Craig Colby's Blog

by Craig Colby

There is a lot of talk about media bias, but many people don’t fully understand what it is and they miss the big one entirely. Let’s talk about the levels of media bias and what you can do about them.

Personal Bias

When I studied journalism at university 40 years, personal bias was the one we talked about the most.

Here’s how it works. Say you and a friend see a movie. The lights go out, you watch the film side by side. When it’s over, you love the movie, your friend hates it. The film was the same, the conditions you watched it in were identical. The difference is your personal experience and preferences. That’s a bias.

So how does that express itself in journalism? Let’s say a journalist is interviewing two people. One guest says it’s raining. The other says it isn’t. The journalist’s job isn’t to say, “Well, you’ve heard both sides, you decide.” The journalist’s job is to look outside then tell people if it’s raining. In short, tell people the truth.

That’s simple when it comes to a fact like whether it is or isn’t raining. When stories are complicated journalists need to use their own expertise to present the truth as best they see it. That’s called gatekeeping and journalists are trained for it. They evaluate the quality of an interview subject, consensus among experts, and any other factors that affect the story. There can be a lot to juggle. Journalists need to use their own judgement when they lay out the story. That’s where bias plays in. It can’t be removed. It’s baked into who you are. No one is completely objective. Journalists understand this.

You can see personal bias this when you read two different articles on the same event. Who did they talk to? What information is more prominent in the story? You can minimize the effect of personal bias by looking at different coverage of a story.

Editorial Bias

Editorial bias occues at the level of an editor-in-chief, executive producer, or other newsroom leadership. This is seen in which stories are covered and where they are placed in a paper or a television program. You can’t cover everything, so decisions are made about where to put resources.

When you compare newspapers and newscasts you’ll get a sense of what the newsroom’s editorial bias may be. Which stories are at the start of a show or on the front page? What do the headlines say?

You can also find editorial bias on the opinions page or with the opinion hosts on a channel. This is where you see which way an organization leans politically.

Corporate Bias

Corporate bias is the one we hear about the most these days. Do the owners of the news organization force the reporters and editorial teams to cover some things and not others? This is what people are afraid of.

Does it happen? Sure. It’s happening at the Washington Post where Jeff Bezos cancelled their presidential endorsement and has told the opinions editors what the paper’s editorial bias will be. It’s also why I cancelled my subscription to the paper.

The biggest worry is that news teams will ignore stories that make ownership look bad, play up stories that make them look good, or misrepresent a story because they’re afraid for their jobs. Good news organizations will identify potential conflicts of interest in the body of the story. When they cover a story that involves ownership they will tell you that the company owns the news orgnaization.

I frequently hear from conservative friends that they don’t trust the mainstream media because it is biased towards liberal thinking. There’s a problem with that idea. The media is not a monolith. It’s not one thing. There are many conservatives media voices, like Sinclair media in the U.S. and the Sun chain in Canada. Because they are popular, they are part of the mainstream media too.

The Biggest Bias

I think all of this misses the biggest bias of all – the desire for eyeballs. What all media wants most is for you to pay attention to it. That drives decisions more than anything I’ve mentioned so far. People often say CNN is a left-leaning channel but I disagree. They covered Donald Trump heavily during his first campaign. CNN may have helped him more than anyone. They also feature right-wing pundits every night.

What CNN is actually promoting is confrontation. It has more in common with the ESPN debate show “Pardon the Interruption” than it does with a traditional newscast. Every night you see people debating issues rather than crafted news stories on the issues themselves. They know people will tune in to conflict. It’s the main ingredient of compelling storytelling.

Fox “News” got its toe hold in the media landscape by going after an underserved demographic, right wing America, and they feed their audience whatever will keep them watching.

None of this is new. There is an old saying in the news business. If it bleeds it leads. That means news skews towards sensationalism.

What To Do?

So, what do you do about this? First, you need to realize that bias on its own isn’t a bad thing. If you listen to two friends talk about a labour dispute and one of them owns a business and the other is in a union, you’ll learn something from both perspectives. They will help you form your own opinion. That’s a good thing. It’s the same with the news.

This is why you should get your news from multiple news sources, and I do mean news sources, reputable places with editorial teams and processes, not online propaganda sites. That’s another topic entirely.

To pick up on our movie example, Rotten Tomatoes is popular because they take many movie reviews into account. You’re not just relying on one opinion. They certify something as fresh or rotten through an amalgamation of reviews.

You can do the same. There are sources online that will tell you where news sources are on the political spectrum. Try to read across that range.

While you’re reading, look for the facts in a story and try to separate them from the opinion. The facts should be the same in all the coverage.

You Are a News Source

The last thing you can do is to be aware of your own bias. It will influence the way you interpret every story you read or hear. It especially influences the stories you share because if you share stores in any social media platform, you have become a news source yourself. By being aware of your own bias it will help you be the best gatekeeper you can be.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

Craig is also the author of the multiple award winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

Election Red Flag

by Craig Colby

Thanks to the trade war and threat of annexation coming from Donald Trump, Canadians are going to have to make some big decisions. The biggest will be when we pick new leadership for the country. I’m not going to tell you who to vote for but I am going to identify big red flag to look out for if you want to avoid the mess our neighbour to the south is in.

If you hear a candidate say they want to wipe out an entire news source, watch out.  That’s the first page of the fascism playbook, and if you look at the United States right now, it worked like a charm.

The phrases “the press is the enemy of the state” and “the mainstream media lies” are designed to do one thing – make you stop listening to the news.   Because when you stop listening to journalism, you are far more open to suggestions from politicians.

Politicians can then dismiss facts and present their opinions as the truth.

That’s how, in the US, people stopped believing the news when it was reported that Trump was no longer allowed to run a charity in New York because he took money meant for veterans and children with cancer and used it to paint a portrait of himself, among other things.

They stopped believing their eyes when they said January 6 wasn’t an insurrection.

