It’s not surprising that we remember advertising tag lines and cartoon characters more than public policy issues.
Advertising relies on catchy phrases and jingles.
Cartoons rely on color and fast-moving images.
Policy policy and history? Long, archaic language like “redress.”
That’s why a recent poll* found that:
We know more about “The Simpsons” than First Admendment freedoms.
Which are the freedom of:
Speech, Religion, Meetings and Political Rallies, Media and Being
Able to Sue or Appeal a Judgment and Get Money.
The medium is the message.
But, the medium has to grab our attention for us to remember the content.
Despite blogging, we are moving out of the age of print and into the age of pictures.
That’s why newspapers, magazines and the Internet rely on short sentences, short paragraphs and simple language.
We don’t have the time or patience for anything else.
For more information, check out our website at
www.dellrichards.com and use our online form.
* Study for the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. Telephone survey of 1,000 adults conducted 1/20/06 to 1/22/06 by Synovate, a research firm with margin of error 3 percent.
About Me
- Dell Richards
- My mother saw education as an escape. She taught me how to read and write as soon as I could speak. She also bought me a typewriter, a rarity for a child in the 1950’s. I pounded the keys, churned out bad poetry and thought of myself as a writer. After apprenticing as a journalist, I actually learned how to write. Thousands of articles, a book of poetry and a couple of pop histories later, I am the writer my mother envisioned.
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