Executive Privilege
When I was first named Editor of ISD Magazine, I was invited to have lunch with the CEO of a small company. He wanted to offer some advice on how to craft the magazine. On the day of the lunch, he brought along his VP of Marketing and she said to me something like: "I've been in high-tech sales and marketing for almost 20 years. In all of that time, I've only seen one ONE article in print that I knew for a fact was actually written by the author of record. All of the other articles, ALL of the other contributed articles that I have EVER seen in print, or helped to get into print, were actually written by somebody OTHER than the person or persons listed as the author. So don't be naïve about the process. Contributed articles are the name of the game in high-tech publishing. Contributed articles are NEVER written by the people whose names are on the article." My goodness! Surely, I had a lot to learn about contributed content, and luckily I managed to learn most of it over the course of that single lunch. ***************************** So, fast forward to January 2005. I'm lingering over a cup of coffee in the newly remodeled kitchen warm and comfy on a cheerful and rainy January morning and finding it hard to get off to work. Instead, I spend some additional minutes sifting through articles in The San Francisco Chronicle articles that I normally wouldn't read to completion. And that's how I came across this story: "To quote Bush, being original is hard work" In his piece, Kipen goes on the hunt to find the original sources for the sting of lofty thoughts which, when strung together, produced the bedrock of thought for last week's Presidential Inaugural address. Kipen's article is amusing, based on some Google research into the various phrases in the speech, and concludes that the speech owed it's 'bedrock' to FDR, Martin Luther King, George Santayana, Henry Watson, and Abraham Lincoln only a few of whom were referenced in the speech. The article says the point is not to criticize the Presidential Inaugural Address per se, but "to spotlight a few of the surprising places where the president's ventriloquists filch their verbiage from." That seemed pretty amazing to me. The article was suggesting that a) The President doesnt write his own speeches (You're asking, "Is that news?") and b) The President and his Speechwriter(s) feel themselves at liberty to borrow heavily from the lofty rhetoric of those who have gone before, while feeling somewhat less inclined to offer attribution for the phrases used. The article begged the question: What does the term "attribution" really mean? What does the term "author of record" really mean? If not in politics, how about in the world of publishing? Particularly in the world of high-tech publishing? Particularly in the world where contributed articles are the name of the game? ******************************** Now, it's later in the day and still raining. I'm lingering over Press Releases. I come across one that's listing nominees for an upcoming achievement awards event. This is an event where various advances in hardware and software will be celebrated those advances that have been judged to have been influential, important, and crucial. Along with the hardware and software there's also a category that will be celebrated which is something like, Best Contributed Articles. Again a moment to pause and reflect. I think about the fact that after ISD, I made a few bucks here and there ghostwriting articles for various people, companies, and executives. I believed it was honorable work. Hey why not? But, my kids used to be very mystified by that particular revenue source. They were always asking me, "How can you possibly want to write an article, put your creativity into something, and then put somebody else's name on it. Isn't that a form of lying and doesnt it bother you that somebody else is putting their name on your stuff?" I think about how I used to tell them, "Hey it's high-tech publishing. Contributed articles are NEVER written by the people whose names are on the articles. That's the name of the game! Go away!" I look out the window and watch the rain. ****************************** I've got a friend a good friend who's heavily involved in a local philanthropic organization that awards scholarships each year to promising High School seniors. The scholarships are awarded based on an essay contest and the topic each year is different, but always touches on lofty ideals and the ethical dilemmas that face young people today in this difficult world. The scholarships are wonderful. The essay contest is wonderful. The High Schools whose students are the beneficiaries of this contest are delighted to be involved. This year, however, the philanthropic committee that chooses the winners has been faced with a thorny dilemma that has caught them completely off guard. Two of the essays that were submitted by two different students this year were identical. It appears they were copied off of the web. These two students the authors of record on each of these essays apparently went on-line, coincidentally to the same site for ghostwritten essays, and coincidentally each submitted the same essay to the committee. Oh my! ****************************** So, let's pause and review.
***************************** My point? Well, it's pretty clear. It looks like it takes years of scholarship and years of honest, ethical, sincere hard work to move up the corporate and/or political ladder, but once you're there the rules change completely. Because once you're there, you've got: Executive Privilege And with Executive Privilege comes the opportunity to put your name on other people's ideas, to stand and receive ovations, accolades, and possibly even prizes for things you didnt write, for words you didnt craft. But that's okay because in the world of high-tech publishing that's the name of the game. ***************************** Thoughts? *****************************
Peggy Aycinena owns and operates EDA Confidential. She can be reached at peggy@aycinena.com
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