They stopped believing the courts, when Trump was convicted on 34 felonies.

When you dismiss journalism, it gets easier to throw away the truth. We don’t want that here!

If a politician says that the media is out to get just them, that’s a red flag.  There isn’t a journalist worth his salt that wouldn’t love to get legitimate dirt on a politician and take them down. That’s how you make a career.

So, when you hear a politician say “Stop funding the media” or “Close the CBC” it’s because they don’t want the scrutiny that comes from journalists.

But we need that! It’s a cornerstone of democracy.

I’m going to be talking more about the media, including topics like media bias, making up stories, and what to believe when you read the paper or watch the news.

If you have questions, send them along. I’ll do my best to answer them or find someone who can.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

Craig is also the author of the multiple award winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

by Craig Colby

“Your sign says ‘Closed’”. I said this to Peter Meglio, the owner of Greenwood Auto Centre on Sammon Avenue in East York. It was odd because this was 1:00 in the afternoon and the garage opens around 7:00 a.m.

Pete looked up at me and smiled. His eyes twinkled below his silver hair, framed by bronzed skin. “That’s because I’m closed on Wednesday.” This was Monday.

“Are you taking a vacation?” I asked hopefully.

“Nope, I’m retiring. I sold the garage. A new owner is taking over.”

My reaction should have been happiness for the man who had provided outstanding service to me for decades. Instead, my heart sank.

“I’m happy for you Peter but I have to say, I’m sad for the rest of us.”

An older woman waiting for her vehicle said, “I’m not happy about this. I’m not happy about this at all.”

With good reason. Peter was that rare find, an honest mechanic. Greenwood Auto is the favourite business I’ve ever dealt with.

I first heard of the garage around 2002. I needed some work done on my 8-year-old Saturn SL2. The dealership I bought the car from disgusted me. I once watched a sales associate try to talk a mechanic into replacing all the lights on the dashboard instead of just the one that was burned out. After all, they were all going to burn out eventually, right?  I’d go to them for an oil change and they’d recommend $2,000 worth of work. Stories like this are common in auto repair.

At lunch, I asked for recommendations. A colleague who lived in my neighborhood said, “My wife is friends with the wife of the guy who owns Greenwood Auto. She’s always mad at him because he never gets home on time for dinner. He's too busy making sure the cars are fixed right.”  I had to try that place.

I can’t remember what work needed to be done. I do remember expecting it to cost around $500 and being charged $60. I couldn’t believe it. After that, I never went anywhere else.

Over the years, Peter talked me out of more work than he talked me into. He’d show me parts of the car that had failed and walk me through what needed to be done and why.  I can’t imagine how much money he has saved me. If Peter told me something had to be done, I would do it, regardless of how much it cost.

One story stands out. I brought my 2005 Toyota Sienna into the garage about 5 years ago. The fluid lights were blinking. Peter was out of town, but his associate Andrew told me the repair would cost around $600. I dropped the van off the next morning and got a call later in the afternoon. When they opened the vehicle, they found a damaged part. The lack of detail in this story shows how helpless I am when it comes to cars. To get a new part would cost $2,500. However, Andrew had called around and found one for $50.  The part would come later, and I would get the car at the end of the next day. In the meantime, my van had been in pieces all over the shop for two days. That’s a lot of time and labour. When I arrived to get the van, I expected to pay way more than the quote. I looked at the bill. It was $600.

I asked Andrew how this was possible. He told me that he had called Peter, who was on vacation in Ireland, and explained the situation. Peter told Andrew, “Craig’s a good customer. Charge him what we quoted.”  I was floored. Even for an honest mechanic, this was exceptional.

Over the years, I sent everyone I could to Greenwood Auto. The reaction was always the same – disbelief at the price and quality of service. Everyone I sent went back, even when they moved out of the neighbourhood. I wasn’t the only one making recommendations. The garage was always busy. I needed to book putting on my winter tires weeks in advance. Still, if there was an emergency, Peter would see you right away.

I looked at the older woman in the reception area with me, her eyes turned down.  I knew what she was feeling. Peter had saved me thousands of dollars but more valuable than that was the peace of mind of knowing one of life’s problems was solved. If something was wrong with my car, Peter would treat me fairly.  Now that was gone.

I was happy for Peter though. He had just turned 60 and had owned the business since he was 30. That’s a long run. Peter told us that a lot of fellow garage owners were dying young. He told us about one colleague who had a stomachache on Christmas Eve and was gone at the end of January. She was 44 years old. Life is short. It was time to move on. His only plan was to take a vacation to Greece with his wife, then help his sons with their businesses, contracting and a restaurant.

As the older lady and I stood in the reception area of Greenwood Auto, underneath rows of professional certificates and youth soccer sponsorship plaques, we both thanked Peter for his great service and praised him for his honesty.

Peter said that honesty was the only way to go.  “What happens if I go for the jugular? I never see you again.  I have friends who run garages and complain about down times in the winter. I’ve had maybe 4 or 5 slow days. Be honest with people. It’s basic.”

It may be basic, but a lot of people don’t know it. I left the business that sold me my hearing aid because they looked at me like a dollar bill. I suspected that a healthcare provider for my son booked appointments for him far longer than necessary. But how do you ever know? Specialists have us at a disadvantage. It’s hard to know who to trust. But I trusted Peter completely. He was a rarity.

I’m grateful I had a safe spot like Greenwood Auto and someone as trustworthy as Peter for more than 20 years. I’m even more grateful that I brought my van in just in time to say goodbye and thank him for the great work.

I hope any business owners reading this will see the example Peter set. He never pushed for an extra nickel. He made his money when a customer came back, which we all did, over and over again.  

