Empowering Communications with Jaci Clement

In this episode of "Time To Press Pause," Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, interviews Jaci Clement, the CEO and Executive Director of the Fair Media Council. Jaci, a highly influential media scholar and award-winning podcast host, discusses the vital role of news in society and the responsibility of media professionals and leaders in shaping narratives. During the pandemic, Jaci noticed that much news reporting left audiences feeling powerless and fearful. She emphasizes the importance of presenting news in a way that empowers people rather than sensationalizing it. 

Jaci explains that it’s not just the media's role but also the responsibility of the interviewees—such as leaders and experts—to communicate in an empowering and informative manner. She advocates for a shift in how messages are delivered, focusing on clear, concise, and positive communication. This approach, she believes, can help audiences feel more hopeful and in control. 

Jaci also shares her journey of reevaluating her communication style, both personally and professionally, to ensure her messages are purposeful and impactful. She highlights the significance of social media in modern communication, urging leaders to use these platforms effectively to build their brand and connect with their audience. Ellen agrees, emphasizing the importance of aligning intentions with actions in communication. 

The discussion concludes with Jaci encouraging leaders to take a step back, evaluate their communication strategies, and ensure they are fostering a positive and empowering narrative. She underscores the evolving nature of social media and its potential to shape public perception and influence. The episode offers valuable insights into responsible and impactful communication in today's media landscape. 

Transcript

Welcome to Time To Press Pause, A Podcast for CEOs by CEOs. I'm your host, Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist and today I'm speaking with Jaci Clement. Jaci is the CEO and Executive Director of the Fair Media Council and considered one of the most influential media scholars in the world today. She is the host of the award-winning FMC Fast Chat Podcast and a former member of the National Press Club, the London-based Media Society, and the New York State Communication Association. Having worked in newsrooms as a reporter and editor, as well as on the business side of media outlets as a news executive, she is uniquely qualified as an advocate and educator on the important role news plays in our society. Welcome, Jaci. It's so great to have you here today. 

Jaci: Thank you, Ellen. It's great to see you. 

Ellen: Thank you so much, Jaci. It's been a pleasure working with you over the last few years. Jaci and I have known each other maybe about 10 years on and off. We've had the opportunity to work together. I'm excited to have you here today on Time To Press Pause and equally as excited I am to hear your time to press pause. Sorry. 

Jaci: Oh, all right. Well, it's probably a little different than what you may have heard already. I think the best way to actually explain it, let me just preface by saying, you know, a lot of the work that I do focuses on studying the content and character of news, because the Fair Media Council, we are a media watchdog organization first and foremost. We want people to be able to access quality information so that they can live their best lives, so that's part of our mission. So, when you're studying news from that regard, you're looking at it a little bit differently than the typical news consumer. And I think really the big story with me is, you know, during the pandemic, when we were all getting such horrible news of what was happening...Now, it was accurate. Sure. Sometimes it wasn't. OK, we're going to throw that out there as a caveat. Which is you need to be particular about where you get your news and always use a bunch of different sources to compare what you're being told to make sure you are getting the truth. But there are many different ways to tell a story. And what came at me through the pandemic in particular is there were so many other ways that these stories could be told where we didn't leave the news consumer feeling like they had no control over their life, or feeling fearful or even feeling like, you know, the news is just sensationalizing everything to make me afraid. Alright? Because that's a lot of the feedback that I get from the public of how they feel about news in general. And it's not wrong. But it did make me think about why is this happening and what's going on here and why aren't they telling stories from different angles that would be more empowering towards people? And then I started to realize that it's not just simply the news reporters or the news anchors that are telling these stories, but the people they're interviewing. So, the people that are in power, whether that's someone in healthcare or a company CEO talking about how it's impacting their company, it was the way they chose to deliver their message. And that was where I realized that a lot of this doom and gloom isn't simply coming from the media, it's coming from the people that they're interviewing. And if they're interviewing leaders who have control over how they deliver their message, which they do, why are they choosing that technique as opposed to one that is informative and empowering and saying, “OK, we're going to make it through. These are some steps we need. We need to do. But the outcome here is, you know, the trajectory is we will be fine. We need to make some changes,” (which people never like to make change, right? Everybody's against change in some way, shape or form) “But if we go about doing this, we'll be better for it.” And that was really the part of the message that was always missing out of these stories in particular. And that's what kind of made me sit down and say, all right, I do a lot of opinion writing on news, I do a lot of talking to groups, I talk to students and business organizations all the time. So, if I'm talking, what is it that I want to give them? What's the takeaway once I leave the room? And I started to realize how important it was for me myself to make sure that I'm using my podium, or my bully pulpit or whatever you want to call it, from a point where I'm sharing information that can indeed empower instead of making people feel fearful about the future. And I think once you kind of make that connection between what you're saying and what the impact of what you're saying is, you start to realize how much responsibility you have in what you say as well as how you say it being just as important. 

