Comments on: The Tyranny of the Anecdote http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/2008/08/08/the-tyranny-of-the-anecdote/ The Intersection Between Public Relations and the News Media Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:57:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The Good, the Bad, the Storyteller « Final Spin http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/2008/08/08/the-tyranny-of-the-anecdote/comment-page-1/#comment-196 The Good, the Bad, the Storyteller « Final Spin Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:16:05 +0000 http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/?p=159#comment-196 [...] I really like Bob Conrad’s blog (The Good, the Bad, the Spin), including this latest post on the abusive use of the anecdote in journalism (and PR?). The things is, as I wrote before, I [...] [...] I really like Bob Conrad’s blog (The Good, the Bad, the Spin), including this latest post on the abusive use of the anecdote in journalism (and PR?). The things is, as I wrote before, I [...]

]]> By: bconrad http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/2008/08/08/the-tyranny-of-the-anecdote/comment-page-1/#comment-195 bconrad Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:01:24 +0000 http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/?p=159#comment-195 Well said. Thanks. Of course I too am a story teller -- at the same time, I recognize the limits to being one. Conversely, as you mention, presenting dry data won't get very far if not presented well. This is something I often get tasked to do, which is one of my favorite challenges and something I am grateful to be able to make a living doing. I actually wrote a term paper about the topic of communicating complex information and how the ingredients for misinformation begin with scientists, then journalists who report on the information and finally by the consumers of the information. We all play a role. My favorite reads are those by the scientists who can write well: Franz de Waal, Steven Pinker and Michael Shermer come to mind. Thanks again for the comment. Well said. Thanks. Of course I too am a story teller — at the same time, I recognize the limits to being one.

Conversely, as you mention, presenting dry data won’t get very far if not presented well. This is something I often get tasked to do, which is one of my favorite challenges and something I am grateful to be able to make a living doing.

I actually wrote a term paper about the topic of communicating complex information and how the ingredients for misinformation begin with scientists, then journalists who report on the information and finally by the consumers of the information. We all play a role.

My favorite reads are those by the scientists who can write well: Franz de Waal, Steven Pinker and Michael Shermer come to mind.

Thanks again for the comment.

]]> By: Final Spin http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/2008/08/08/the-tyranny-of-the-anecdote/comment-page-1/#comment-194 Final Spin Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:49:34 +0000 http://thegoodthebadthespin.com/?p=159#comment-194 Sure you're right, BUT... As you recognize, a story well told is a powerful way to describe reality, to teach or to convince. For reporters and flacks, just like prophets and grandpas, it's a way to connect your audience with the message, make it real (less abstract anyway...). History is best taught through stories, why not the present? The problem is truth, in storytelling just as in statistical analysis. Like a strong peer-reviewed study, a good story is one that brings new or better understanding. Our responsability (ours as flacks just as much as the reporters') is to understand the data, then find or weave a story that illustrates it. Of course, more often than not, this process is reversed: we find a compelling story to tell the public, then find whatever scrap of fact is on hand to back it up. Actually, I recently argued that presenting the cold, hard facts to the public without weaving a story from them is bad, lazy PR: http://finalspin.wordpress.com/2008/07/19/death-by-the-numbers/. One last point, if you will: there would be a lot less employment in "popular writing" if the field researchers could write in a way that people would understand. Sure you’re right, BUT…
As you recognize, a story well told is a powerful way to describe reality, to teach or to convince. For reporters and flacks, just like prophets and grandpas, it’s a way to connect your audience with the message, make it real (less abstract anyway…). History is best taught through stories, why not the present?
The problem is truth, in storytelling just as in statistical analysis. Like a strong peer-reviewed study, a good story is one that brings new or better understanding. Our responsability (ours as flacks just as much as the reporters’) is to understand the data, then find or weave a story that illustrates it.
Of course, more often than not, this process is reversed: we find a compelling story to tell the public, then find whatever scrap of fact is on hand to back it up.
Actually, I recently argued that presenting the cold, hard facts to the public without weaving a story from them is bad, lazy PR: http://finalspin.wordpress.com/2008/07/19/death-by-the-numbers/.
One last point, if you will: there would be a lot less employment in “popular writing” if the field researchers could write in a way that people would understand.

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