Your reputation is your best calling card. Honesty isn’t just the best policy it’s the best business. Peter Meglio’s Greenwood Auto was the best business I’ve ever seen.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

Craig is also the author of the multiple award winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

by Craig Colby

Quitting en masse is an attention getter. Quitting an international festival en masse in a slumping industry weeks before the big event is a Times Square LED Billboard outside your bedroom window.  10 members of the Hot Docs team resigned together on March 25, just a month before the world renowned Hot Docs Festival is set to begin on April 25. While I have no first hand knowledge of the situation, and the details are scarce, the bread crumb trail that exists leads to a failure of leadership that was both preventable and is still fixable.

The article breaking the news was scarce in details a post on Reddit, from someone claiming insider knowledge,  filled in some blanks. The author says this mass quit is only the latest exodus, with 50 people leaving in the last few years. “The turnover rate was like nothing I’ve ever seen.” The post also describes futile attempts to make executives understand the problems the teams were facing. “I've never seen such a hardworking and passionate group of people who could not get through to management.” Other issues are listed, high pay for executives and low pay for employees and an inability to reach the boss, but the main problem is already clear: the organization did not hire leaders in leadership positions. Experienced executives, perhaps, but not leaders.

Three Pillars of Employee Inspiration

Way back in business school, and in subsequent management training sessions, I was taught that there are three ways to get employees to be passionate about their jobs. The first is listening to them. It’s not enough to just let them talk. You must acknowledge what they are saying and act on it as best you can. The employees are doing the work. Ignoring their input is not just throwing out useful data and processes, it’s telling them they don’t matter. When you involve them, you will get better results and more engagement. This has clearly been ignored at Hot Docs.

The second is to acknowledge achievements. The author of the Reddit article says that the staff at Hot Docs “are some of the most dedicated in the industry and are so invested of the future of these filmmakers.” Having attended Hot Docs for many years, I can attest to this firsthand. There is a buzz that comes from the enthusiasm of the people working there. Again, it’s clear their contributions have not been recognized.

The third is the ability to grow in your job. It doesn’t mean a promotion necessarily. It does mean the chance to develop skills and try new things. According to the Reddit article, when people quit, they were so angry they didn’t provide documentation to help their replacement, if there even was a replacement. This is not the recipe for growth. They are the ingredients for a breakdown.

You Have to Know It Before You Can Show It

For these three pillars of workplace inspiration to be in place, a leader must at least know what they are and why they’re important. This is not always the case. However, when the pillars are employed, they are powerful tools for accomplishment. Employees will run through a wall smiling for the cause. When my big break came as a television producer, my team and I worked 7 days a week for six months. At the end of it, the people I had pushed so hard bought me my favourite team’s football jersey with my high school number and my nickname on the back. It was a special, personal thank you. There was no magic trick to how that happened. I just listened to them, acknowledged their accomplishments, and gave them chances to grow. That’s it.

Things To Do Now

Hot Docs was already in trouble before this mass quitting. An email from President Marie Nelson said the organization need more funding or this might be the last year for the festival. But the situation is still fixable. There are a few things the Hot Docs board can do right now.

Get rid of the cause of the problems and the problems will go too. The board knows the cause.

Hire an interim executive to get Hot Docs through the festival. In an industry shedding talent, there are boatloads of candidates. An executive producer or high-end showrunner could do it. After all they organize disparate elements of a production to create a quality product all the time. That’s what happens at a festival. Prioritize leadership skills in the hiring. If the word “inspiring” is used to describe them, get them in for an interview pronto.

Hire back all 10 people who resigned this week. They didn’t quit because they didn’t care. They did it because they cared deeply and just couldn’t take it. Hot Docs has already lost too much institutional knowledge, it can’t afford to lose more.

After the festival, hire someone with expertise in fundraising to run Hot Docs. That’s the biggest existential threat, at least according to Hot Docs. Again, make sure this person is a leader. A background in festival or the documentary industry would be an asset, but a smart person who knows how to listen can learn what is needed about those.

This point is for everyone everywhere who is hiring someone in a leadership position or promoting someone to one – pay for some leadership training! It’s the least expensive investment you can make in a crucial position. I guarantee you will see benefits.

Failure Is Not An Option

All of this should happen for one big reason – we need Hot Docs. As someone working in television and film in Canada, I need Hot Docs. It puts the Canadian Industry on an international stage, provides training and opportunity for emerging talent, and gives experienced filmmakers a chance to find a home for their work. This part of the industry was already fragile. Now it’s damaged. We need Hot Docs to help us find a new path. We need Hot Docs to have real leadership.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

Craig is also the author of the multiple award winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

by Craig Colby

“I SUCK at making myself look good.”

This statement near the top of a LinkedIn post was a cry for help. The author, Charlene Norman, an advisor to business owners and entrepreneurs, had won some awards recently  but hadn’t shared them “because I don’t know how to publicly share WITHOUT feeling and appearing to brag in an icky way.”

I knew I could help Charlene with this common conundrum because it’s based on a misconception. Bragging is defined as boasting, showing excessive pride. For some people this means talking about yourself or your accomplishments at all. I disagree, but for the sake of this article, let’s allow that interpretation. If that’s the case, then bragging isn’t icky. Braggarts are. So how do you practise the former without becoming the latter? The answer is remarkably easy.

Before we get that, first let me establish my credentials in this field. Six years ago, I lost my corner office job as an executive producer. I was over 50, on my own, in an industry (television) that had been imploding for years. I knew that if I was going to get any work, I’d have to let people know I was both capable and available. I created a post on Facebook about my new work reality. Over the following years, I shared pictures from great shoots I was on, announcements of new contracts, content I created, metrics of successes achieved, awards and nominations - whatever good news I had. Friends and colleagues flooded me with support. I went from old and unemployed in 2017 to having my best financial year ever in 2022.  I bragged successfully. So, what are tricks of the trade?

Lead the Cheers

First, dismiss the idea that people will look down on your accomplishments. They won’t. What grosses out colleagues and customers is the person who takes credit for everything, blame for nothing, inflates their own achievements, and diminishes everyone else’s. What we find odious is someone who only talks about their own achievements and never shines the light on someone else. That’s the braggart. That person is icky. So, before you start talking about yourself, there’s a few things you can do.  

