Final Analysis
Journalism 101: Repeating a False Claim Often Can Be Persuasive, but It Doesn’t Make a Lie the Truth
Saying the same thing over and over again isnt necessarily a sign of diminished capacity
This article appears in print in the February 2019 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for American journalists to fear for their safety on their home turf, we have a problem. Exactly how we got to this point isnt a mystery. Our own president…
Scamazon HQ2: Amazon Process Nothing Short of Extortion
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn't need tax breaks from anyone.
This article appears in print in the January 2019 issue. Click here for a free subscription. In reading the coverage of the Great HQ2 Scam, I was fascinated to learn that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos apparently became obsessed with all the swag North Americas cities were willing to shower upon Amazon in their…
How to Be a Leader without Being Obvious About It
Leslie Helm, Seattle Business magazines former editor, leads quietly and generously.
This article appears in print in the December 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When I shifted over from Seattle magazine to Seattle Business magazine in 2011, I got really, really lucky. I lucked into a terrific boss. More to the point: I came upon the kind of colleague we all hope for…
Using That Instead of Who Dehumanizes the Workplace
"Words matter. Precise words matter precisely because humans have the ability and the responsibility to raise the bar on how well, how accurately they communicate."
This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Take that! And please stop its widespread abuse. Only you can prevent the further impersonalization of the workplace by overusing the relative pronoun that. How, exactly, did that come to replace who in everyday usage? Im not sure. But…
Why It’s Important for Businesses to Empower Customer Service Reps
Power to the (customer service) people, or else we're doomed.
This article appears in print in the August 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. In the annals of retailer/client relationships, nothing reverberates as instructively as the bizarre story some say its fact, others say its fake of a guy in Alaska returning an automobile tire to a Nordstrom store for a refund. Rest…
Let’s Embrace Seafair
Here's to the business of building community.
This article appears in print in the September 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Great communities have impressive traditions. In Seattle, where Seafair just put its 69th edition to bed, the tradition is doing just fine. I will confess that Seafair and I havent had much of a relationship in recent years. When…
Starbucks Took a Lot of Flak for the ‘Philadelphia Incident,’ But That’s the Price of Being a Conscientious Corporate Citizen
Maybe we should give Starbucks a break and complain instead about companies that arent even trying.
This article appears in the June 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Let me see if I have this straight. A Starbucks employee shows bad judgment and the whole country has a cow (organically raised, of course) over Starbucks failure to practice what it preaches. Only a world that enjoys soy lattes with…
Why We Need to Support and Encourage Women Who Are Willing to Speak Out
Fear of retribution can be real and intimidating. Finding your voice requires support and encouragement.
This article appears in the May 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. A guest commentary by professional pilot Kimberly Perkins boldly illustrates the sorry state of gender equity in the commercial aviation industry. In March, a much longer online version of Perkins essay elicited a reply from another female pilot who shared a…
A Journalist Joins the Resistance
Columnist John Levesque says this time, it's different. Donald Trump needs to be reined in, and accommodationist CEOs shouldn't go along with the open bigotry of his presidency.
This article appears in print in the March 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. After nearly a half-century of committing journalism, Ive changed my mind. Not about journalism, but about the journalist as private citizen. For all my professional life, I have been publicly apolitical. I have avoided partisan politics because it was…
Final Analysis: Dont Follow the Money
If the Mariners were smart which isnt a club tradition theyd forgo the big payday and name their stadium Niehaus Park.
Dont do it, Mariners! Reject the big payday the way youve assiduously rejected sports supremacy. Thats right. Take a pass on that fat check for $50 million or whatever amount some corporate entity is willing to shell out for naming rights to Safeco Field. Leave it all on the table and strike a blow for…
Final Analysis: Political Pointers
What Seattles 21 mayoral candidates should do to win the primary.
Perhaps you have heard. Twenty-one people want to be mayor of Seattle. Actually, there may be even more people who want to be mayor, but 21 have formally filed to have their names placed on the primary election ballot next month. The top two finishers go head to head in November. Why anyone would want…
Final Analysis: Battling Drug Abuse
Would you like your Harvoni prepared al dente?
If this journalism thing doesnt work out, I have a backup plan: helping the pharmaceutical industry come up with names for their new drugs. Im supremely confident I can devise something as good as maybe even better than Harvoni and Entresto. I know what youre thinking. Werent Harvoni and Entresto a vaudeville magic act? Or…
Final Analysis: And Now for the (Fake) News
Stories we'd like to read on April Fool's Day.
Contrary to what the current presidential administration would have you believe, real journalists spend their time looking for the truth and reporting it fairly. So the opportunity to have some fun on the one day of the year when fake news is actually expected proves irresistible to some in the media. For instance, on April…