Ellen: I totally agree with that. How you say it, what you say. And I think we can all relate to the feelings that you're talking about during the pandemic, and it's certainly a breath of fresh air to hear someone say, “Let's take a different angle.” And my husband is an avid news watcher and we, you know, he's reading across the board from BBC, to CNN, to Fox, to ABC, to the Wall Street Journal. So, he goes across all sources and really taught me that having more than one source for news was important. But I think what you're bringing to light is, is that next level. 

Jaci: Well, I think it's something that, you know, gets overlooked very easily because people focus so much. There's a lot of media training that's done on how people should get specific information out, how they should say specific things at specific times. But there's not much emphasis on the way you say it. You know, everybody wants to be clear and concise, which is great, and which is needful. But how about I be clear and concise in an empowering manner so that my listeners and my audience can come away from the experience feeling better about themselves or feeling hopeful or feeling like, yes, I can take control of this situation. 

Ellen: Absolutely. So, what did you have to go through to make that adjustment? 

Jaci: Well, you know, I just started looking at a lot of the individual things that I that I do. Even if it's just a posting, you know, an individual posting on social media that has nothing to do with work, is just entirely personal. When I look on social media, it's so many people just complaining about something, you know? It could be politics. It could be their kids. It could be, you know, their next-door neighbor. But they're still, they're complaining. And I'm like, why are we using this space just to complain, right? So now before I post it, I say to myself, “Do I really need to post this? Is this something that anyone is going to care about other than me? Or am I just using it to vent?” Because I can vent in my own home in my in private. I don't need to do that publicly. I think another big issue that we have is people not understanding the difference between, you know, having an opinion in their kitchen and being in their kitchen and posting online and not understanding that that now is part of the public conversation. So, I think I have a greater appreciation for being particular and self-editing what it is that I want to put out there. So, whether it's a post or whether it's an opinion piece, you know there's a lot of the things that I look at and that I study that don't necessarily tell a great story or a good story. You know we talked about the state of journalism a lot, which is an industry that is being totally disruptive, and it hasn't yet found its way out. There are bright spots. But instead of focusing on how it's changed and why it's not, you know, the journalism of 50 years ago, which is completely outdated and quite frankly, who cares about 50 years ago at this point. Let's look at the bright spots and let's see what people are doing bright and let's explore how others may either take advantage of that or use it as an idea to go in a different direction and create their own path to success. So, it's just been very much about taking responsibility for my own message and my own impact. 

Ellen: It also sounds like your messages have become much more purposeful. 

Jaci: I think so. You know, because I think part of the pandemic too, which made all of us reexamine how we spend our time and what we're doing. If I'm going to write something, if I'm going to invest that time into crafting a message. Why am I doing it? You know what's going to be my takeaway at the end of the day of how did, how did I do something that actually matters? Because otherwise, why write it at all? Right? I could do something else. So, if you're going to do something, I do think that you should explore all the possibilities as well as really think about, you know, why am I doing this? And if it's something somebody else does or they can do better, then maybe I'm just becoming part of the noise and part of the problem, when I should just step back and let someone else take the lead at that moment. 

Ellen: So, your press pause really enabled you to reevaluate how you're communicating, but not just how. And we talked about, you know, the tone being important, but when and why? 

