Leading in a Sensational World

We are living and working in a world which is becoming increasingly sensational. The news cycle today is so quick that to gain people’s attention the message has oftentimes become some combination of fantastical, loud, or unhinged. News outlets are in such a hurry to be first that the story often lacks thorough vetting or is incomplete.

School districts and superintendents are not immune from this reality and thus must think through how to operate in this increasingly challenging environment. How do you combat stories presented by the media, or that are circulating on social platforms, which at a minimum are sketchy and at worst patently false? Let’s briefly discuss this situation and prudent ways your district can respond.

The first thing to know is that you must have an infrastructure in place before a sensational story comes down the pike. As stated earlier, the news/media/information cycle is so quick that if you do not have a response mechanism in place you are behind before you start.

One approach to setting up this infrastructure is to have a voluntary team of social media truth-tellers in your district who can quickly set the record straight online or via a news media’s website. The group can be managed by you as superintendent, your Chief Information Officer, or another administrative position.

The idea is that the team operates as a two-way communication apparatus. In other words, if a team member sees a sensational story, they can quickly reach out to you or the CIO to provide a truthful, accurate response. The response can then flow back out to the group once developed so it spreads in an expedited manner through various social media platforms or via the comments section on the media entities website.

A second, more proactive consideration, is to spend time developing clarifying messages about anything you know will be controversial and then undertake an information campaign which is implemented in conjunction with district’s decision being communicated or board actions taking place. The idea is to preempt issues you anticipate arising from the decision or action and flood social media, traditional media, and other potential sources with the accurate information before alternative communications can occur. Of course, this will not stop the sensationalism, but it might blunt it a bit as it begins to take off.

If you have used creative methods to address sensational stories in your district or have observed innovative ideas used by others, please place those concepts in the comments section below. Remember, we all learn and grow when we share with each other.