Renaissance Woman or Just Spread Too Thin?

Recently I have been invited to join some prestigious and well connected networks and organizations. It struck me as I walked home from a very distinctive women in media organiztion invitation event how many (excuse the mixed metaphors and run-on sentence) irons I have in the fire, how many interests I have, how much and what breadth of conversation and topics intrigue me, how I cannot possibly “do” all I wish to, yet how essential some things are to nurture my spirit and soul.
I have no time, it seems, to do much writing beyond business writing these days, yet how luxurious it was to discuss the love of words and writing with a wide range of women.
I have been a consultant for 26 years. In many capacities but all focused on growing organizations and helping the people in them to successfully work together for a shared vision and goals.
I am an internationally known expert on virtual teaming and virtual work.
I am a freelance writer for local and statewide business publications.
I own a virtual and roving art gallery.
I am a published book author.
I just released my first “packaged” information product. I am on schedule to release my second in the fall.
I continue to learn and study script writing in the entertainment venues when I can squeeze it in, which isn’t very often.
I embrace alignment between work, business, personal, and spiritual.
I am working on taking better care of myself physically.
I love to cook; this does not always support my goal of losing weight. Fortunately, I also love to eat good foods, which does.
I deeply enjoy good dialogue and conversational exploration, especially in the realms of philosophy, cultural anthropology, and Spirit.
Am I a renaissance woman? Or just too spread out? Hmmmm….

A cry for less Spin and More Discussion

Today’s Uber Utterance is about our Democratic Process and the Public’s access to unbiased information and ability to dig through the spin. Instead of talking the issues, the pundits and press discuss the marketing position each candidate pitches, how to appeal to the American people and turn support away from the candidate. Nothing is wrong with this, I guess, but the media focus drives the Public’s focus. And very little of it is really on the issues themselves. I BEG for candidates, elected officials, and the informal 4th branch of government, the media, to

• Face reality
• Acknowledge what IS current state
• Decide what we REALLY want and need,
• AND BE HONEST ABOUT IT!
• Then have the kahunas to invite this Republic to have a truly Democratic say.

Not possible without an informed public. SPIN, and CONJECTURE about the spin – It’s all extremely fun and interesting and a great opportunity to master the power of Influence without Control.

I am listening to NPR interview of ex-press Secretary Scott McClellan on his new book. Of course he is being slammed by the Busch administration, and old clips of his are running on all the news shows – His pat response in the past? “I can make no comment on an ongoing investigation.” A safe statement to hide behind. Now Mr. McClellan is acknowledging that the White House manipulated the facts leading to the Iraq war. This is not new information to many, and will never be believed by some.

Primary market message? We, the Public, are manipulatable.

What is missing? I am so caught up in the messaging myself sometimes – seeing through to the agenda and feeling Uber more conscious because of it. I’m less able to be manipulated, even by those whose platforms I agree with sometimes. Of course, I have a masters in communication, and I was trained both as a speaker, debater and debate coach and as an analyst. I am trained to identify and call out propoganda and yellow journalism. Yet the fury and sense of betrayal that comes from zealots who think that just because I question and call out the propoganda, I must, therefore, be a traitor to the cause.

Hogwash. We need more intelligent thought and critical thinking, but it’s just so hard! And, I have to admit, with all the intelligence and thought required to live my basic professional and personal life, I get it….. Can I take on any more responsibility to pay attention?

I think that’s why I enjoy Sunday morning news the best. I can go deep into the meta analysis and catch up on the basic news. The rest of the week I follow my mood, the time of day, or my brain’s availability to “learn” current events – and, of course, by choice of media outlet – whose biases I want to hear the news through and at what level of awareness?

Soon after Katie Couric was anchoring, I remember the headlines were all about Katie’s clothes. White after Labor Day. Leg. Her choice of news coverage – Brangelina’s baby seen there first. The pundits say its all about entertainment news. The ignorant think its all driven by Couric. The “uber marketers” say it’s all about ratings and what does the last place news desk have to lose?

