Scott's Blog - Page 56 of 63 - Scott Flood Writing

IF YOUR MOTHER SAYS SHE LOVES YOU, CHECK IT OUT

July 1, 2010 by Scott Flood

If all three of my loyal readers can tolerate one more post on the media, I’d like to explain part of the reason I have such high expectations for reporters. The Chicago of my childhood published eight daily newspapers: the four citywide papers (Sun-Times, Tribune, Daily News, and the American), three “regional” dailies (Calumet, Southtown, Herald), and the Defender, which served the black community. My family took (now there’s an old expression) the Sun-Times, the American, and the Calumet.

It would have been foolish for all of those dailies to assign reporters to minor events and ordinary crime stories, so they pooled their resources to create the City News Bureau. City News would assign one reporter to cover a story, and the member papers would use it like any piece off the AP or UPI wires.

MEDIA SINS, PART DEUX

June 29, 2010 by Scott Flood

My last post focused on media misuse of homonyms during recent coverage of flooding near my home. I noticed that many of the reporters who handled those stories also seemed to have a problem with geography.

I’ll freely admit to being a map geek. When other toddlers were drawing pictures of giraffes and clowns, I was carefully delineating the borders of the lower 48. Every time our family took vacations, I was the one who had the map on his lap and pointed out where we needed to turn. Facebook may be a diversion for most people, but I get lost in Google Earth.

A MEDIA MORTAL SIN

June 24, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’ve written about the all-too-common mistake of substituting a homonym for the intended word. (And if “homonym” isn’t triggering enough brain cells, it refers to those words that sound alike, but are spelled differently.)

Now, I don’t consider using the wrong version of a homonym a mortal sin – except when it’s done by someone in the media. Professionals should know better. During coverage of the recent flooding near my home, I saw several examples of writers and reporters referring to a barrier that holds back water as a “levy.” (At least they didn’t misidentify a dike as a “dyke.” We won’t even go there.)

WORD ERRORS THAT MAY CONTAIN HIDDEN TRUTHS

June 22, 2010 by Scott Flood

You’re no doubt familiar with the Freudian slip – that little misstep in language that’s said to reveal the truth you’re hiding. I take great delight in noticing mangled phrases from assorted places, and often wonder if those typos and errors are actually an online or printed Sigmund-style slip.

Take the blog poster who responded to somebody else’s contention with “I have no ideal.” May not have any values, either.

FRIENDLY ADVICE: KEEP FACEBOOK SEPARATE

June 17, 2010 by Scott Flood

As businesspeople incorporate social networking sites into their marketing efforts, they don’t have a lot of guidance that’s based in experience. Netiquette changes so rapidly that today’s faux pas might be perfectly acceptable by next week.

I do think some things are timeless, and one place it pays to be careful is blurring the line between your business and your personal life. Posting information that’s too personal or that has the potential to offend can cost you business. It’s been that way before Facebook was invented, and my guess is that it will always be.

MORE COVERAGE ON COVER LETTERS

June 15, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’ve written before on the importance of cover letters, and how experience on both sides of the job-seeking process convinced me that they’re far more important than resumes.

I’m not alone. In the June issue of Inc. Magazine, columnist Jason Fried, founder of a software firm, said that his firm doesn’t even bother looking at resumes. Instead, they read the cover letters.

RADIO TIPS THAT RADIATE

June 10, 2010 by Scott Flood

There are several little things you can do to make your radio commercials more effective. First off, it pays to catch the listener’s attention right away, and there are two sure-fire ways to do that. One is to start the spot with some sort of loud sound – whether it’s an odd sound effect or an opening note of music.

Another way that’s particularly effective in a dialogue spot is to have one of the actors use someone’s first name. That signals the ears that a conversation is about to follow, and whether or not we admit it, we all like to eavesdrop.

WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

June 8, 2010 by Scott Flood

One of the most common mistakes in marketing communications materials is forgetting to tell the reader, viewer, or listener what you want them to do. It happens all the time: someone crafts a brilliant, memorable message, but forgets to include some sort of instructions.

Do you want people to buy your product? Visit your website? If you don’t point them in the right direction, they’ll come up with a course of action on their own, and odds are good that it won’t be the one you intended.

TOOLS DON’T MAKE YOU A CRAFTSMAN

June 3, 2010 by Scott Flood

I enjoy building things out of wood. Sometimes, I get lost in the power tool aisle, studying tremendously expensive pieces of equipment that do amazing things in the hands of skilled operators.

I could buy that equipment, too. But would owning and using it suddenly make me a skilled cabinetmaker? Would I be able to produce furniture like an artisan? Could I apply filigrees with the deft of a sculptor? Of course not. Despite my best intentions, what I produced would invariably end up looking something whacked together out of a couple sheets of plywood.

HOW SHOULD YOU END A LETTER?

June 1, 2010 by Scott Flood

I was recently teaching a class about writing better business letters. With the advent of email and texting, letter writing is one of those arts that appears to be fading, and I welcomed the opportunity to share some basics.

One participant wondered about the best way to send letters. Is “sincerely” the right word?