When you see someone else post about an accomplishment, make sure you acknowledge it. Click “like” or “applause” and write a congratulatory note. On LinkedIn, if your comment is at least five words, it will trigger the algorithm that puts the post in more feeds. If the author of the post is someone you worked with closely, maybe give them a call. It’s great to be there for people when they are down but it’s also important to be there when they are up. Your reaction to good news can have a big influence on your relationship with others.

A study of couple by Shelly Gable and her colleagues identified four responses to good news:

Active-destructive, which demeans the news (“Do you get any money for that?”)

Passive-destructive, which disregards the news (“Oh, really?”)

Passive-constructive, which barely acknowledges the accomplishment (“That’s nice”)

Active-constructive, which shows enthusiastic support (“That’s wonderful! Let’s celebrate!”)

Only the last response helps a relationship. A partner’s reaction to good news more accurately predicted break ups than their response to bad news. So, build healthy relationships with people by being a cheerleader.

Own the Losses, Share the Wins

It's also important to be vulnerable. I had coffee with a colleague, Carolyn Galvin, who had lost her job a few months earlier but didn’t know how to put the news out. I encouraged her to change her job heading on LinkedIn and post a announcement with a positive vibe. She did that a few days later and received 240 reaction and 48 comments, mostly glowing testimonials from colleagues who admired her. People responded to Carolyn not just because she had done good work, but also because she wasn’t just showing up to take credit. Carolyn served notice that she was not a superficial person. People are way more receptive to your wins when you’ve been willing to share your losses.

Finally, when you do have something to celebrate, there’s another way to keep it from being boastful – talk about the people who helped you with the achievement. We rarely accomplish anything alone. So, drop some shout outs. When you do that in LinkedIn, make sure you put an @ before the name of the person or organization. This will put your post in their feed too, where it can draw more eyeballs and allow your collaborators to take some bows for their contributions. Posts like this show you will shine the spotlight on others. That’s not something a braggart does. Besides, it feels good to acknowledge other people.

Spread the Word

If you have done those things, people will be happy to hear your good news. You’ll see that they are quick to congratulate you. When Charlene posted her good news, she received nothing but praise and well wishes.  No one was put off. I’ve had the exact same experience. The most viewed posts on my LinkedIn page are one that listed my accomplishments in the 5 years since I lost my job (more than 13,000 impressions, more than 200 reactions and more than 80 comments) and the announcement of a new contract with the Aga Khan Museum (more than 11,000 impressions, more than 260 reactions and more than 140 comments).

One more thing – if you are in business, sharing your wins is great marketing. It shows that you are a high achieving professional. This is true if you are an employee or an entrepreneur. People want to work with someone who can do the job well. Don’t be a secret.

So don’t assume that people won’t be happy about your success. They will be. Just make sure that in your social media life you’re willing to be vulnerable, you’re a cheerleader for others, and you share the credit. Then achievement, and the struggle that goes with it, becomes part of your personal brand. And that looks good on anyone.

Craig Colby is the author of the Canadian Book Club Award Winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

Craig is also a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

by Craig Colby

Bruce Springsteen’s song Backstreets is about disillusionment and betrayal. Perhaps it was inevitable that the Bruce Springsteen fan site/magazine named after the song, announced that it was shutting down because the person who runs it became disillusioned after what he perceived as a betrayal by Springsteen.  The decision and the reasons for it say a lot about the relationship between an artist and his followers.

Backstreets, the fan site/magazine, has been a staple for Springsteen fans since 1980, providing news about the artist and setlists for more than 4 decades. Bruce is known to vary his shows so frequently that setlists are essential information. However, the day after Bruce Springsteen’s first E Street Concert since the pandemic there no setlist information on Backstreets. Instead, there was a notice in the news section from Christopher Phillips, the publisher and editor-in-chief:

After 43 years of publishing in one form or another, by fans for fans of Bruce Springsteen, it's with mixed emotions that we announce Backstreets has reached the end of the road.

Phillips had run the publications since 1980, when he was 22 but his heart was no longer in it. For Springsteen fans, it was shocking news.

Why did Backstreets shut out the lights? The culprits were the staggering price of some Springsteen tickets on the tour and the artist’s response to the outcry.  Springsteen’s tickets have always been in demand, a hey day for scalpers. However, thanks to Ticketmaster’s new dynamic pricing, where demand for seats determines the price charged, tickets for the latest tour reached prices as high as $4,000-$5,000. The service fees alone were more than $500. Fans were livid. In July, Backstreets wrote an editorial saying the sales practise “violates an implicit contract between Bruce Springsteen and his fans”.

In November, Springsteen responded in a Rolling Stones interview. He said that his prices are in line with his peers, most of tickets are affordable (for the record, I bought good tickets for less than $200 per seat) and for the ones with a crazy price, the money is better directed to the band than to the brokers. He added, “I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.“ Springsteen declined to comment on what process would be used to sell tickets in the future.

Backstreets was not satisfied. In February, they announced the end of Backstreets.

Springsteen has been offside with the public before. He took a beating in the tabloids for cheating on his wife with his bandmate Patti Scialfa, whom he later married. His song 41 Shots angered law enforcement. Even some tours have ticked off certain customers. On the Devils and Dust acoustic concert in Toronto, one fan moved around the arena and shouted out requests for rockers. Springsteen told him to “shut the fuck up” and everyone cheered.

So, what makes conforming to a ticket policy that other major artists are using different for Springsteen’s most dedicated followers? The root of the issue is found in Backstreets’ tweet about the ticketing problems. They exclaimed, “So this is what a crisis of faith feels like.” The publication deified their favourite artist, holding Springsteen to idealized standards. The Boss is not completely off the hook here. In concert, he often acts like a carnival tent preacher, inviting the audience to join the “Ministry of rock n’ roll”. Not every fan is going to realize that an evangelist is just another performer.  A relationship based on idolatry is headed for heartbreak.

