Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The World Continues
There is a phenomenon around major holidays that never ceases to interest me. It is the diminution of serious news for fluff. That, of course, comes partially from the number of news media who take time off, but it is something else as well.
It comes from the act of observation itself -- or lack of it. Wars continue, people starve, discoveries are made as much on holidays as any other day of the year. Failing to report such news is as much a cultural and behavioral act as it is a function of smaller news staffs. We don't want to see; therefore, we don't. Such willful blindness is not usually acceptable among journalists, except on days like Christmas. It is instructive to be in another country on major holidays in the US, such as the Fourth of July. There is a different perspective. The world continues.
Sometimes, it is hard to remember that US culture does not define everyone else. We project our beliefs because we want to. It is a form of cultural imperialism that other peoples resent
I have long held that PR practitioners cannot afford to be locked into their cultures, especially in the global business environment in which we work. There are no days off from the news anymore: There never were. We didn't choose to acknowledge the fact. We can't afford to do that anymore.
It comes from the act of observation itself -- or lack of it. Wars continue, people starve, discoveries are made as much on holidays as any other day of the year. Failing to report such news is as much a cultural and behavioral act as it is a function of smaller news staffs. We don't want to see; therefore, we don't. Such willful blindness is not usually acceptable among journalists, except on days like Christmas. It is instructive to be in another country on major holidays in the US, such as the Fourth of July. There is a different perspective. The world continues.
Sometimes, it is hard to remember that US culture does not define everyone else. We project our beliefs because we want to. It is a form of cultural imperialism that other peoples resent
I have long held that PR practitioners cannot afford to be locked into their cultures, especially in the global business environment in which we work. There are no days off from the news anymore: There never were. We didn't choose to acknowledge the fact. We can't afford to do that anymore.
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