From the editor. (IABC Update).A friend and were having a debate. The metaphor we used was a person who doesn't want others to know he is a smoker smoker A person who smokes tobacco, almost always understood to be cigarettes Ratio of ♂:♀ smokers Philippines64/19, China61/7, Saudi Arabia53/2, Russia50/12 . When asked, "Are you a smoker?" the person replies, "What? Are you kidding? That's a disgusting habit." Thus the questioner is left with the incorrect impression that the person is not a smoker. My friend argued that the person didn't lie, he only 'positioned" himself as a nonsmoker. The receiver of the message simply construed a set of facts on her own. My perception was different. I pointed out that although the person didn't lie in the technical sense, the implied intent was to misrepresent mis·rep·re·sent tr.v. mis·rep·re·sent·ed, mis·rep·re·sent·ing, mis·rep·re·sents 1. To give an incorrect or misleading representation of. 2. the situation--essentially to deceive TO DECEIVE. To induce another either by words or actions, to take that for true which is not so. Wolff, Inst. Nat. Sec. 356. . And that the giver of the message should, to some degree, be held accountable for how the message is perceived. We went around in circles until we agreed to disagree. But the debate reminded me of the communication professional's philosophical dilemma of positioning an organization in the most positive light without crossing into misrepresentation--or even deception. That challenge is at the heart of this issue's feature on Nike v. Kasky, written by top communication consultant Allan Jenkins Allan Jenkins is the editor of Observer Magazine, the magazine section of The Observer. . The theme also carries across other pages in this issue. Read on and see what you think. Speaking of what you think, it's good to know our readers care so much. We received numerous passionate responses to the redesign of Communication World. Some were delighted by the changes: "Fantastic...much easier to read.. you've taken a moribund moribund /mor·i·bund/ (mor´i-bund) in a dying state. mor·i·bund n. At the point of death; dying. mor publication and yanked it into the next century. Great work." And some, to put it mildly, were concerned: "It clearly suffers from 'Designer Interruptus,' the Latin term for when a designer is given too much leeway lee·way n. 1. The drift of a ship or an aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. 2. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude. See Synonyms at room. ...." We plucked pluck v. plucked, pluck·ing, plucks v.tr. 1. To remove or detach by grasping and pulling abruptly with the fingers; pick: pluck a flower; pluck feathers from a chicken. a few choice letters to share with you on page 7. Our team is in the process of addressing common themes threaded throughout the feedback, and we thank all of you who took time to share your thoughts. NATASHA SPRING Executive Editor |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion