“The Manipulation Is Disgusting”
“The manipulation is disgusting. “That’s Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association reacting to news reports that Merck & Company frequently paid academic scientists to put their names on research articles actually authored by the company’s own medical writers.
Two separate stories, published in this month’s JAMA, claim Merck frequently paid academic researchers to take credit for articles prepared by medical writers the company hired. The practice is called ghostwriting. It’s not new. But the extent to which Merck went to influence the interpretation and publication of research has come as a surprise even to those familiar with the ways of Pharma.
“We’re the ones who allowed this to happen. Now we’ve got to make it stop,” says Dr. DeAngelis.
Merck pleads innocent, saying that many of the comments in the JAMA reports were “false, misleading or lack context.”
Regardless, this is a black eye for Merck, and big Pharma in general.
Public mistrust of the Pharmaceutical industry is nothing new. In fact, Pharma’s image is so bad that when oil company executives are accused of price gouging and profiteering, they frequently try to change the subject by pointing out their profit margins pale in comparison to those of pharmaceutical companies. (It’s true. Pharma’s profit margins are almost triple those of oil companies. But that’s apples and oranges, and as they say, another story.)
What’s interesting here is that in all its maneuvering since the FDA pulled VIOXX off the market in 2004, Merck has done little to improve its image with the American public. It may be that anything even slightly apologetic would only come back to haunt Merck in the countless civil lawsuits from VIOXX users. Even so, one wonders why Merck remains so clueless about public perception.
Merck’s management, like that of most major corporations, fails to see value in managing public perception. They don’t understand that where public perception is concerned, guilt and innocence are irrelevant. The court of public opinion rules first and foremost on the appearance of impropriety.
Protecting oneself from the appearance of impropriety requires an outside-in approach. It means examining corporate issues and behaviors for any possible areas of misunderstanding, any potential negative story or scandal.
Good communicators are careful to say things in ways that people understand. Great communicators say things in ways that people never misunderstand.
Or, as Ben Franklin said, “It’s best to pursue life as a pessimist, prepared for the worst and over joyed when it does not occur.”
Welcome to my blog
Welcome.
For quite some time now, I’ve been encouraging clients to improve communications, both internally and externally, by writing a blog. Trouble is I never made the time to make blogging part of my communications. Recently, I was busted by one of my CEO clients who suggested my advice might carry greater weight if I actually took it myself.
So, to end that hypocrisy, here we go. I’ll use this space to share insights and lessons gathered from my consulting work. I’ll also provide my take on communications issues that challenge senior executives as they relate to the news of the day.
There’s a good lesson in today’s top political story … the continuing firestorm over Barack Obama’s comment about the attitudes of small town voters … “it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter,” said Obama at a fund raising event in San Francisco, “they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”Obama’s apologized repeatedly, admits he should have been wiser in his choice of words because, “they were subject to misinterpretation … and I regret that deeply.”
It will be interesting to see just how much distance Hillary Clinton and John McCain can get out of Obama’s remark. But of greater interest to me is where Obama made the comments.
It was April 6th, at a “private” fund-raising event for deep pocketed Democrats in San Francisco. No Reporters aloud. The only people present were Obama campaign staffers and donors. Obama was engaged in what he thought, was a private, “off-the record” conversation. But as any executive who has ever worked with me knows … THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OFF THE RECORD!
Somebody at the event, likely using a mobile phone, recorded the Senator’s remarks. The recording made its way to the www.HuffingtonPost.com and the rest, as they say, is history.It’s hard to believe that someone as savvy as Barak Obama was caught off guard.The lesson here is one I stress to every executive I work with. There are only two places you can possibly conduct “private” conversations … your office, or your bedroom. If you’re anywhere else, consider yourself “fair game.” Mobile devices capable of recording audio and/or video have turned nearly every passerby into a potential paparazzi. Like Presidential candidates, executives must understand that constant public scrutiny is now part of the job description.
So remember, the new reality is that outside your office or your bedroom, people are always listening and might be recording … so be careful not to say anything you’d be uncomfortable hearing … or reading on the front page!