The Medium is the Message

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Marshall McCluhan . He was a Canadian intellectual icon who wrote extensively about communications, sometimes with a lack of clarity but certainly thought provoking. He was quoted frequently including “ the medium is the message”. Liberally interpreted this means that the form and delivery of the message are more important than the message itself.

Delivering messages is a very important part of corporate life. Clarity and form are vital parts of the communication process. Comparing recent examples makes the point. Sino Forest’s communications are under attack resulting in a severe reduction in shareholder value. The accuracy is another issue and still being debated. Rather it is the formatting which in and of itself generates concern. Contrast this with the information about a recent acquisition by Ensign Drilling. In this case the transaction was the purchase of the land drilling assets from the Rowan Companies. Starting with information published by Rowan it is clear, unencumbered by extensive notes and go to the heart of the organization. Regulators and analysts love it. Equally the details of the deal are totally transparent. Both Rowan and Ensign generate high quality information in a reader friendly format.

While accuracy and honesty are ever so important, they are not the point of this blog. What is at issue is delivery and clarity. Sino’s delivery automatically sets up doubt where as Ensign’s information evokes one of honesty and trust.

In both these cases the medium is the message.