Authority Figures

In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr talks with Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Repustar, a novel fact distribution platform that partners with news organizations. The pair will discuss how technology can play a role in fighting so-called “fake news,” and journalism’s pivotal – but changing — role in that fight. 1:23 – Chandran discusses his path to Repustar, what motivated him to found the company and the problems he hopes to help solve through Repustar’s FactSparrow platform.

5:33 – Aaron and Chandran dig deeper into how the FactSparrow platform works and how it functions as an AI bot.

10:24 – Aaron asks Chandran about the reliability of FactSparrow’s sourcing, which is based on principles of good journalism.

16:01 – Chandran details how FactSparrow acts almost as a focus group, spotting topics that are potential areas of misinformation and disinformation.

18:14 – Aaron asks about Chandran’s monetization plans.

19:59 – Aaron and Chandran discuss how corporations might use the tool and consider the evolving importance of corporate responsibility in the era of fake news.

21:48 – Chandran discusses how social media companies, especially Twitter, are more in the business of checking the integrity of information.

23:24 – Aaron and Chandran discuss Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report – and Chandran reacts to journalists’ perspectives on who is best positioned to combat misinformation and disinformation.

29:55 – If journalists aren’t a complete solution to combat fake news, what else can help?

33:08 – Chandran discusses why he’s hopeful, despite the challenges brought on by fake news.

36:35 – How news activists fit in, in Chandran’s eyes.

39:26 – Does fact-checking have a diminishing impact?

Click here to download Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report.

Even with a contentious presidential election and the worst of COVID-19 behind us, journalists say the fake news situation isn’t getting better. And they don’t know how to address it.

But if journalists don’t know how combat fake news, who does? That was the focus of Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report, which was released in late October.

In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr sits down with members of the Greentarget team – including Betsy Hoag, Director of Research and Planning, Lisa Seidenberg, Vice President of Media Relations, and Paul Wilson, Vice President of Content and Editorial— to discuss the report and its findings. The team discusses how fake news can be combatted, what role regulation might play and how we can prepare the next generation to face the challenges presented by fake news.

Episode Highlights:

1:00 — Betsy describes the background behind the report, what went into devising the survey questions, and who answered them

4:26 — Paul defines fake news and discusses the term’s polarizing nature

5:47 — Acknowledging fears of journalism’s delegitimization, Lisa goes over what clients should take away from this year’s survey findings

7:37 — Betsy and Lisa talk about how survey respondents’ political beliefs challenge preconceived notions about who is affected by fake news, and how to counsel clients in such a polarized environment

10:23 — Paul and Betsy try to get at the heart of journalists’ hesitation to amend Section 230

13:40 — Lisa and Paul speak about how to engage journalists amid the fake news controversy, and what journalists can do to combat fake news

19:30 — Betsy, Lisa, and Paul examine the psychological impact of consuming a fake news story, and share their own experiences with fake news

25:39 — Knowing that trust in news media is at an all-time low, Betsy, Lisa, and Paul contemplate ways to prepare their children to navigate the fake news landscape

Click here to download Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report.

Some big names in ad tech have gone public in recent months as advertisers look for programmatic ways to get in front of consumers. But is the rise of ad tech also fueling the rise of fake news?

After watching the phenomenon for years, CNBC’s Megan Graham thinks it is. In this episode of Authority Figures, Graham and host Aaron Schoenherr discuss the proliferation of copy-cat sites trying to game the ad tech space and how things have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. The problem is hitting traditional newsrooms and reporters like Graham, who demonstrates the problem in real time during this episode.

Episode Highlights

1:30 -- Megan provides an overview of the ad tech landscape

3:33 -- Megan gives her thoughts on the rapid escalation of new players into the ad tech market and the role ad tech plays in the dissemination of fake news

10:37 -- Aaron and Megan discuss websites monetizing both fake and human traffic to their sites

12:40 -- Megan explains how she created a fake website that “plagiarized” her own content for an article and applied to ad tech monetization partners

16:50 -- In real time and using her own article, Megan shows how quickly fake sites work to plagiarize journalists’ stories

19:00 -- Megan shares the steps brands can take to combat this gaming of ad tech systems

22:37 -- Megan discusses how brands black-label their ads from appearing next to certain terms and the role of human intervention in ad tech

26:09 -- Aaron and Megan examine the future of the ad tech industry

28:40 -- Megan shares who she views as an authority

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and with the 2020 election still making waves, fake news and its polarizing impact is still coursing through our society. Much has been said on the topic, but questions remain: Whose responsibility is it to tackle? How does this differ from fake news of the past? Has fake news changed the relationship between PR and journalism?

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Charles Davis, Dean of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, discuss findings from Greentarget’s Fake News 2020 survey, the state of local news, and the increasingly symbiotic relationship between PR professionals and journalists.

