Newspaper articles re the summer DC
by tresdecu 12 Replies latest jw friends
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tresdecu
Damn compatibility button!!! UUUGGGHHH!
ok here goes again:
Anyone else frustrated with the pro JW articles about the DC in their local papers. Every year the admin boys are so proud of the tribune article that they post it outside the admin office at the DC site.
This year I am determined to encourage the writer to maybe do a little reasearch and write about some of the controversy.
Anyone else notice this?
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moshe
Yes, I see that every year- it's almost like the PR puff piece is a payoff for the JW money spent in the community. I think reporters today just don't want to write a controversial piece and then have to defend their work to the boss when the sh$t hits the fan. Better to claim ignorance and play nice with the WT Corp.
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cedars
In England there are certain conventions where the local newspaper routinely produces a colorful and highly flattering article on the convention for no other reason than because the editors realize 15,000 people will want their own souvenir copy if they flog it outside the stadium.
Not all journalists are interested in truth. An over-riding concern is selling newspapers at all costs.
Cedars
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sir82
Newspapers exists to make money from their advertisers. News is at best a secondary consideration.
Every year, 5000 - 20,000 JWs come to town to spend lots of $$$$ on hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and (shh!) bars. This makes the advertisers very very happy.
JWs (at least in the US) have lots of options on where they will set up their conventions from year to year.
If the local newspapers in Pittsburgh run articles critical of JW beliefs, well, guess what? Next year's conventions, "by divine direction", will be held in Harrisburg or Erie or Youngstown or Cleveland.
Hence plenty of "puff pieces" when the JWs come to town.
Good luck on trying to change the system.
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LostGeneration
Newspapers are going the way of the buggywhip...as are poorly written religious magazines.
Your best bet is to find the article on the paper's website. Write a succint, reasonable post with a link to JWfacts.com somewhere in the content if allowed.
An ounce of prevention is the key
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steve2
Money talks - it's as simple as that. It's not unique to JWs. In this time of internet competition for consumers' money, newspapers are in a precarious position of wanting to inform their readers but not wanting to offend them either. Unless it translates into more sales.
I once believed the Watchtower crap about journalists being genuinely impressed about the organization; hence, the major coverage of conventions in some centers.
Flattery is one of the oldest sales tricks. It works. Say something nice about me and I'll smile. Say something nice about me to other people, and I'll smile even more. I'll tell my friends who will tell others and on and on. Say something bad about me and I'll frown. Say something bad about me to others and I'll fume. I won't support you or your newspaper. Simple as that.
Clearly, newspaper editors do not want to get on the wrong side of several thousand potential customers.
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steve2
It looks like the major coverage of conventions occurs primarily in the USA and the UK (United Kingdom). This is not the case in New Zealand where the major dailies do not even mention that a convention is being held in the major cities (Auckland and Wellington). In fact, living in the Wellington region, I have yet to read any mention of a convention in the daily newspaper, The Dominion-Post. However, when I lived in a provincial town, the local newspaper featured the usual photos of baptisms at the conventions. Very ho-hum coverage consigned to the inner pages that most readers would not even bother to read...unless they were in the organization.
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ziddina
"Your best bet is to find the article on the paper's website. Write a succinct, reasonable post with a link to JWfacts.com somewhere in the content if allowed. ..." Lost Generation
OOOOOOOO, me LIKEY Lost Generation's suggestion!!!
[edited] Fixed that for ya...