文章基本信息

标题：From the editor - update
作者：Natasha Spring
期刊名称：Communication World
印刷版ISSN：0817-1904
出版年度：2003
卷号：Oct-Nov 2003
出版社：I D G Communications

From the editor - update

Natasha Spring

Isn't it funny how you can have so many great responses to a perplexing question or situation--after the fact? At the particular moment though, you feel at a loss for words.

Recently an IABC member said to me, "I love Communication World, but sometimes I feel like the emphasis on strategic communication just doesn't apply to me. I'm just an editor." Just then we were interrupted, and I walked away thinking that we need to include more tactical information about publications management in CW.

I still see the value of that content. But now that I've had time to reflect, I believe this editor, indeed, holds an important strategic role in her organization. By selecting and shaping content, she and her editorial team are in control of a lens that affects how people perceive and understand the organization. As Gary Grates, with General Motors Corp., points out in this issue's article on "The Perfect Fit," identifying the right thing to communicate next can make the difference between stifling or sustaining momentum.

Editors are in a position to provide inspiration during difficult times, motivation to increase productivity, and direction to those in the midst of change. If that's not strategic, I don't know what is.

Another lesson in finding the strategic within the tactical appears in nearly every Photocritique column by CW's resident photography expert, Phil Douglis, ABC. Where one person might say, "Hey, I'm just the photographer. I take the pictures," Douglis discerns the value, meaning, inspiration and variations in every facet of the photo.

I never tire of reading Photocritique. Douglis's ability to communicate how photos make people feel and the insights that can be gained by studying the composition reveal the power of shaping messages. This is not unlike the editor who delivers direction through words.

I still see the value of breaking down an effort into the tactics it will take to make it happen. But I also see the need to hone a deeper understanding of the communicator's strategic role and responsibility within an organization. They go hand in hand.