Jaci: Yeah, absolutely. There's also one of the kind of weird things about the world we're living in right now is there's this whole movement on that everyone has to step up and have a voice. Which is fine, but if yours is not an educated opinion on a topic, why are you putting that out into the public conversation? Alright? Because now you've reached a level of irresponsibility because you're putting out misinformation and disinformation. So, I think we're at a point in society where, yes, everybody wants to be involved in some way, which is great. But again, you need to examine how you're getting involved and whether or not what your intentions are matching what your actions are. 

Ellen: That's great. Alignment of intentions and actions. I think that's a perfect way of stating that. The question I have for you, you're talking a lot about social media and of course, that's really a public voice that can take on a life of its own once it's out there. And there are a lot of people who do come to vent. Some of the comments I read I and I think to myself, “Why do these people have so much time?” Right? But what about Leaders who really aren't on social media, is there any advice you have for them on how they're communicating internally with their teams? 

Jaci: Yeah. You know, I think a lot of what is misunderstood about communication and culture and leadership is, you know, if I'm the CEO and I walk into the company and I just walk straight through and go into my office, shut the door and start my day. I could think I'm being effective, or maybe I'm running late or whatever and I just got to get into my office and get to work. But if I'm walking in and not saying good morning to the people I work with, I'm having a huge impact on the culture of the organization and that culture filters down so that, you know, if it's a retail store and my employees are not accustomed to a CEO that makes chitchat and makes them feel valuable by being in their presence, then the culture that I've created is a setting where when customers come through the door or clients, my employees are not going to make them feel valued. Or, you know, even seem interested in them because that's the culture of the place. So, I think there's a lot to be said about communication creating the basis for the culture of an organization and whatever culture that is that the CEO wants to create they can be using social media to create that image for them. 

Ellen: Interesting. So, it's a combination of how they're communicating internally and leveraging social media to communicate that same kind of message externally as well.  

Jaci: Absolutely. I mean, I know there are still some people that feel if you know, if they want to be viewed as professional they don't belong on social media. Which,  think we're we've progressed out of that era because it's so commonplace now that if you're not on social in some way shape or form you're actually missing out. You know. And you're doing your brand disservice because we do know that people want to see the face of a brand. They want to know who's running it and what that person is about. So, you don't have to get intensely personal in your social postings.  But you do need to step up and be the leader and be the face and understanding the difference between not just being an external leader, but also being that internal leader and putting it all together is a very powerful method of communication. 

Ellen: Would you say then leaders, it would behoove them to take a a step back, press pause and really evaluate how they're communicating, especially on social media. If they're still carrying the old ideas of “I don't belong here”? 

Jaci: Yeah, absolutely. Because we have seen social media in particular has evolved dramatically over the past 20 years or so, right?  

Ellen: Exactly. 

Jaci: You know, it's become much more professional, if you will. As you may remember, back in the beginning a post was just, you know the static image with the message. You didn't have to be sophisticated. You didn't have to have video or understand lighting or understand SEO and algorithms and all that stuff, right? So, it has become very much a medium unto itself. And if you don't want to be in the news for any particular reason, if you want to control your own narrative, if you want to create your own narrative, it's the perfect place to do that. 

Ellen: And let's make sure everybody's doing that in a way that's empowering.  

Jaci: Yeah. Yeah. Because why do it the other way? I guess that's my question.  

Ellen: That's a good question. 

Jaci: You know. So. 

Ellen: So, let's hope everyone starts asking themselves that question. 

Jaci: I mean, maybe that's my takeaway, is really just think about, you know what it is that you're doing and why you're doing it. 

Ellen: Yeah. Yeah. Just think about it. Yeah, I think that's great advice. Jaci, you have so much experience in media. I really appreciate that you addressed all that and it's great that that specifically was where you had to take the time to press pause. I appreciate you spending your time here with me today. I'm sure everybody learned something about social media, although it's ever changing and hopefully they will think about what they post and make it empowering. So, thank you. 

Jaci: Ohh, you're welcome and good luck to you and everything you're doing. 

Ellen: Thank you.  

Thank you for listening to this episode of Time to Press Pause. To learn more about Jackie Clement go to fairmediacouncil.org. To learn more about me, go to thesalientstrategist.com and be sure to join us again wherever you listen to your podcast.