Long term, personal commitments should include one caveat – the person you love is going to let you down. Bruce has produced an exceptional body of work. He’s been remarkably warm with his fans. But no one can meet everyone’s expectations all the time. Sometimes people mess up. Other times, they just do something differently than you want them to. For all his talents, Springsteen is still just a guy from New Jersey, transparently fallible. You can’t just cherry pick someone’s strengths. You need to accept and expect their weaknesses, even if you get hurt sometime. To have an authentic connection with someone - artists, friend, family or lover - you need to  let the broken heart stand as the price you’ve gotta pay.

I think Backstreets needs to cut Springsteen some slack. Christopher Phillips deserves the same break. He has the right to his feelings and to choose his career. Selfishly, I hope he’ll reconsider. I miss his work. There is some hope. Backstreets is still tweeting information about the band, including well wishes to the musicians and the fans at the start of the tour.  If the boss of the fanzine Backstreets can get through this rough patch, he may mend the broken promise written by the Boss in the song Backstreets. “We swore forever friends, on the backstreets until the end.”  

  Craig Colby is the author of the Canadian Book Club Award Winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

Craig is also a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

by Craig Colby

Bruce Boudreau must have known everyone was watching him long before he looked up into the stands to take in the arena full of fans chanting “Bruce, there it is!” in his final moments as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. They had actually been watching for much longer. Thanks to the heartless bungling of the team’s upper management, everyone had known for weeks that Boudreau was going to be fired. Whether the coach was aware of it or not, the way he handled this public pressure cooker was a master class in personal branding that everyone can apply to their personal and professional lives.

Boudreau is a 68-year-old hockey lifer. He played professional hockey for 17 years, from 1972 to 1992, largely in the minors, logging 141 NHL games mostly with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team.  His coaching career started in his final year as a player, as an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Comets. The next season, he became the head coach for the Muskegon Fury. For the next 15 seasons, Boudreau coached in the minors, 14 of them as a head coach, before being named the head coach of the Washington Capitals for the 2007-2008 season. He has been a head coach every season since, working for the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild and for the last two seasons, the Vancouver Canucks. His leadership skills were identified early and used often. His nickname is Gabby because of his friendly, talkative personality.

Passing the Test

Boudreau’s leadership and communication skills were tested in his tenure in Vancouver, which ended Sunday morning. Jim Rutherford, the Canucks President of Hockey Operations admitted in a press conference that he’d been asking around about a new head coach for months. Still, Boudreau showed up for work every day and did the job. I’d be surprised if he thought at all about what a wonderful opportunity this was.

Your brand is the way you are perceived by others. Corporations pay big bucks on image management. On a personal level we call it a reputation but it’s the same thing. People form opinions about us based on the way we dress, the things we say and what we do, especially when we face adversity. If Boudreau had quit, if he had given interviews complaining about the situation, he would have been justified. He did neither. Instead, he showed up every day and coached.  In Boudreau’s final days, when asked about his reaction to the situation, he said he’d be a fool not to acknowledge that he knew what was going on. Then he said, “You come to work, and you realize, you know, how great the game is.” He declined the chance to complain. Instead, he talked about his love of hockey. Boudreau controlled himself beautifully.

The coach held the same course after he was let go. "At some point, maybe I'll feel compelled to say some things. But right now, I'll leave that stuff private, and we'll move on to another topic." Again, he passed on the chance to air grievances. When asked if he ever thought about quitting, the answer was an emphatic “no”. “I'm not going to ever give up because if you do that, you're quitting on the players and my whole thing with the team all year was, we never quit. We never quit. We have to keep going. So, what kind of message would I be sending if I was the one that quit? So, that wasn't going to happen." The Canucks could only take away Boudreau’s job. They couldn’t touch his dignity.

Value Added

I doubt Boudreau was thinking about personal marketing during his final weeks as coach. He simply behaved according to his core values. In his final moments behind the bench, he saw how much that was appreciated. Boudreau looked up at the fans who were chanting for him, fought back tears, then clapped a few times and pointed up to the stands acknowledging the support. He walked away knowing that his example mattered. People in the hockey world already knew who this coach was, but to the casual fan and other observers, Boudreau’s name is now synonymous with perseverance and dedication to others.

In stressful situations, I have succeeded and failed. I have said and done things that are easy to justify but have rarely had good results. I’ve almost always regretted them. However, I’ve never regretted acting with kindness. When I saw the way Boudreau conducted himself, it showed me the person I aspire to be. The next time my back is against the wall, I'm going to think of him.

We can all learn from Boudreau’s actions. Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerability, and however you feel privately, in public, take the high road. When a situation is difficult to navigate, be guided by your values. That’s what people will remember. That’s how you build a brand.  Your worst moments are your best chances to shine.

Craig Colby is the author of the Canadian Book Club Award Winning ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

Craig is also a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service.

by Craig Colby

Each round of the MLB playoffs is a whirlwind of possibilities, where inches determine outcomes. Predicting winners based on the skills of the players is a great way to be wrong about something. As the author of ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection, I’m picking the winners using a criteria that I believe is just as reliable - which team has the best hats. So here’s a round by round breakdown of the caps that will go to the top.

This is a match up of hats that range from pretty good to nope.  Tampa Bay has always struggled to find a good lid. Their current official hat, TB in white with a powder drop shadow over a navy field is okay, but uninspired. The letters don’t interact with each other and nothing about it suggests the city’s location.   Their alternate hat, a throw back to the Devil Rays design, is a complete miss. There are too many colours, the blue and green fight each other (blue and green should never be seen except inside a washing machine) and the animal logo is a pair of googly eyes away from being a minor league lid. The ray isn’t even in a dramatic pose.

