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Articles by Marion Scher
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Articles by Marion Scher

Marion Scher (www.mediamentors.co.za) is an award-winning journalist, lecturer, media trainer and consultant with 20 years experience in the industry. For more of her writing, go to her Bizcommunity profile or to www.marionschat.blogspot.com.
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[2012 trends] What's up in media for 2012?
[Marion Scher] Ever since I read Faith Popcorn's Clicking in 1998 (and I can't believe you haven't read it - really?) I've been hooked on trends and how important it is not only to pay attention to what's affecting people right now but what could happen around the corner. Because you need to be around that corner, armed with what you need to reach your market. 17 Jan 2012 13:43
Beware of the Internet - it's not as big a world as you think
[Marion Scher] Beware of the pitfalls of relying too much on the Internet as a source of information, and - too often - cutting and pasting information virtually ‘as is'. 30 Mar 2010 09:51
[2010 trends] Media, social media more intertwined than ever
[Marion Scher] When I was asked to compile this column, I thought I had to be particularly careful not to overlap with other forecasters by talking about the interaction between social networking and media - but it's impossible. Social networking has impacted onto every form of communication, especially media. With just a cellphone you can be aware of what's happening anywhere in the world - virtually as it's happening... 20 Jan 2010 12:05
The worst marketing job ever done - SA as a holiday destination
[Marion Scher] In the last year I've visited the US and the UK and the one thing they have in common is their fear of South Africa as a destination. Unless they've already been here, you'll hear the same refrain - “South Africa, oh no, wouldn't consider going there - way too dangerous.” 22 Oct 2009 09:41
Don't waste a second of free airtime
[Marion Scher] As I write this it's elections day. The talking is over and it's time for people to make their mark and maybe change their lives. But how effective was the ‘talking'? How well did the various parties use the ‘free' editorial opportunities that were given to them? 23 Apr 2009 14:19
Freelancers for Africa - unused and unloved?
[Marion Scher] Well, maybe they're sometimes unused and not all are unloved, but it made you read this, didn't it? I spend a lot of time rewriting other people's work or, worse, trying to decipher press releases and editing reams of paper which make up reports. And then I meet up with other freelancers who complain of how quiet it is right now and I wonder, "Why don't more companies take advantage of these really talented people?" 27 Oct 2008 09:05
Keeping speeches short and sweet
[Marion Scher] We all know the feeling. You're at a speech day, wedding or company function when the moment nobody's been waiting for arrives - the obligatory speeches. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the collective sigh. People brace themselves and wait hopefully for pearls of wisdom to wash over them. Sometimes the wait is rewarded and the speech is funny, topical and most importantly short. Other times - not so much. 20 Oct 2008 09:09
The plain language movement
[Marion Scher] New movements seem to be in the air and I'm thinking of starting one myself - but this one has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with language. 8 Oct 2008 09:28
Save a tree - edit your work
[Marion Scher] Every time I give a writing course for business people in particular, I hear the same thing: “I know I'm writing too much but my client/boss insists on at least three pages, giving all the technical data with at least three quotes.” 3 Sep 2008 09:08
Baby boomers ignored by South African marketers
[Marion Scher] They've done it again: the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing that brought you the Wildfire and the groundbreaking Black Diamond research projects has launched its latest study on the ‘Prime Time' generation which shows that South African marketers, unlike their European and American counterparts, are ignoring one of the most lucrative markets around. 15 Aug 2008 08:59
Communication today - are we better off?
[Marion Scher] Communication is what I do for a living and I have to say, in my last 20 years as a journalist, technology has made my job easier and easier - albeit puzzling at times. But I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps we were better off before instant messaging. 26 Jun 2008 09:05
The curse of cut and paste
[Marion Scher] Another title here could be “Lazy journalism at its best”. For the last 14 years of teaching journalism I've said more times than I can remember to my students that I don't want regurgitated Internet text in their work. I understand the enormous value of the Internet in terms of research and indeed use it myself constantly - BUT I'm also aware of the law of copyright and that dirty word - plagiarism. 13 May 2008 09:00
Jargon – the curse of the 21st century
[Marion Scher] Just recently I gave a workshop to the communications department of one of South Africa's top companies. Before the course they sent me a sample of their in-house publications which I ploughed through – ploughed being the operative word here. Apart from the usual dreaded 'hatched, matched and despatched', there was a collection of jargon second to none... 25 Mar 2008 09:06
Media interviews and the resulting stories
[Marion Scher] Your client is really impressed – he's just had an hour-long interview with a reporter from one of the national dailies which you secured for him. You wait with bated breath for the newspaper to hit the streets so you can bask in the glory of the unpaid glowing editorial. After all your client told him EVERYTHING he thought the reporter should know – or did he? 6 Dec 2007 09:15
Key note readers or how to catch a snooze in 15 minutes
[Marion Scher] Picture this – an award ceremony held in a convention centre past Joburg International, midweek 5pm. By now you realise that for most people attending, this meant driving out to the Far East through hideous traffic, risking the dreaded Gillooly's Interchange. Then when you reach the event, you find all the cold drinks gone and just green devil juice aplenty. Had I known just how boring the events were about to become, maybe a couple of these would have helped… 18 Sep 2007 10:04
Press release ‘gems'
[Marion Scher] OK, so I know we journalists are always going on about the really ridiculous, rotten press releases we receive but I felt I would just share a couple with you all so you can judge for yourself. 12 Jul 2007 09:12
Another reputation bungle - Royal Canin
[Marion Scher] And once again a reputation goes down the tubes – all for the want of communicating with the media. This time it’s Royal Canin – the company that manufactures Vets Choice, which recently announced a recall of all dog and cat dry food products manufactured under the Vets Choice and Royal Canin brands in South Africa produced between 8 March 2007 to 11 April 2007. 20 Apr 2007 18:06
It must be true ‘cos I read it…
[Marion Scher] You wake up one morning, look in the mirror and ugh… you are horrified! You see lines where there were none before and cracks forming that will need Polyfilla sooner rather than later. But you’ve read really bad reports about Botox and heard horror stories from friends. BUT WAIT - what’s this in the latest edition of ‘Beauty Mag’ – a completely safe, foolproof way to look younger and it MUST BE TRUE because it’s in the editorial section… 19 Apr 2007 21:40
The importance of disaster management plans
[Marion Scher] On behalf of the South African media I would like to thank Renault SA for its generosity in boosting advertising revenue recently. For those of you who may not have noticed its full page ads, radio spots and television advertisements informing the public of its new improved service offerings, let me fill you in. 13 Feb 2007 17:54
Educate your clients
[Marion Scher] Over the last 10 years of working closely with public relations companies and training their staff on release writing, I hear the same cry, "But the client won't accept a one page release." So how do you overcome this perennial problem? 25 Jan 2007 15:59
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