What do I say? I say yeah… so what? Leave the clothers alone. Judge the choice if you need. But let’s face it – if one or two hard-hitting and educational relevant stories are seen and understood by millions who tune in…. Isn’t that a good thing? Are they wanting to “steal” marketshare from the others? Maybe. Maybe and, I believe, Likely not.

I think they’re trying to “capture” audiences that don’t even REGISTER in the marketshare. They’ve been watching reruns of sitcoms on another channel because the news is “just too depressing and boring, and I can’t do anything about it anyway.” Do these people watch the news at all? Yes! But they watch in the morning, while getting ready for work, and getting pieces of entertainment, breaking stories, lifestyle pieces, and NEWS.

What is my preference? NO MORE YELLOW JOURNALISM. But should I have an argument with a 3rd Place station appealing to a lost audience by providing wider bandwidth of “newsworthy” topics? Heck, no.

What is my preference? That we had a Jeffersonian democracy that fought for an informed and educated Democratic Repuclic that elected representative officials who truly represented intelligence and healthy debate about strategy, not koolaid citizens that have been drinking their own choice of brand of water.

This is what freedom seems to have come down to today. (Warning: real rant here). We are FREE TO CHOOSE whose propoganda we eat and swallow. Or we choose to go with the options that may not be fully balanced within a host show, but are pretty balanced overall within the network. (Few of these choices, and I acknowledge that I still may be partially drinking koolaid myself.)

And yes, I think we are even free to speak up. IF we are willing to take on the consequences. These consequences have been escalating, but I’ll leave that for others. Today’s consequence for networks is loss of marketshare. Unbiased reporting is difficult. It requires great courage to take the time to do due diligence. To take the time and find the courage to lead an examined life – and I mean the Network, the Network shareholders, the support staff, cast, and crew. To have the courage to lead an honest and intelligently responsible business with regard but not enslavement to Profit and MindShare.

And if it doesn’t “click” with the public, or if it is too provocative or uncomfortable? We, as a people, have the FREEDOM to turn the channel.

And we do!
What a paradox – I fully support packaging the news in any way necessary to reach the broader public, but I am an idealistic…. I hope that while acknowledging the importance and power of the packaging of the message, our media gatekeepers can also keep to the core value of telling the Truth, to the best of their knowledge, with awareness of their bias, and with as little yellow journalism as possible. I wish more Decision-Makers, Teachers (in the broad sense), and Influencers had the courage to risk not being as popular.

Yellow journalism…. now there’s a nice historical path to walk down and re-teach the American people about how to glimpse behind the curtain. And to do so without becoming conspiracy theorists. A little balance, people! It takes courage to see all sides of a thing. It takes courage to risk being called wishy-washy, or too removed from the real world.

It takes real courage to step away from the hardliner purists as well. Packaging, branding, marketing are all good. It helps people remember you. Understand you. Get your offer in a way that is easy for them.

Now have the courage to have a really worthwhile offer inside the package. What is worthwhile to me? In this topic of media, marketing and spin, I’m hoping the offer is a compelling need to create a well-rounded and well-informed, balanced Citizenship.

I choose to at least try to
See my biases and filters
Acknowledge them instead of denying that they’re there.
Hold them lightly to the side for awhile so I can “see” from another viewpoint.
Meta-observe the patterns of humanity and civilization.
See history repeating itself.
Be willing to stand solid and.or change.

Good news?
Chicken Little can calm down.
The globe, and the patterns, are more transparent thanks to technology and media.
We have some very smart people pulling strings, seeing them pull strings, getting angry about it, and fighting back.
BUT… We’re too busy to do much more than acknowledge. This is bad! IMHO.

The Opportunity?
Smart people at certain frustration levels have moral choices to learn and fight back on the same playing field, or to learn HOW to fight at the pattern level. Wasn’t it Einstein who said problems cannot be solved at the same level they were created? Or something like that?
And, of course, for us all to at least become more informed; have the courage to listen to many viewpoints, speak up even if it’s just to your own persistent biases whispering in your ear; and the courage to be balanced when balance feels right, to be angry when anger can help, and to judge self and others fairly regardless of how unfair it is.

Well, there were so many tangents that got lost along the way. I can at least get back to work now….