In a political climate that gave us Trump, we see many publishers and journalists struggle to cover current cultural-political topics.
As the Trump administration ‘present fictions as facts’, publications that push back risk being labeled as nonobjective or, worse, as ‘fake news,’ in the epithet favored by Trump.” And, as risky as it may be, if our brands are an authentic reflection of our values, then there is no such thing as neutrality. Therefore, this is more a question of morality and ethics. We can share our cultural-political opinions while still being respectful of each other’s party affiliation, religion, beliefs, opinions, and differences.
This platform, like Condé Nast and many other lifestyle publishers in the current cultural-political climate, was mobilized to “approach politics as allies to our readers, who are young, globally-minded, culturally woke people.” Yes, while this stand has been good for business and used as a kind of marketing tout to give many the “Trump Bump”. This feels right and responsible to our readers. Social Responsibility is an ethical framework suggesting that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. So like Condé Nast, we see this as an opportunity to serve our “audience without worrying about alienating a theoretical mainstream”.
The fast pace evolution of communication ethos has profoundly changed the way we get information. Information overload from a vast amount of sources has resulted in a fractured society segmented into little communities. But regardless of which source we trust, we are all trying to cut through the noise to get to the truth.
Media practitioners are often criticized for choosing careerism over the ultimate good of society and for ignoring ethical considerations. And, while we are all chasing the currency of clicks to get the “Trump Bump”, truth should be the underlined market commodity. This is really an opportunity to use our voices to advance the conversation as a public process to increase transparency. With that said, like Condé Nast, this platform will be an active communicator translating information, for our readers who are both globally-minded and culturally woke. A rhetorical battle that can only be won by enlisting the help of an old notion called journalism, paired with the media enforcer called communication strategies.
How are you using your voice to advance the conversation as a public process?
