The best of The GH Spin

For many media outlets, New Years is an excuse to reminisce about the previous year and create hundreds of lists announcing the top stories, events, and people of the year. At The GH Spin, we agree – it just wouldn’t be New Years if we didn’t have a “best of” list. Here are some of our top blogs from 2010:

• Looking back on the ‘00s: A look at how social media changed reporting over the past decade.
• Rock star PR move – January edition: Grand Forks turned a printing error into a well-placed plug for the area.
• The reality disconnect in American politics: New evidence: Chris Georgacas predicted that 2010 will be an anti-incumbent and anti-establishment year.
• Newspapers rethink Internet anonymity: Newspapers debated about regulating online comments.
• The ultimate retweet: The Library of Congress archived all public tweets.
• A lesson in journalistic ethics: A reporter outed an openly gay senior pastor in the Minnesota-based magazine Lavender.
• Putting the hyper in hyper-local news: Community-specific websites battled mainstream media to cover the suburbs.

The death of advertainment in Minnesota

Television news operations have long been looked at as a hybrid between journalism and entertainment. Happy talk between anchors, reporters standing outside in a hurricane to help us better “understand” the significance of a storm, and features full of gift, shopping and dining ideas are just a few examples.

From its call letters to the “focus” of stories within its newscasts, KARE-11 has been a leader in blurring the lines between news and entertainment. The station created a backyard for weather broadcasts, made desks of ice to cover the Winter Carnival, and got people to wave to the camera at the end each newscast.

Five years ago, KARE-11 pushed the journalism-entertainment envelope even farther when it launched “Showcase Minnesota,” a show that combined entertainment segments with paid advertising segments – advertainment.

When “Showcase Minnesota” was launched, KARE-11 general manager John Remes said, "This is an opportunity for advertisers to connect with audiences in a way they haven't done before.”

Critics said it was “paid advertisements masquerading as programming” and that “guests will pay to be on the new show and the anchors will act like inquisitive hucksters.” Critics were concerned that audiences wouldn’t notice or care about the difference between real news and advertainment.

The age of advertainment may be over in Minnesota – KARE-11 announced last week that “KARE-11 Today” would replace “Showcase Minnesota” in January. KARE-11 has not said if the decision was based on a lack of interest from advertisers who wanted to “connect” with audiences in a new way or if it was based on other factors.

"It's a great opportunity to highlight our strong news teams at KARE-11," said Remes. "Whether its early mornings, midday, evenings, late news, or weekends, we are proud of the commitment of our journalists and their connections with our community."

For now, the thin wall between news and advertising has been restored, and advertisers will have to find another way to connect with audiences.

Putting the hyper in hyper-local news

There is a new online news source heading into our market that The GH Spin is watching closely.

AOL-owned Patch is putting the hyper in hyper-local news. It is creating community-specific sites for suburbs in 18 states so far (mostly near the coasts). It covers everything from little league games to crime, business openings and “average folks doing extraordinary things.” It will also include directories of local restaurants, businesses and organizations.

In Minnesota, Patch is hiring staff to create sites for several cities in the West Metro (plus Eagan). The first site, covering Edina, is slated to go live on November 1. Local staffers say Patch will expand into the East Metro eventually, but not yet. They don’t plan to serve the downtowns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul because that’s not where the advertisers want to be. Such is the continuation of the micro-targeting of those who consume news and ads.

Mainstream media has been wrestling with the best way to provide the trendy hyper-local news. In this market, Channel 5 has a “Where you live” section on its home page, but the content is light. The Star Tribune has shuffled its special zoned sections several times, trying to find the right fit, and MinnPost is working hard to claim its piece of the online news share in the state. All of these outlets should be watching patch.com very closely, as should local weeklies.

Distrust of the media rises

A record number of Americans (57%) said that they have little or no trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly, according to a recent Gallup poll. This number has been steadily climbing since the mid-1990s, when 45% of Americans distrusted the media.

Additionally, 48% of Americans think the media is too liberal, while only 15% think the media is too conservative. (One-third of Americans believe the media is unbiased.)

What does this mean for the communications world? As media relations specialists, we take these statistics into account as we help clients identify story opportunities, tell the stories in meaningful ways, and share them with the right media outlets. A reliable and trustworthy source is critical to making sure your messages are heard and understood.

Moved by the voices of 9th graders

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the privilege to meet five impressive 13- and 14-year-olds from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Arizona. They are among the 25 soon-to-be 9th graders who just completed their first experience in an innovative program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota called Countdown to College.

Countdown to College is a new no-charge academic camp that immerses prospective first-generation college students in college prep classes and campus life for two weeks each summer from the 9th through 12th grades. The intent is to prepare them for college success in a way that only an immersion experience can.

Working for a public relations firm, I seldom have the opportunity to work as directly with students as I did in supporting the Countdown to College communications effort. These students told me their life stories, which are some of the most moving stories I’ve heard during my entire career.

I have the pleasure of helping many organizations and individuals share their stories as part of my job. When those stories touch me personally, I know I’ve chosen the right career path.

Thank you, Countdown to College students.

Rock Head PR Move: Via-bomb

Even if you’re one of the most powerful media tycoons in the world, you can’t pressure a reporter via voicemail to divulge his source and expect any good PR to come of it. Viacom czar Sumner Redstone is being haunted in today’s headlines by a voicemail recording of him telling a reporter to divulge the source of an anti-Redstone story. The kicker: he assured the reporter, “We’re not going to kill him. We’re just going to talk to him.”

Oops.

