Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
Strategic Communications
  • Home
  • What We Offer
  • Guiding Values
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Contact Us

Losing (and Finding) the Balance

12/17/2020

 
Picture
My career in journalism was long ago and not lengthy—five years, including the first two at a college newspaper with some stringing on the side. Even so, to this day I consider myself a journalist at heart.
 
That perspective has strongly informed my much longer career in public relations. Each day I bring a journalist’s perspective to my work. This helps me sift the wheat from the chaff, aiding my clients as well as my acquaintances in the Fourth Estate. Also, I’m far more inclined to defend journalists—especially in today’s unfairly hyper-critical environment, where disparaging legitimate news media has become a disturbing practice—than I am to find fault.
 
Until something like this comes along….
 
“This” is a number of local news stories giving voice to the anti-vaccine crowd. A new report from NBC News describes how anti-vaxxers have become media savvy—trotting out “worried” moms with their cherub-faced kids to local news outlets, where they deliver just the right mix of emotional angst and misleading (or flat-out wrong) messages.
 
This practice is called information laundering—disinformation presented through trusted vehicles, lending an air of legitimacy to falsehoods. In this case, anti-vaxxers are leveraging the trust people have in their local news outlets. A 2018 Poynter Media Trust Survey found better than 70% of Americans trust their local news a “fair” or “great” deal; national outlets fall a full 20 percentage points or more behind.
 
Tragically, this informational trip to the cleaners is happening while drug companies such as Pfizer and Moderna are bringing forth life-saving vaccines for COVID-19. (Full disclosure: I am a former employee of Pfizer.) The coronavirus pandemic has slain more than 1,650,000 people worldwide, including 308,000 Americans. Millions more face lingering, possibly lifelong complications. These vaccines are critical to stopping this disease and saving lives—provided enough people get the shot.
 
Anti-vaxxers seem resolved to discourage the turnout; some local news media are unintentionally aiding their quest.
 
To be fair, I get the challenge local news faces. COVID-19 and the vaccines are huge news stories, dominating network coverage. It’s tough to find a new angle for local audiences. (Case in point: A few weeks ago, a small-town newspaper in the Midwest contacted me to ask if any vaccine work would have happened at a local plant if the company hadn’t closed it. That closure happened nearly a dozen years ago.) Many of my friends in the local news biz feel they can’t turn away from any local link—not when they have newscasts, web pages and column inches to fill.
 
But while providing a local platform for these fringe voices might seem fair, it risks leading some people to believe these notions might be true. They are not. Vaccines go through a robust development and review process—including the greatly accelerated review for the coronavirus vaccines. Scientists, physicians and regulators know what’s in them, what they do and how they work. As with any medication—or anything you put in your body, including that bag of Doritos you polished off last night—vaccines aren’t risk-free. Side effects are possible, and some patients who received the COVID-19 vaccines reported a few. But the risks are low compared to the benefit of avoiding or diminishing a serious disease.
 
Thankfully, the local news outlets I work with haven't gone down this disinformation path. I applaud them and encourage them to remain watchful. Truth and accuracy must not be diminished by the desire for balance. All are equal. It’s a tall order, but doable. Perhaps the guiding principle ought to be the same as that of the medical profession: primum non nocere, “first do no harm."

    Picture

    Rick Chambers

    Rick is the owner and president of Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Accuracy
    Code Of Ethics
    Communication Ammo
    Communications
    Digital News
    Fairness
    Firefly
    Integrity
    Internal Communication
    Lie
    Loyalty
    Matt Friedman
    Media Relations
    Pr
    Print News
    Prsa
    Public Relations
    Radiance
    Recognition
    Sean Williams
    Serenity
    Spin
    Star Trek
    Star Trek Phase Ii
    Tanner Friedman
    Truth

    RSS Feed

About Us

Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC, brings a solid track record of strategic, diverse, objective-based communications and public relations services. RC&A works closely with clients to understand their business, develop stakeholder relationships, build meaningful dialogue and help share their stories effectively.

Picture
Rick Chambers & Associates, LLC
1514 Kingsbury Drive
Portage, MI 49002-1664
USA
269.873.5820
info@rickchambersassociates.com