X-Message-Number: 3827 Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 11:11:18 -0500 (EST) From: Andro <> Subject: Training, professionalism, and the media Although the science and practice of cryonics is obviously of greatest importance, there are other aspects of our movement which desperately need further study. Clearly, not everyone has mastered the ABCs of Public Relations. With respect to Keith Lynch, I wouldn't call the Day One story a "hatchet job" - it was light-weight journalism that went for easy color: the man preaching deathlessness, who learnt all his science at embalming school; the true believer saying "I trust this man, I believe in this man, like people believe in Christ; I take the pills..."; the fire-protection helmet. True, it had a quotation of "Health Care quackery", but that clearly came from a fulltime partisan lobbyist. On the other hand, the medical profession's abilities were questioned by their widely differing analyses of Life Extension products. Further, both Bill Falloon (with his clear use of his products, demonstrated by blood samples) and Saul Kent (with his mother's cryopreservation) came across as absolutely sincere individuals. I am grateful to both of them for allowing ABC to interview them. True, it wasn't an ideal piece. But a true hatchet job would have been far more vicious. What was lacking was the PR skill to control the program. That means accepting that it was going to be a light-weight, 10-minute, colorful piece, and giving them enough material to meet their needs. It also means developing the practised ability to be calm and self-assured, not defensive; to lay off fringe ideas that aren't essential to what you're trying to convey ("terminator" - "cyborg" - "if we put a guillotine device in there" didn't contribute to an understanding of the rationale for either Life Extension Foundation or cryonics); and to provide the media with acceptable references, qualifications, documented successes, and other items both credible and telegenic. This, in itself, means professionalising the cryonics movement. John de Rivaz asserts "if cryonics ... was 'professionalised' in the same way medicine and the law have been, then prices will rise by ten to fifteen times the current norm." I would be interested in knowing what he is basing the assertion on, and why "ten to fifteen times"? But what if cryonics is 'professionalised' in the same way the computer industry has been? Wouldn't it be nice to see a comparable rise in performance, and fall in costs, over the next 50 years? SUGGESTIONS FOR PROFESSIONALISATION: 1) Workshops in PR, media relations, etc; including videotaped practise in interviews. 2) Development of guidelines for what to talk about, how to express the core concepts, what jokes and ironies can be shared (there must be some) and which will be off-putting to people coming fresh to the whole idea. 3) Designated spokespersons, with the proven experience to talk productively with the media, who already have informal recognition throughout the cryonics movement; give them formal professional standing, to legitimize their comments and lessen the credibility of the inevitable (and frequently well-meaning) loose cannons; not just as President or whatever of their own organization, but formal industry-wide recognition. 4) A formal association of all reputable cryonics groups; the association to be without access to any confidential information; the association to evenhandedly give exposure to all member groups, and not pass judgement on their differing structures and priorities, except over concerns about the professionalism of a member group. 5) An accreditation process for individuals, so that the media, the public, and people in other cryonics organizations can be sure that they are dealing with someone who knows what they're talking about: possible areas to include in the accreditation are: research experience, cryopreservation work, administration/documentation/analysis of patients, general business administration, legal standing, medical standing, mortuary standing, insurance standing, PR/media abilities, fund-raising abilities.... what else? 6) A lot of people already have a lot of experience in these areas - that information should be documented, and be readily available to anyone talking to the media or the public. 7) Perhaps we could recognize gradations of experience/knowledge, and have Apprentices, Journeymen, and Masters (or whatever non-sexist terms you prefer). [I personally dislike accreditation and labels, because I put most weight on the assimilation of direct experience; I have no letters after my name; but I recognize accreditation's usefulness in our situation.] 8) We don't need to have our own school, but we do need to document who can speak with authority. 9) A schedule of what training, practice, volunteer work, etc is available across the organization; with the hope that, if enough of it was available in a single location, and structured conveniently, that people might take 2 weeks or a month as a working vacation and come somewhere to learn a lot of relevant stuff in a concentrated package, without having to give up their homes and jobs for it. NOTE: *I* would like to do such a 2-week or 4-week package, so I have a strong interest in this idea! I can't offer much, but I would happily volunteer to teach a 1 or 2 day workshop in Business Management, which is what I do for a living. It is very very useful for anyone in business, which is what cryonics is. (Of course, the workshop is completely experience-based :-) Always optimistically, Robin Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3827