Episode Highlights:

1:17 -- Charles covers his journalism background and how it impacted his views on fake news

4:11 -- Aaron and Charles discuss the relationship between freedom of information and fake news

5:31 -- Analysis of results from Greentarget’s Fake News 2020 Survey and if journalists can tackle the issue on their own

7:33 -- How to define fake news and whether disinformation or misinformation is a greater threat to society

10:26 -- Charles provides insight into how college students view the issue of fake news and consume their news

13:49 -- Charles describes how speed and rapidity makes today’s fake news different from that of the past

16:29 -- The responsibility of big tech in combatting fake news

18:34 -- Aaron and Charles discuss the symbiotic relationship between journalism and public relations

20:51 -- Charles highlights the state of local news and how many newspapers exist in masthead only

24:40 -- Charles discusses who he views as authorities

In part two of their conversation, host Aaron Schoenherr and Tanarra Schneider, Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at Accenture, discuss corporate America’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They cover why diversity and inclusion initiatives are felt before they’re measured, and the challenges leaders face in backing up their organization’s point of view with meaningful action.

Episode Highlights:

1:27 - Aaron and Tanarra discuss affinity groups and who in an organization should have a seat at the table

3:50 - Tanarra provides advice on preparing C-suite executives for difficult conversations and why they should show up as a person, not an executive

7:17 - Aaron and Tanarra exchange thoughts on irrational reactions and the links between fear and violent reactions

11:43 - Tanarra explains how diversity, equity, and inclusion is felt before it is measured

15:30 - Aaron and Tanarra discuss why organizations cannot authentically express authority on social justice initiatives without action to back them up

16:52 - Tanarra encourages organizations to say they’re still learning and explains why they should join the conversation, not the news cycle

19:07 - Tanarra reveals whom she views as an authority

A year after George Floyd’s murder, companies across America are still struggling with their place in the country’s racial reckoning. Many quickly released statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion – but they need to back up their words with actions. They need to go beyond the performative.

In the first of two episodes, Authority Figures host Aaron Schoenherr and Tanarra Schneider, Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at Accenture, discuss how organizations can – and should – go beyond the performative from an internal and external standpoint. Effective communication on these issues is about embracing vulnerability – and elevating diverse voices within organizations.

Episode Highlights:

1:48 – Tanarra discusses her background and advocating for her new role as Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at Accenture

4:53 – Tanarra explains how she keeps fear at bay and embraces discomfort

7:57 - Aaron and Tanarra discuss vulnerability in leadership

10:32 - Tanarra shares the common struggles among leaders who don’t know how to get vulnerable

14:10 - Aaron and Tanarra discuss going beyond the performative as companies look to communicate effectively as a result of the racial reckoning

20:00 - Tanarra shares her experience working within organizations as a female leader of color and encouraging them to go beyond the performative 

22:20 – Tanarra makes the case for why organizations need to put people in leadership who fundamentally understand the needs of the different groups they represent

Companies across the country are investing in data and how to harness it, yet some continue to struggle with using that data to tell their story. That means they’re missing the opportunity to create transparency within their organization and, most notably, the chance to exercise their authority through the contextual awareness their data can bring.

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Narrative Science President Nick Beil discuss going beyond the dashboard and into data, the relationship between transparency and authority and data overload in the age of COVID.

Episode Highlights:

1:17 – Nick provides his background and introduces his company, Narrative Science. 

2:32 – Nick discusses if hard data or the stories behind those numbers carries more authority. 

4:10 – An in-depth example of how contextual data is more powerful than data on its own, particularly within the COVID-19 pandemic.

8:09 – Analysis of how busy executives prefer to receive their data.

10:25 – Aaron and Nick discuss the relationship between transparency and authority, and the role trust plays.

14:00 – Nick gives examples of industries that are ahead of the curve with their data strategy and highlights which industries are lagging.  

16:55 – Nick provides insight into how he gets organizations that are behind the curve to reconsider their data strategy.

19:02 – Discussion about potential data overload amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

20:50 – Aaron and Nick discuss organizations and leaders who have demonstrated true authority during the pandemic.

How do you capture history as it happens? When the pandemic’s full effects became clear in March, History Factory began its COVID-19 Memory Project to capture corporate America’s reaction in real-time and provide insight into how organizations are responding to the crisis.

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and History Factory Managing Director Jason Dressel discuss the project rising above the noise of standard thought leadership, and how every organization will have its “COVID moment.”

1:30 – Jason discusses his background and introduces History Factory.

2:31 – A deep dive into the COVID-19 Memory Project and what Jason and his team discovered.

5:49 – Aaron asks Jason to elaborate on the connection between authority and organizational responses to social issues.

7:16 – Challenges in creating the COVID-19 Memory Project and capturing corporate America’s definitive moments as they happened.

8:48 – Jason explains how an organization’s history supports its own notion of authority.

10:25 – Examples of organizations that have exhibited authority amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest.

13:30 – Jason describes how every organization will have its “COVID moment.”

15:21 – The role digital archives played in creating the COVID-19 Memory Project.

16:42 – How technology has impacted responses to 2020’s major events versus those of the past.

17:39 – Jason reflects on the powerful impact a tangible document holds in a digital world and provides firsthand examples.

21:25 – Aaron and Jason discuss how organizations and leaders have effectively expressed authority in their actions.