I was so astounded by a blog post I read this morning that I don’t even know how to introduce it. Trust me, it’s not often that I’m at a loss for words. I’m always looking for news on spin in the media and then I ran across a blog post titled “Getting Comfortable With Spin”.
The blog is Nonprofit Communications and provides advice on nonprofit public relations, marketing, and communications. The post gives advice on how nonprofits can change the way they phrase the things they say to the media. According to the post, spin helps nonprofits “communicate more effectively”. I was struck by this post because the blogger writes as if spin is the best possible solution for communication difficultly.
I don’t agree with this post because I think there are better ways to solve communication problems. I think the most important thing is making sure senior people understand how to talk with the media, which can easily be attained through a media training. Companies, including nonprofits, need to understand that spinning the media can often come back to haunt them.
Spin has damaged the reputation of public relations and I think this blog post only affirms the stereotype of public relations professionals. Spinning the effects of spin only furthers the negative cycle. I just hope one day all this spin stops and people start speaking the truth and saying what they truly mean. – Taylor Krugman