This is an archived blog from when I ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. from 2008-2018. Excuse the potential outdated-ness!
Reflecting on genuine stories and those fighting for better journalism & media.
This past weekend I had the incredible honour of visiting the city of San Diego and witnessing the marriage of one of Leo’s childhood friends on Pacific Beach. The ceremony was one of the most unique ones I had heard and seen before, as most of it was composed of the officiant (a friend of the groom’s) talking about his experiences of the bride and groom. It was also his first time officiating a wedding, so it was special for all three of them.
Later into the evening, there were four speeches by friends of the couple and a few words said by the groom’s mother. Although a few of them had some notes, they spoke from the heart for the most part. It reminded me that authentic and genuine words need not require lots of work ahead of time. In fact, aside from the speeches, one of the most emotional parts of the day for me was seeing the bride and groom being escorted by their parents down the aisle. If pictures are worth a thousand words, memories are absolutely priceless. I couldn’t even articulate what seeing that meant to me, and it gave me a good glimpse of what I should expect when I walk down the aisle in just under 70 days.
On the plane ride to Los Angeles, I also read about an organization called The Intercept in GOOD Magazine. Their website states:
The Intercept, launched in 2014 by Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, is dedicated to producing fearless, adversarial journalism. We believe journalism should bring transparency and accountability to powerful governmental and corporate institutions, and our journalists have the editorial freedom and legal support to pursue this mission.
A few mornings while eating breakfast I got the chance to see the local morning news and was a bit disappointed one of the times to hear the two news anchors debating for two minutes about what they used to call musical producer Sean Combs (who goes by many monikers) and what they call him now. In a time when there is more happening in the world than outlets who could possibly report, I really dislike hearing “stories” like this and valuable air time being wasted by opinionated conversations for the sake of entertainment.
It’s inspiring to see more media outlets popping up like The Intercept.
What’s the best story you’ve heard all week and who told it?
