About

The BlackDoor MediaComm blog examines issues regarding strategic communications and emerging media. Each week, we  delve into topics that leaders in media and communications grapple with each day, areas such as: the diffusion of innovations; interpersonal influence; opinion leadership; social media; communication with government groups; message development & placement; media strategies; and the future in strategic communication.
As a longtime journalist and communications professional who’s studying for a master’s degree in Strategic Communication, I think we have fascinating topics to discuss. But these subjects are vitally important for everyone, even those who don’t realize it and don’t have professional/academic interests in the matter. 

 The world of journalism and communication underwent rapid change in the decade preceding November 2016. Since then, alteration has occurred at warp speed, leading to warped perceptions of truth, reality, accuracy and credibility. 

 Our democracy is at risk if we can’t get a handle on those pillars.    
To follow the conversation, please bookmark blackdoormediacomm.blogspot.com. I hope to share what I’m learning in my classes at Troy University, my observations as a media consumer, and what I’ve gathered through working at five newspapers and two nonprofit organizations since 1985. Thanks for reading!

 Deron Snyder

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Without vision, proceed at your own peril

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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 had recent
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Don't be antisocial: Come on in!

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By Deron Snyder How does a 50-year old man go from the obscurity of managing casual restaurants in Richmond, Virginia. to become a media celebrity in a Top 10 market like Washington, DC? How does he break into journalism at such an advanced age, with no training, no experience and no connections? How does he develop a cult-like fan base that grows to include the likes of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.? The answer is easy to guess: He does it by being social. Rich Tandler was 63 when he died suddenly last month , sending a shockwave through journalists, fans and personnel associated with Washington’s NFL franchise. He was a prime example of the power of social media, which catapulted him from Applebee’s and Panera Bread to stadiums and locker rooms around the country – and even London, where Washington and Cincinnati played in 2016. The team “retired” his seat in the FedEx Field press box and marked it with a plaque. Tandler began blogging about the team, as a hobby, in
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The age of follow the leader ... or whomever

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Photo by  Rakesh Shetty  on  Unsplash By Deron Snyder According to an old saying, folks should either lead, follow or get out of the way. But nowadays, it’s harder to do the latter without running the risk of being trampled. Our society seems to move at warp speed, with the next new thing arriving daily. We’re like Sandra Bullock’s character in “Gravity,” buffeted by zooming debris as we float helplessly through space. Except the hits and misses aren’t totally happenstance. Sometimes we’re steered onto a collision course without even realizing it. But that’s only fair, since we sometimes unconsciously nudge others in likewise fashion. Between intentional persuaders and unintentional influencers, we are surrounded by legions of leaders, swarmed by a wealth of words from a multitude of mouths. The deluge exists not only within our personal networks through face-to-face communication, but whenever we venture onto the congested Internet. There, whether through social media
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