The elements constituting good reporting are universal, whether they are in a newspaper or a press release. Mike McCurry, former press secretary to President Clinton, spoke on the subject at a discussion forum sponsored by the Pew Center.
Missing from the media are the central ingredients of effective communication, says McCurry. Here are what he refers to as the five C's for effective communication:
- Credibility. People need to know the you are someone with a reputation for accuracy and honesty.
- Candor. You have to have the capacity to acknowledge mistakes, to correct them, to handle the truth, even when it hurts.
- Clarity. You have to know what you're trying to say and say it in ways that people will understand and hear. When you blur the distinction between information and entertainment, people are not sure how they're being approached - are you trying to entertain us or are you trying to tell us something that matters? This risks the very essence of the communication being put forward.
- Commitment. To break through this clutter, you have to tell the story over and over again.
- Compassion. The ability to be civil toward one's opponent and to not always question their motives instantaneously.
McCurry felt journalists lost sight of this last point. He also presented no antidote to setting the field back on course. He did suggest that communicators think seriously about how they talk to the public and to one another. (202/331-3200.)