Corrections_Today_May_June_2019

ACA’s General Session

with that. They have the same right to the First Amendment as you do and I do, and it’s a success- ful business model.” King used CNN as a prime example of how the industry has changed and why, “So, CNN has tried to figure out how do you keep an audience? You need to be provocative. My view is be provocative but try to be fair. Bring in smart people to debate big ideas.” King described the overall necessity of provocative news, especially during primetime, as the industry evolves, “We have to understand that the business is changing and the big box, the big screen is going away. More and more people are getting their news on their phones and their tablets and on their laptops.” King said people want to be and stay informed. He pointed out, as an example, that during his speech, a number of people in the audience were more up-to-date on current events than he was at that moment because they had their phones right in front of them. King entailed the level of responsibility in broadcasting the news and how his network, in particular, is keeping that standard, “CNN is trying to attract a broader audience. The more provoca- tive you are, especially during primetime, you pull people in, but you may drive people away. I think the bigger conversation within the company is what is the overall brand? And make sure we defend that brand. If you defend the overall brand, then yes, have some diversity, have some fun, but if somebody goes over the line, pull it back.” In Colette Peters’, director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, question, “How can we better work with the press to help improve the public’s perception of who we are and what we do?” King put it back into the context of his industry, “Be as transparent as you can during the bad, the difficult. Of course, they’re going to cover the riot, violence and crime because it’s a story, but remind those people you built relationships with during that stuff, ‘you know when this calms down, come back.’” King advised Peters and the audience to invite the press back for the good

stories, the uplifting stories that happens all the time in the corrections industry. “Tell your stories and take risks. Defend your brand, build relation- ships, change your image and humanize it.” King said that technology, social media and a new gen- eration are great places to start. In both industries there is inevitable change in the way things are done, but that doesn’t mean the integrity behind it needs to change. King said, “I do hope as we go into a new age that we can still remember the old standards, the facts, the fairness and honesty, the transparency, and when you make a mistake, look them right in the eye, like any rela- tionship, and say, ‘I was wrong, I made a mistake, here is what I did wrong, here’s what I’m going to do to make sure it never happens again.’” King concluded that “You have the power to drive what we do and what succeeds and fails in my business in a way that is beyond remarkable.”

2019 Winter Conference

— Molly Law

46 — May/June 2019 Corrections Today