A spokesman ineffectively attempted to dismiss with flap with a “That was just Sumner being Sumner” quote.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Media mogul oversteps boundary

Media mogul Mort Zuckerman recently told Fox News that he had helped write one of President Obama’s speeches. Zuckerman is the owner of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report and a regular commentator on Sunday morning news shows.

Despite The Atlantic’s report that “Obama’s aides don’t remember consulting with Zuckerman,” Zuckerman’s claim blurs the relationship between journalists, media companies, and the people and issues they cover. Can media companies be an unbiased source of information if they also help create content for the same high-ranking officials on whom they report?

How would you react if the publisher of the Star Tribune wrote a speech for Governor Tim Pawlenty or the publisher of the Pioneer Press wrote a speech for Mayor Chris Coleman? Would you be skeptical of the newspaper’s future reporting, especially its investigative reporting? Or would you think it is just a reflection of the evolution of the media industry from unbiased reporting to slanted coverage (for example, the Huffington Post or Fox News)?

Certainly, a move like this would undermine the public’s respect for the media and public policy. But the question remains, how much would the journalism industry suffer?

Media companies are trying to stay relevant by redefining their niche in society. Speech writing for the President of the United States goes too far.

Community Action Partnership joins G&H client family

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties has hired Goff & Howard to help raise awareness about the agency and its work to reduce poverty. Community Action provides services such as early childhood education, energy assistance, and financial independence training to reduce poverty and prevent homelessness in Ramsey and Washington counties. Based in Saint Paul on University Avenue, Community Action is a nonpartisan, locally run, private nonprofit with more than 300 employees.

Goff & Howard will help Community Action share its stories of service and advocacy. Thanks to Community Action for involving us in this important community effort.

A lesson in journalistic ethics

John Townsend, a reporter for the Minnesota-based GLBT magazine Lavender, got what a lot of journalists seek this week: national attention.

Townsend wrote a story that “outed” Rev. Tom Brock, a senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and an openly anti-gay commentator for the Christian radio station KKMS-AM.

Lavender sent Townsend undercover to cover a confidential 12-step program for gay men – including Brock – “struggling with chastity.” Townsend recounted the pastor’s confidential conversations at the support group in Lavender’s most recent cover story.

The story was published in the days leading up to the Twin Cities Pride Festival and was quickly picked up by gay-focused media outlets, mainstream publications and spread through the Web, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels.

Lavender should never be confused with a traditional newspaper in that it clearly advocates a specific point of view to a clearly-defined audience. Nevertheless, the magazine, like other media outlets facing today’s news environment, needs to find ways to stay relevant. This story generated a lot of clicks and views for Lavender at a time when eyes on a website are very valuable.

More importantly, the story highlights the growing ethical debate about the ways reporters or media outlets should search for news. Privacy – especially for public figures – no longer exists because people are able to record pictures, video and audio with the flip of a button. Private settings that used to be off-limits to reporters can often be swarming with citizen journalists with smartphones.

But the Lavender story takes this a significant step farther. For an advocate, the hypocrisy of a minister who links tornadoes to church votes is hard to stomach. Yet, the impact of what Lavender did to rectify this wrongdoing destroyed the confidentiality and viability of counseling services and support groups that exist to help people deal with personal challenges. Lavender’s effort to shame the pastor violated the secrecy and safety of these sacred places.

This is why there has been such a strong reaction from gay groups as well as other media types from the Star Tribune to the Poytner Institute to Gawker.com.

“Outing” the minister leading up to Pride Week may be immediately satisfying for advocates but may have potentially shattered the privacy for people who need it most. I can’t imagine any story that could justify this kind of outcome.

Twitter signals the future of news

This morning I learned about the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Pawlenty’s unallotments not through a traditional news source but through Twitter. The past two weekends, I avidly followed the DFL and GOP conventions through Twitter. Even though I didn’t attend either convention, I knew the instant endorsements were made thanks to my fellow tweeters.

Twitter has rapidly evolved into the fastest way to disseminate information. In fact, some researchers recently heralded the site as the future of news. According to the study, timely topics make up more than 80% of discussions on Twitter, and 54% of tweets are “headline news.”

Twitter has become the best way to break news and share important information. In fact, many reporters get story ideas and information through Twitter. But, because tweets are limited to only 140 characters, links to more in-depth articles are essential. Traditional news agencies and reporters are not going to go extinct because of Twitter. Instead, they are adapting to the rigorous pace of digital reporting.

So, even though “flashing on the screen” might replace “hot off the presses” as the breaking news cliché, newsrooms will still be buzzing.

Talking heads take the cake in recently released journalism study

The only bright spot in the PEW Research Center’s dismal report on the state of American journalism is the resurgence of cable news networks. Prime-time viewership for FOX, CNN and MSNBC grew 7%, while daytime viewership rose 16% over the past year. Additionally, overall cable news revenues rose an estimated 5% due to subscription fees and audience growth.

While this is positive news for the industry as a whole, it is important to recognize that cable news shows became noticeably more ideological in 2009. The strongest ratings growth and overall ratings were among partisan talk shows – FOX’s Glenn Beck program was up 96% while The O’Reilly Factor was up 16%.

If cable talk shows are the future of television news, viewers will need to watch critically.

Take the Tiger Woods News Conference Poll

Tiger Woods is set to host a news conference Friday morning where he will speak publicly for the first time since his car accident and marital infidelity was exposed three months ago. This news conference is a huge opportunity for Tiger, whose reputation was tarnished by a nine iron and a multitude of women claiming to have had affairs with him. Tiger will speak at 11 a.m. EST from the headquarters of the PGA Tour in Florida.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com