Frame Your Narrative
/Frame your media narrative before others do it for you. When reporting controversial news, journalists frequently drive the narrative by casting predictable characters who include the victim, villain, hero, witness, expert and village idiot. By casting characters, reporters are able to to do their research on the run while they write history in a hurry. For example, in the Wells Fargo debacle involving the creation of fictitious accounts, the characters are as follows:
Victim – Wells Fargo clients
Villain – Wells Fargo
Hero – Senator Elizabeth Warren
Witness – Whistleblowers
Experts – Governance, compliance
Village Idiot – CEO John Stumpf
For Wells Fargo to have gotten ahead of the scandal, it should have been quicker in acknowledging the wrongdoing. By the time the CEO apologized, the narrative was firmly set.