The Press is Dead…Long Live the Free Press

So here we are in the 21st Century looking for the signs of positive change in an ever-dawning Future. All the while being constantly reminded that many segments of the Mainstream Media still seem more interested in leading with stories that bleed, or in brow-beating the Past, rather than taking a more proactive approach to promoting genuine grass-roots change here in the Present.

So with the status quo being so well entrenched, people are increasingly turning to fringe sources of alternative “news” and information, and hoping that others are doing the same to preserve a realistic view of the world around them. Of course, this isn’t the time or place to delve into the greatly diminished role of the “Free Press” in protecting our various Democracies, but it bears mention that one of the greatest casualties of the Post-Modern Age has been the much publicised demise of the big, well-financed, and possibly overstaffed ‘Newsprint Giants’ of the 20th century, and quite possibly the venerable institution of Journalism itself.

Among so many besieged traditional specialties in the Media, ones that are in particularly obvious decline are the the crucial roles of Researchers and Investigative Journalists. People who were once trained to dig up and develop stories that go against the grain and demand accountability from Governments and Corporations, and thus assure some basics checks and balances to the free-market versions of Democracy. After decades of relative peace and prosperity, some might just say who cares if ‘print journalism’ is in peril? Just because TV News operations are even more indentured to their Corporate parents, doesn’t mean that we should be concerned about the fate of Journalism as a whole…Should we?

After all…What harm could this do to the Future, if some archaic form of Mass Media from the Past were to die off?

 

Science Journals: Purveyors or Gatekeepers?

	Publish or Perish !

After after harnessing the laws of Nature, and applying Truth and Reason to triumph over dogmatic Religion, Science now seems to be capable of falling into the same traps of power and corruption that can undermine all great human pursuits and lofty achievements. Hopefully, the same basic principals that allowed Science to persevere and flourish, can also be brought to bear upon its own methods now, in order to redeem itself to the Media and clamoring Masses that have lost their blind faith.

Since we’ve all been raised to believe that Science is based in Truth, and that Justice and Liberty are inalienable rights, it should come as no surprise that the General Public risks becoming(at least temporarily) disenfranchised by the fact that there seems to be some degree of suppressed dissent in the Scientific Community revolving around Climate Science.   From a Layman’s point of view, many people have grown weary of the arguments, and are ready to just “follow the money” when it comes to understanding the causes of the global warming debate. Most intelligent people are also becoming hyper-sensitized to anything that even remotely resembles propaganda, and have started to see past the all political posturing, economic interests, and ethical self-righteousness of the Climate Change movement to realize that we might actually have a more profound and underlying dilemma to consider here. One that is failing to address deeper ecological issues, while still trying to commoditize carbon dioxide through legislation. A dilemma which might eventually stem itself from our Society’s reliance on Science as the primary guiding force in human achievement and evolution. Therefore, in order to proceed into a clarified vision of the Future where environmental issues can be addressed at their root cause, let’s first consider the risks of losing our best guiding force in a world presently ruled by money and politics.

As we risk losing our faith in Science here in the Present, we need to regain a workable trust in what we had hoped were the infallible principals of the Scientific Method in order to move towards a more pre-verified Future outlook.  Since many people believe that Science has indeed supplanted Religion (which arguably supplanted Nature long ago!) as our guiding force in Society and Life as we know it, let’s proceed according to any other scientific or “religious” study by considering the facts as basic articles of faith, and as they exist within the scientific community itself. The first step to redeeming our views of Science would surely be to turn to the ‘scripture’ of Science, as it has been methodically collected and presented throughout the ages by the indentured librarians and peer-reviewed science journals that this community of researchers and trusted professionals places its own trust into.

PR Values: Remembering the Brave

In our look at the Social Climate, it has become increasingly clear that unless the Mainstream Media can radically change the way it gathers, presents, and distributes its environmental news and socio-politically relevant information, that we might well need to increasingly turn to alternate (more independent) mediums and channels in order to form and share the kind of progressive Public perceptions and opinions that will be required to reshape our Consumer driven Society for the better…and possibly avoid looming political and environmental debacles as well. The Past certainly holds lessons for us all.

In our zeal to seek out new paradigms and standards for Communications however, we shouldn’t overlook the lessons to be learned from our forebearers. In this case, the enormous power and latent capacity held within the current Media regimes, as well as the immense strides being taken by the ‘old guard’ to advance into a new era of bi-lateral Public Relations with their respective Markets and Audiences. Before moving on to our alternate Channels, we need to take a closer look at those organizations and talented professionals who are not only adopting new Production and Communication methods, but who are also innovating their staid Broadcast-based Media methods to have a greater impact within the much touted realm of Social Media. Some of the methods that the Mainstream Media might yet effectively adapt and evolve into would include radical new approaches to Advertising philosophies, Corporate Sustainability (CSR) efforts, and various new approaches to the many outdated or misguided Public Relations (PR) methods and strategies that we now see encroaching the Social Media space…For better or worse.

On Remembrance Day, what better Corporate objective could there be than to apply new models of Communication in order to honour those who’ve fought and sacrificed for our hard won Freedoms and Liberty. Of course there are many Corporate interests that simply wish to be aligned with such noble ideals, without bringing anything of new value to the table, but we’ll let naturally selective market forces decide who should survive in this Public Relations arena, and simply focus on those who are clear champions of a just cause.

As such, let’s narrow focus on some select PR and CSR professionals who are leading the way towards progressive new modes of communication though, in hope of brighter and safer visions of the Future. Let’s start this series by taking a look at one of the pioneers of progressive PR and now Corporate Sustainability…