Bad corporate policy means no good news at Corning
Amidst the economic doldrums, there’s a good news story 11 miles from our studios here in Canton. I was actually there this afternoon. Thing is, I can’t report to you about it on the radio. Here’s why.
Congressman Bill Owens summoned the press to his visit at Corning Incorporated’s plant outside Canton to tout that “the plant recently rehired most of its laid-off hourly employees and announced plans to hire 20 additional workers.” Here’s what it looked like in my inbox:
Tour of Corning Glass with Plant Manager Joe Newbert
334 County Route 16
Canton, NY 13617
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
With other plants laying off workers and state and local governments and schools doing the same, this is really good news for St. Lawrence County.
It really isn’t news. It’s already been reported. But I thought it would be a good idea to give listeners an on-the-scene view of what’s bringing new business to Corning.
When I arrive, plant manager Joe Newbert says I can’t go on the tour, citing a policy preventing any media from walking inside the plant. (Clearly this was not company policy when an entourage of media followed then-Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue around the plant in 2001.)
Not only that, Newbert wouldn’t even grant me a quick interview in the lobby. He said I would have to talk to a corporate communications officer in Corning, NY, hundreds of miles away.
When Owens and his press officer arrived, they were caught off-guard. The Corning officials ushered him into a room just off the lobby labeled “visitors conference room” (or something like that). Clearly I wasn’t a visitor, because I wasn’t allowed entrance there, either.
Owens and his press guy were very apologetic. But there would be no good news this day, for Corning, or for the Owens campaign trying to win over voters concerned over the economy. I left.
The reason I’m sharing this with you is two-fold. First, political campaigning is a delicate dance of logistics. And it’s not pretty when a campaigner and her/his host get their signals crossed. A slightly similar thing happened a few weeks ago when I was invited to see Doug Hoffman campaigning, only to find very little going on.
And second, corporate communications have really reached a kafka-esque low when a plant manager isn’t allowed to comment about good news at his own plant.
That puts them right up there in bureaucracy with the state. When I was in NYS DOL I had to refer all press inquiries to Albany. Albany would then call me to find out the answers the reporter wanted and they would relay the information to the reporter.
government or private enterprise, things get kafka-esque when any organization gets very large. your experience isn’t very surprising to me.
But I thought private enterprise was always more efficient.
(Anybody who’s ever really believed that has never worked for a large private enterprise.)
Corning (Canton plant) is prospering because of LCD screen demand brought on by Apple.
How does Owens figure he deserves credit?
really did you expect corning to act differently? you just can’t pop-in like uncle pete, all folksy like– not even with your clout and best intentions, brian….and with cameras?
its not the one big happy society people might think it is. from what i read here, not many people agree on enough of the same points, principles, to have a lasting effective, consensus.
what was it really you thought corning would think?
perhaps the publicity opertunity was wasted on the contact you met with. wasn’t his job. incompetence? bad social skills?
be glad you got through the gates and front door.
in this world not many people make it that far.
welcome to that reality.
sounds like you’re shocked you were so disrespected, sorry.
If one has ever been in a position where your words have been “taken out of context” during an interview for print, you would better appreciate the need for centralized communication to the media. Has anyone given thought to Corning being a publically-traded company and any comments reported could affect shareholder perception, thereby stock price? That is another reason for centralized communication.
Considering that, in 2010, we’re all the media – with our blogs, Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, and the like – this kind of policy grows more quaint by the day.
if keeping your and maybe some not so local eyes out of that plant can help protect their share of the market , so be it.
When we worked at GM we were forbidden from bringing cameras in the plant even on family events, but yet they’d give tours to reps from Toyota and other competition, it ended up that our jobs got sent to other places that were doing casting processes that were developed in Massena…………Go figure.
It’s not a big surprise that companies are rigid in what is shown or told to the media. In the frenzy to be first, to get that scoop and score ratings most media outlets aren’t really concerned with getting the facts right.
You see or hear something, misinterpret it, print or report it and open up a Pandora’s box that the company must than close.
And Cantons uptick isn’t related to Apple or LCD. They make things much more sophisticated.
Let’s be clear about a few things:
– I was invited to Corning. I did not “pop by”.
– There was no “frenzy to be first”. The hirings were old news. My interest is going there that day was to give listeners a better sense of what they’re actually doing well that’s created additional jobs during a Recession.
– NCPR has a long and solid reputation with Corning going back decades.
– I’ve grown up as a reporter in the information-control age. It’s customary for every interview to go through a public affairs person, in corporations, in government, etc.
This was not a reporter trying to scrape up dirt. A plant manager can’t reliably develop a few talking points about good news going on at his plant with relying on Corporate? Really?
— David Sommerstein, NCPR