The Hillary Movies. Perception is Reality.

Sorry not to have been more regular with this blog, but I essentially goofed off June and July. Time to re-engage and there is so much to talk about. And wouldn't you know it's political?

Not the least of which are the planned movies about former Secretary of State, former Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton by CNN and NBC.

Back when serving on the Board of Directors of the Radio-Television-Digital News Association I learned when it comes to watching the news, "Perception is Reality" on the viewer's part. What they believe is what they perceive to be true. Regardless of whether it is or not. It's their perception, at least to them, that counts.

Mrs. Clinton's story is certainly worthy of a movie. Like her or not, she is and remains a major political figure. But the timing of the movies is in question. There is no doubt among political experts that she's the presumptive nominee for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

NBC is quick to point out, and fairly so, that their news division is separate from their entertainment division. Over at CNN the lines are a little more blurred. Not the least of which is CNN stands for Cable NEWS Network. Neither network has plans for movies profiling Republican political figures.

There is a perception among at least some folks that both NBC and CNN lean a tad to the left. It may or not be true but it's their perception. Which re enforces GOP Chair Reince Priebus in his perception both NBC and CNN are playing partisan politics. His initial reaction is to ban both networks from covering the GOP debates.

This at a time when there is a declining perception/approval of journalists in general. So why push your own news divisions under the perception bus?

Frankly, regardless of one's political point of view, a movie about Clinton prior to the election seems suspicious, or at least coming off as obtuse on the parts of NBC and CNN.

My take on all this is "What's the hurry?" Her story is a legitimate one, and could even be more interesting after the election, win or lose. Why risk the perception you are taking sides in the 2016 election?

All this just muddies the waters when we should be focused on issues instead.

At least that's my perception. But at this point, what difference does it make?

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Japan Earthquake: Power of the Info Pipelines

A generation ago coverage of a story like today's earthquake in Japan was anything but on-demand. Other than a network cut-in, we'd have to wait for the evening paper or Uncle Walter to bring us the latest.

Then came the moment when Ted Turner threw the switch at a 24 hours news service out of Atlanta called CNN. As long as we were near a TV, we could be informed.

This morning I first got the news via digital device. Soon as I turned on the screen there was an alert with the news of the 8.9 earthquake. The news outlets I follow in Twitter provide a Tsunami of content about the resulting Tsunami. Many of those news outlets are reaching out to us, asking us if we have family or friends in the impacted areas of Japan or Hawaii and to share any news we have from them.

A tap on the link to my Disaster Alert App instantly shows me a global map of impacted areas and alerts. Need to drill down for more specific and scientific information? There's an app for that.

Video is available from multiple streams, in real time, direct to your device or computer.

Oh yes, it's also on TV.

As I've posted so often, all this means empowerment for us as consumers of news and information. We are now our own newscast producers.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Larry King, The Great Conversation Starter

Larry King signed off on CNN last night.



I met Larry one time, he was a guest at a corporate event I produced a few years back along with my friends and colleagues from Turner Broadcasting. King was taller than he looks on TV, and was a restless type. He was always on the move and anxious to get the party started.

In recent years his once sky high ratings disappeared, the victim of competition from others doing what he helped invent. It's the way of television.

That said, there was a time if you wanted to live in the White House, you needed to appear on Larry King Live. Larry King had the biggest Rolodex file in the world, and he got the guests others could only dream of. Heads of State, the biggest stars and the odd....oddball.

His interview style was quaint by today's standards. He didn't rant, rave or attack. He just asked questions folks on Main Street would ask. It worked for a very long time. Should he have hung up his trademark suspenders earlier? That wasn't for us to decide. Larry King did that last night.

Moving forward, Piers Morgan takes over the seat. You might know Morgan as the British judge from America's Got Talent. Personally I don't think Morgan has the talent to keep this particular talk show ship afloat. CNN ratings have been in a huge decline in recent years, ironic in that they invented the 24 hour news format. Others have jumped in, innovated and taken the lead.

The one constant about TV, is nothing is constant.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Chilean 33 and Apollo13.It is/was about content.

Anyone NOT watch at least part of the rescue of the Chilean Miners? I thought so. One more question: When did you watch and how did you watch?

***Update*** Web coverage of rescue among most watched ever.

It was an epic drama and a reminder of Apollo 13. When the crew radioed "Houston, we've had a problem" we tuned in. Well, tuned in when the networks had coverage. Otherwise we had to wait.

Not so with the drama in Chile as it unfolded. We could watch 24/7 as streaming video was fed from inside the mine itself during the rescue via television, or streaming video on our computers or PDA's. Unlike Apollo 13, we watched when and where we wanted to.

Coverage was on-demand.

There was one inportant similarity in the coverage of Chile and Apollo 13 and that was content. How to tell the story. I remember one anchor using a blow torch to demonstrate how the heat shield on the Apollo 13 crew module might react during re-entry. CNN distinguished itself with a most simple thing, a mock-up of the capsule used to bring the miners to the surface. A reporter climbed in and we got to see just how narrow the device was. A picture worth a thousand words. Another smart use of words to tell the story was saying the capsule was just a few inches wider than a basketball hoop. In this case, a word worth a thousand mind pictures.

Whatever the story or message, it's all about content and how you tell the story. Pictures are one thing. Connecting the audience with the pictures is something else. Something lost in all the hub-bub over social media. It's not the pipeline that's important but rather what's inside

Content remains king.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversations about you"