Cutting through the spin in business communication

Spin has become an integral part of business journalism, just as it has in political reporting. Readers, and sometimes even unsuspecting journalists, unfamiliar with the inner workings of some of our corporate organisations, are often confused when trying to understand the truth behind certain local business media releases.

The objectivity of business media communication is sometimes compromised by hyperbole, understatement, euphemism and outright falsehoods, depending on the desired effect that a particular business seeks to convey to the media. This inability to be completely honest with the public is not only evident in business journalism but also present in the country’s political and social life.

The risks resulting from this reluctance for straight talk can only be addressed by business watchers developing a sixth sense – the ability to read between the lines of business media releases. This ability can be built up gradually by gaining access to reliable information through joining an informal network of business watchers who have no vested interests but possess a keen sense that can detect a business rat that may be lurking around.

Let’s examine some examples of how certain news reports can mislead one. A company that is aware of a sharp downturn in its profitability attempts to desensitise the bad news to its shareholders, bondholders and the general public by stating that difficult economic challenges have affected its operations, and that it expects a deviation from previous years’ strong results.

Another company, whose bankers have told it that they are no longer prepared to support it, may ask the public to subscribe to its unrated bond issue in a flourish of pompous publicity that wax lyrical about the past success and the brilliant prospects of this business that has lost the trust of its bankers.

A high-interest coupon that barely compensates investors for the abnormal risk associated with such debt usually guarantees a full take-up by the uninformed public. Stockbrokers pontificate on the company’s strengths in full-page adverts in the media, seeking public support after being denied support from banks. The promoters are then prompted to express their appreciation for the public’s faith in their business acumen.

The growth of business communication as an academic field of study has produced hundreds of young graduates who often end up as communication officers, working with companies that aim to project themselves as providers of excellence to their clients.

Corporate boardrooms are no Garden of Eden. The basest human instincts are present in these dark rooms

The art of straightforward communication is slowly being lost, at a time when most people are better educated and can read between the lines of official business communication, especially on social media. Stage-managed events to deliver a corporate or political message are becoming increasingly hollow and ineffective.

Unsuspecting observers, unaware of what goes on in the corridors of power in big business, national politics and even ecclesiastical governance, often wonder whether those who move in these corridors are indeed unaffected by the squabbles that often characterise other spheres of our lives

Those who know what goes on in some of our boardrooms or the meeting rooms of government ministries usually steer clear of controversy and maintain a stoic silence.

Corporate boardrooms are no Garden of Eden. The basest human instincts are present in these dark rooms, just as they are in any other room where groups of humans try to assert their superiority over others. However, such business leaders have a knack for keeping this rivalry under wraps, lest the public realise that, after all, these business supremos are just as fallible as other human beings.

As in any other country, business life in Malta is sometimes influenced by unholy alliances between the protagonists of our political, social and business circles. Fortunately, this influence is often insufficient to significantly affect our economy’s stability. We also have a majority of business leaders who are truly professional and do not need to rely on any unfair advantage or political patronage acquired through perverse alliances.

Ultimately, our future prosperity will also depend on the ethics that prevail in our business community. No one should expect our business leaders, or indeed our politicians and our church leaders, to be angels sent to us from above to show us the way ahead through good example.

What is important is that the business media keep the public informed through factual, research-based reporting on how our businesses are really managed. At the same time, observers of our business life need to develop a critical, independent ability to read between the lines and separate the wheat from the chaff.