The Guardians, however, have done well with their new design.The C includes the club’s heritage without involving any questionable imagary. A team with this much history has also earned the right to wear a traditional navy and red color scheme. The home hat, with the red brim that matches the letter, is my favourite. The more subdued road hat works too, with the red C giving the cap just enough color.   Well done Guardians.

Winner: Cleveland Guardians

So many options! This matchup of 1977 expansion cousins is packed with variety.  Let’s start wit the visitors.

The Mariners have a beautiful home cap, dark blue with the letter S representing the city, in true Major League Baseball fashion, with a Mariner’s compass to tie the cap into the name and region. The teal accent suggests the ocean. Beautiful hat. The alternate, with the teal brim works well too. You wouldn’t want any more teal, a colour that works as seasoning, not as a meal. Their second alternate, however, is where the Mariners lose marks. Going back to the team’s original colors is a nice nod to club history, but passing up the trident M is a big mistake. That classic logo deserves some love.

The Blue Jays buck tradition by putting their mascot on their hat rather than a T for Toronto. Doing things different is a great idea for the only team outside the United States and the proud red maple leaf brings that point home in the best possible way. This is one of the most beautiful hats in baseball. The alternate with a navy crown and powder brim is a bold choice, working perfectly with their powder blue alternate uniforms. It’s a popular item among Toronto fans.  Giving the alternate a different flavour is a great idea well executed. The Canada Day alternate, worn with red jerseys on July 1 and other special occasions, is an unmistakable statement about this team’s fan base. The Jays aren’t just Toronto’s team, they represent the entire Great White North. The Blue Jays go three for 3-3 with power.

Winner: Toronto Blue Jays

This is a match up for the ages, with two historic teams trotting out a trio of gorgeous lids. Lets start with the Cardinals. Their red standard cap is perfection. The interlocking StL is both stylish and just asymmetrical enough to make it interesting. The dark outline helps the logo stand out. This hat has equals, but no betters. So why does a team whose color scheme is steeped in red have a blue alternate? Because it looks great. Because it’s a traditional baseball color. Because a team this storied can take some liberties. Their second alternate is stunning, a variation of the two-birds-on-a-bat logo from their gorgeous jerseys.  Because the hat is smaller, one bird is appropriate. It also centres the cap. Putting the image on a blue background sets off both the tan bat and the red bird. The red brim ties into the bird. Each of these hats is a masterpiece.

The Cardinals have some stiff competition in the Phillies trio of lids. The charming P with the counterweight accent to set off the loop has wonderful symmetry. The white on red looks great, especially in day games. The blue button is a bold choice but Philadelphia is a bold city so that devil-may-care options works. The royal blue alternate really holds together, especially with the white outline around the P. For Phillies fans looking to mix it up, this is an excellent addition to the collection. The third alternate is where things take a left turn for the Phillies but not because there is anything wrong with this hat. There is actually too much right with it. The Phillies cap from the 1970s has a better P, thanks to the subtle baseball stitching inside the loop. It’s also maroon, a color no other team employs and is much better suited to a tough town like Philadelphia. It’s just a better Phillies hat. By making this an alternate, the Phillies have made their most gorgeous friend a bridesmaid. Sorry Phillies, you overshadowed the main event.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals

You’ve got to hand it to the Padres. After years of experimenting with navy and orange, or navy and white, they’ve embraced their unusual heritage. “Our colors are brown and yellow. Does it look like someone spilled mustard on a leisure suit? Maybe a little. Does it matter? No, it doesn’t. This is who we are. Deal with it.”

The interlocking SD looks nice, although I don’t understand why there is a break in the D. I’m glad they went with a solid front rather than the yellow panel. The hat somehow looks both unusual and traditional. It’s a solid lid. The alternate is a little blah. I can’t see what the bland SD adds, other than perhaps matching slightly better with their camo alternate jerseys. I don’t like it. Then there’s the City Connect monstrosity. This whole campaign has been a huge disaster. The hat is fine as a fashion cap, if you like that sort of thing, but it should never be seen on a major league field. Not cool, Padres, not cool.

The Mets cap is wonderful. Royal and orange go well together and are a perfect nod to long-gone New York teams, the Dodgers and Giants. I love this cap. I’m flummoxed by the alternate. The only difference is a white outline? Why bother? Still, they didn’t stoop to a City Connect hat.

Winner: New York Mets

The Astros have solid hats with a star that references both the city’s NASA connection and its lone star state status. Navy with orange is always a great combination. The road hat’s orange brim option adds a little more colour. Fans can wear this when they want to go brighter. The orange top alternate is okay, but the lighter blue on the star feels unmotivated. Then there’s the City Connect hat. Just.. no. From the sidde patch that looks like someone slapped on a sticker, to the line drawing orbit and star, which feels very grade school art class, to the airbrushed orange-to-yellow color scheme, this hat is a disaster. The Astros hats have a major flaw – they’re still tainted by the association with the cheating scandal in the 2017 World Series. Also, one too many hats.

The Jays strong trio of hats is too much for the Astros to handle.

Winner: Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees don’t have a road hat, an alternate hat, or a City Connect hat. They have the New York Yankees hat. It’s an iconic, perfect symbol of baseball and America. The majestically symmetrical interlocking NY on a sea of midnight cannot be improved upon. If you want to buy a red fashion hat, or maybe a baby blue Father’s Day hat, go ahead. The Yankees will be wearing this on the field, as they should.

