Study: 2 of 5 bosses don't keep word

[imported_Trojanman]

Not in our industry!!!

Good read:

2 of 5 bosses don't keep word (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bad_bosses)

[2:30]

Nope, not in our industry. Here, it would be 9 out of 10.

[Spike]

I have watched many news directors over the years lie and get caught at it. Even the best news director I ever had lied. They all lie. You know why? Because they are put in impossible situations by the managers above them, situations in which they are forced to lie. They either have to lie now or lie later, but the job requires it.

I quickly learned not to base my respect for a news director on whether or not he lied, but on how he handled the lies themselves.

[Eeps Snorps Now]

I keep my word.

You have my word on it.

[YHWY]

A person with a backbone doesn't have to lie. Every newsroom could use more people in charge with backbones.

[Kelvin Hemholtz]

Every ND I've had (at every station I've worked for) that showed the backbone to push back the GM or the CEO ended up on the next bus out of town. It's a matter of how hard they can push back. Tough spot to be in.

Some are better at "managing up" than others.

Meanwhile, I'd say 9 out of 10 ND's have told me "slight untruths" or better yet, "revised versions of the situation as we go along."

"Fibs" aside, the best NDs are the ones that produce the best ratings with the highest newsroom morale. I'd say one leads to the other.

[Spike]

Originally posted by Kelvin Hemholtz:
Every ND I've had (at every station I've worked for) that showed the backbone to push back the GM or the CEO ended up on the next bus out of town. It's a matter of how hard they can push back. Tough spot to be in.That great ND I mentioned who lied knew better. So he did what he had to do. Why? Was it simply to protect his livelihood? Partly, perhaps, but not entirely. He recognized that he could do a lot more good for us and our news department if he were still our ND than if he weren't. He knew that if he went toe to toe with the GM, the GM would most likely get someone a whole helluva lot worse to replace him.

Given a choice between a benevolent liar and a real bastard, I would choose the benevolent one.

[Roy Hobbs]

I just want you all to know that you are excellent candidates to be a poster that makes a real difference on this website...especially with your impressive background. But management decided to go in a different direction.

[Pro]

Twice in my career I have been a ND. And I have never lied to an employee - a "lie" as in "I know this is not true, but I'm going to tell him/her this anyway."

Have I been guilty of hyperbole? Wishful thinking? Speculation (passed off as fact)? Yep. But each time, I thought - at the time - that there was truth in what I said. Several times, I was in error.

Then again, maybe that's why I'm no longer a ND - I don't lie well enough! And I thought it was because one station dropped news and the other had a total management shakeup. ;)

[Big Poppa Pump]

In other news:

Water is wet, women talk alot, pitbulls bite and it's going to rain in Seattle.

[miss hap]

I'm right there with Pro. And the same feeling goes down the ladder as well, if I hear someone who works for me "stretch" the truth regularly, there's a lack of trust that plays out in thousands of ways (gets extra edits, doesn't get sensative/important stories, thought twice about as when it comes to employment vs. resources).

GM's put ND's in situations - often - where we cannot disclose what is either happening or going to happen. And when asked it's best to just don't answer, instead of trying to fill an unanswerable question.

[Spike]

Originally posted by miss hap:
GM's put ND's in situations - often - where we cannot disclose what is either happening or going to happen. And when asked it's best to just don't answer, instead of trying to fill an unanswerable question.But sometimes not answering IS an answer. Suppose your station is planning to make cuts in the news department. You, as ND, haven't announced the cuts, because you don't want to cause some kind of panic that disrupts the regular flow of business and drives off the people you want to keep. It just isn't time yet. It's supposed to be secret, but the GM, a former salesman, has a big mouth when talking to his sales department. So of course the rumor gets back to the news department.

So now a reporter comes into your office and asks you directly whether there are cuts coming. Maybe his contract is up soon, and he was planning on staying, but now he wants to know if he needs to be looking for a job instead. But all he asks you is whether there are cuts coming. What do you say?

If you tell him yes, then you risk him telling the rest of the newsroom and causing that panic you hoped to avoid.

If you tell him no, then you lied.

If you tell him you can't answer, then he knows the answer is yes. After all, if the answer were no, he would have no reason to keep it from you.

If you come up with some sort of evasion that misleads the reporter, you may consider that you haven't lied. Technically, anyway. But the essence of it is still a lie.

Most news directors I've encountered would try to choose the last option. I and most other station employees still considered it lying.

Originally posted by Pro:
Twice in my career I have been a ND. And I have never lied to an employee - a "lie" as in "I know this is not true, but I'm going to tell him/her this anyway."

Have I been guilty of hyperbole? Wishful thinking? Speculation (passed off as fact)? Yep. But each time, I thought - at the time - that there was truth in what I said.Truth in what you said, the way there was truth in what Clinton said about Monica Lewinsky? I mean, technically, he didn't lie. He just had a different understanding of the definition of is.

Sorry, that's probably a cheap shot. But there's still truth in it.

[ January 07, 2007, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: Spike ]

[miss hap]

Well, so far I have not been put in that type of situation, but to answer you right off my gut - and it's a biggin' - I'd not answer and let that be the answer for the reporter.

[ January 09, 2007, 06:05 PM: Message edited by: miss hap ]

[Roy Hobbs]

Originally posted by Spike:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Kelvin Hemholtz:
Every ND I've had (at every station I've worked for) that showed the backbone to push back the GM or the CEO ended up on the next bus out of town. It's a matter of how hard they can push back. Tough spot to be in.That great ND I mentioned who lied knew better. So he did what he had to do. Why? Was it simply to protect his livelihood? Partly, perhaps, but not entirely. He recognized that he could do a lot more good for us and our news department if he were still our ND than if he weren't. He knew that if he went toe to toe with the GM, the GM would most likely get someone a whole helluva lot worse to replace him.

Given a choice between a benevolent liar and a real bastard, I would choose the benevolent one.</font>[/QUOTE]Ah, but what about a choice between a benevolent bastard and a real liar?