Monday, August 27, 2007
Out of Touch
For the last week, I was on vacation in a remote part of New York State. What was striking is how out of touch one can be with the news. The local papers reported local events and little more. One could check the internet but it wasn't generally available. The people who live in the region are largely cut off from the news stream one expects in New York City.
The situation struck me forcefully because it is easy to fall into an assumption that others are well-informed about current events. They aren't. Local concerns and issues have more meaning for them. They may pay passing attention to national and international news, but not much more. Hence, one deals with how to bridge the gap between what people know and what one wants to tell them. This is more true than not for much of the country based on my travels. And, it may become even more the case as newspaper editors struggle to adapt to the internet age. There is an old saying that all politics is local. That saying may need modification. All PR is local.
The situation struck me forcefully because it is easy to fall into an assumption that others are well-informed about current events. They aren't. Local concerns and issues have more meaning for them. They may pay passing attention to national and international news, but not much more. Hence, one deals with how to bridge the gap between what people know and what one wants to tell them. This is more true than not for much of the country based on my travels. And, it may become even more the case as newspaper editors struggle to adapt to the internet age. There is an old saying that all politics is local. That saying may need modification. All PR is local.
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