Because we've had extensive experience in major national newsrooms we view news developments in a somewhat different manner than many communications consultants; we see the news through the same lens as working journalists.

Our blog provides analysis of how recent news developments were handled or mishandled by the principal actors and their advisers. Who handled the press attention well? Who did not? How might they have fared better?

We will bestow the M.E. Communications Partners WMD (Worst Media Debacle) award in timely fashion to those we regard as the worst performers.

by Morton Dean

The word frankly makes me cringe. I hate it. Not only because of its overuse but because of its misuse. Unfortunately, frankly has become a conversational staple among the nation’s political elite. Frankly this … frankly that. And how often do we hear guests answer a TV host’s question with: “Frankly, Chris…” “Frankly, Larry…” “Frankly, Mr. Russert …” Ugh! Using frankly to set up an answer or launch a particular point fails to serve whatever purpose the speaker intended, but does suggest to the interviewer and to an audience that everything else uttered can be discounted as less truthful. Suspect.

It’s as bad as beginning an answer with: “Truthfully…”

M.E. Communications Partners – with apologies to David Letterman - shares a top ten list with its clients: The Top Ten Words & Phrases to Avoid. And frankly tops that list.

Was there ever a time when frankly did seem appropriate to me? Yes. When Rhett Butler put it to Scarlett O’Hara in the film classic Gone with the Wind. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

We counsel our clients to give a damn about language. We teach them to be colorful but precise. Otherwise they risk being misunderstood or misinterpreted which in the world of the blogosphere and the 24 hour news cycle can be very damaging, if not fatal.

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