Winner: New York Yankees

The Dodgers are another team with unimpeachable traditional hats. The simple but effective interlocking LA in crisp white on a royal background is a classy classic. It’s both bright and warm, perfect for southern California. The white button is the cherry on top. This is one of the A+ lids in MLB. Unfortunately, the Dodgers decided to create a City Connect uniform. Last year, they wrote “Los Dodgers” across the front in script, which looked like a souvenir shop cap. This year, they improved the hat by restoring the LA, but with a black brim, putting “Los Dodgers” on the side. The black brim is an echo of the embarrassing “kids like black” sensibility popular in the 1990s. It smelled of desperation marketing then and doesn’t feel any better now. A black brim makes no sense on a Dodgers hat. The design has all the originality of a high school student doing his assignment at the last minute on the bus to school. Total failure.  This would have been an epic showdown without the City Connect cap. Now it’s a blowout.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves home cap doesn’t get enough credit. Whatever you feel about the graphics on their jerseys (I don’t like them), the hats are gorgeous. The red brim and button with a navy cap and white A that appears to wave like a weeping willow is sublime, the perfect blend of American colors and understated style. This is a great hat. The road hat is a little lackluster. I get it. You don’t want to be showy on the road. Let the home team get all the attention. Also, you want to be able to give the fans another hat option. It just falls flat next to the home hat. I know that seems unfair because they are doing exactly what works spectaculary for the Yankees and Tigers. I don’t think this A, although lovely, is a strong enough design to pull it off.

This is a tough call. Both teams have fantastic home hats with a lackluster second lid. The Mets lazy white outline on the NY is a decision so puzzling it tips the scales.

Winner: Atlanta Braves

This is a great showdown. The iconic Yankees cap against the Jays trio of upstarts. The Jays have done a wonderful job of providing three different and effective looks with their caps but there’s just no way they can overcome the history and class of this Bronx beauty.  

Winner: New York Yankees

This is a mismatch. The Cardinals can roll out three caps that not only trounce the Braves’ road cap, they beat Atlanta’s home cap too.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals.

This showdown is as good as it gets on several levels. Not only do you have two of most time-honored caps facing off, but you also have the contrast of bright red vs dark blue. Then there is the biggest issue: are three stunning caps better than one? The Yankees stand firm with their American classic. And why not? Why would you mess with a legend?   The Cardinals could have done exactly the same thing. Their red Cardinal cap is almost as storied. The Yankees have the most World Series wins, but the Cardinals are second.   Still, when the Cardinals decided to introduce other hats, they provided caps that felt like they belonged with the beloved home cap. For me that tips the scales to the Cardinals. It takes courage to mess with a legend. It takes skill to make it work.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service. Craig is also the author of the Canadian Book Club Award Finalist ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection.

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By Craig Colby

The biggest blow of Oscar night wasn’t the one Will Smith delivered to Chris Rock.  It wasn’t the backlash to the Hollywood elite who cheered Smith either. It wasn’t even the damage to Smith’s reputation.

The biggest shot was to toxic masculinity.

Marinating in Machismo

To understand why Smith threw the punch in the first place, you need to appreciate the era Smith was raised in, the one I was raised in too. Our generation was taught to defend ourselves. When we were young, punching was just something boys did. A teacher once scolded me after a school yard fight, not for hitting another student, but for doing it during school hours when the teacher had to punish me. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who had an issue with the other boy.  When we grew up, we were expected to defend our families, no matter the cost. The values were ingrained into the storytelling of the day.

In his autobiography, Smith wrote about the regret he felt when he didn’t defend his mother from his father. No doubt that informed Smith’s decision making at the Oscars too. There was fuel for his righteous anger. Smith had to be the man. That’s where things get toxic. Smith didn’t tell Rock to stop making fun of Jada’s medical condition. He told Rock not to talk about” my wife.” Smith acted like the affront was to Smith himself. The message was clear – you mess with me or what’s mine and the result will be violence.

The Aftershock

Then everyone had to sit in it for a while. It’s hard to know what to do in shocking moments like that. I once saw two guys in a knock-down-drag-out fight by a swimming pool, complete with thrown chairs and falling in the water. The victor, I guess, sat down at the table he was visiting with blood running out of his nose. Everyone just sat there, not knowing what to do. Eventually, the pugilist left to get repairs and never came back. Hollywood just sat there too. Some people comforted Smith.

In a twist befitting Hollywood, Smith won the Best Actor Oscar and had to talk, which he did, almost entirely about himself. Smith rambled between justifying his actions and apologizing to everyone but Rock. He cried, trying to brush off his tears as a tribute to other peoples’ accomplishments. To me, he looked conflicted, confused. He'd done what he’d been trained to do since youth, defend his wife, right? But it didn’t feel right. To me, it looked like Smith was crying because he was upset and couldn’t make sense of it. I’ve seen that look before – in my children, two sons.

The apology came the next day, on Instagram. Cynics will say his publicists either put him up to it or wrote it themselves. Personally, I think Smith finally realized he wasn’t the hero he’d been trained to be. He was the bad guy.

Why It Matters

Does this even matter in a time when we have much bigger problems, like a war in Ukraine, and the fallout from an insurrection in the United States? Yes, it does. Many of these problems come from the same place – indoctrinating people to believe the solution to their problems is striking out against someone else. That’s where colonialism came from. That’s why Ukraine is burning. That’s why gun violence is out of control in places. And like it or not, things that happen in celebrity land, where audiences go to escape, resonate in a way real world horrors don’t.

What happened at the Oscars was shocking but relatable. We understand making a bad joke, wanting to defend a loved one, and an emotional confrontation at a work function. We feel the shock of violence and recognize, mostly in ourselves, the complicit inaction of everyone in the room. And in this setting, it’s unsettling. We’re forced to reflect on what it means to us.

Here’s the real kicker. The violence doesn’t work. Toxic masculinity is a watering can for more problems. The biggest result of Smith’s slap is the focus going from Rock’s poor taste to Smith’s poor choice. The shining moment of Smith’s career will always be associated with his own childishness.

Taking It on the Chin

If you want an example of what masculinity should look like, it was on the stage with Smith, receiving the punch. Rock could have fought back, escalating the confrontation even further. Instead, he pointed out the absurdity of the situation, then finished his job. There was no preening, just professionalism. I don’t know how he did it.  Even if you didn’t like his joke, and I didn’t -making fun of someone’s medical condition is bad form - you have to acknowledge that Rock was just doing his job and we’ve all heard worse at an awards show.

