jordan McNair. “We have got politicians involved, students upset and the public wondering what’s going on,” a former Terrapin Club president told the New York Times last week after a chaotic series of events . In a span of roughly 48 hours, we re...