Smith spent the rest of the night partying with his Oscar, rapping along to his own music in a circle of admirers. At some point, though, his conscience caught up with him. The next morning, he issued an apology to Chris Rock, and it felt sincere. It needed to be. Because the night before, Smith’s son Jaden tweeted out “And That’s How We Do It” in support of his dad’s punch. The biggest damage from that hit isn’t to Rock’s face or Smith’s reputation. It’s to the younger generation who are told this is how you handle your business.

The Response

The good news is that the response has been overwhelmingly, although not exclusively, negative. It’s starting to sink in. This is not how we do it. Not even close. This is not being a man. Real men are not the cause of strife. They’re the solution. Real men don’t use their fists. They follow the instructions they give their children – they use their words.

In his apology, Smith said he is a work in progress. The world is too. Sometimes, these broken moments provide the lessons cultures need to move forward. I hope the response to that smack at the Oscars can also be a knockout punch to an antiquated, ineffective, and damaging image of masculinity. I hope the words being shared around the world today show us a far better way to man up.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service for businesses.

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by Craig Colby 

“They can have Rogan or Young. Not Both.” Neil Young wasn’t kidding. His music was pulled off Spotify to protest misinformation about COVID vaccines being spread on the Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular  podcast in the world. It was a big deal for Young. He said that Spotify represents 60% of the streaming of his music. Joni Mitchell followed Young’s lead.

To no one’s surprise, Spotify backed Rogan, graciously. It was the obvious business decision, handled well.

Rogan’s response on Instagram was even better, revealing the virtues and vices of the podcast age.

“The podcast started out as just fucking around with my friends.”

Like many podcasts, the Joe Rogan Experience started out as something new and fun to try. Rogan didn’t prepare much because podcasts are a low cost, low risk enterprise. That’s a big part of their beauty. Anyone can be a broadcaster, creating and hosting programs then seeing if they find an audience.

Joe Rogan found one, big time. That’s where his current problems start. Authors, celebrities and people with intriguing ideas campaigned to get on the show. If it was interesting, Joe booked them. And why wouldn’t he?  That was the goal of the show.

“I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than have conversations and talk to interesting people. I didn’t plan it. I can’t believe it’s successful as it is. It was never really an idea.” Rogan admitted.

Rogan just kept doing it and let it evolve. Eventually, the content got away from him. And that’s the problem with podcasts. A slick one can look and sound like a responsiblie source of information. However, when a podcast gets a big audience, the lack of training and perparation that go into shaping the content can turn it into a dangerous source of misinformation.

“Out of control juggernaut that I barely have control over.”

So, Rogan is making his show, gaining followers, then he wakes up to find out that doctors are saying his show is bad for people and beloved musicians would rather lose money than share a platform with him. Rogan’s name had become synonymous with misinformation.  That was never what he wanted.

“I’m interested in telling the truth. I’m interested in finding out what the truth is.” Rogan said on Instagram.

To Rogan’s credit, he’s taking steps to balance his program. He’s agreed to run a disclaimer before controversial material encouraging people to talk to their doctors and that the views expressed run counter to the consensus of professional opinions. He also plans to schedule experts who represent the consensus opinions following guests with alternative viewpoints.

Rogan said, “It’s a strange responsibility to have this many viewers and listeners and It’s nothing that I prepare for and it’s nothing that I ever anticipated.”

Perhaps not, but it’s nice to see he’s now taking the responsibility seriously. As Andrew MacDonald, a Facebook friend of mine who works in the media, put it when he shared Rogan’s Instagram video, “It’s cute seeing him figure this out as he goes.” MacDonald meant it as a compliment, but there’s a bigger lesson here.

The blowback to his show would have been avoided if he’d followed some basics of broadcasting and journalism. You need to provide context for the information you’re providing. It’s common practise to balance dissenting views, although that is a tricky wire to walk for even the best organizations.

He can take a few more steps that will save him some aggravation. Rogan says he books all the guests himself. In newsrooms, assignment editors book the stories. Someone who has studied journalism could line up guests, and Rogan could maintain final approval.

Rogan says,” “I have no idea what I’m going to talk about until I sit down and talk with them and that’s why some of my ideas are not well prepared or fleshed out.” Researchers and producers provide information packages for on-air interviewers, so they’re ready for an interview. Rogan would benefit from that preparation.

Finally, Rogan should hire a producer with a background in journalism. All the changes Rogan is making to his program are ideas taught in journalism school and practiced in newsrooms everyday. Rogan shouldn’t have to figure all of this out as he goes. He should be learning from the people who figured this out a long time ago.

“I’m not mad at Neil Young. I’m a huge Neil Young fan. I’ve always been a Neil Young fan.”

Rogan may have things to learn from the media, but there are things we can all learn from Rogan’s response to this criticism.

If he was stung, it didn’t show. Rogan praised Neil Young’s and Joni Mitchell’s music, even if he mistakenly credited Mitchell for Ricky Lee Jones’s Chuck E’s in Love.

Rogan didn’t lash out at his other critics either. “It’s good to have some haters because it makes you reassess what you’re doing and put things into perspective. And I think that’s good too.” Rogan said on Instagram. In science this is called peer review, where your work is published, and evaluated by your colleagues. In the media, we have editors.

“Do I get things wrong? Absolutely. But I try to correct them”

Rogan’s willingness to listen to criticism, treat it as feedback, and use it to make his show and himself better, is laudable. We should all aspire to Rogan’s grown-up response. The world needs more of this.

Rogan wrapped up by saying, “If I pissed you off, I’m sorry and if you enjoy the podcast thank you. I’m going to do my best. “

Sure, Rogan made mistakes. However, in this age of diss tracks, flame wars and internet trolls he got the big ideas exactly right.

Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service for businesses.

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