Kill The Messenger? It Might Just Be YOU!

I never guessed my first real job out of college would put me near the front lines of an international conspiracy, journalistic controversy, and new media revolution. An experience that would teach me some lifelong lessons I use in my work today. But there's a lot of backstory to explain first.

In 1996, I was a freshly minted grad, lucky enough to work as part of an amazing team at Mercury Center, the innovative online arm of the San Jose Mercury News.

Well before the proliferation of social media, Mercury Center had license to push the boundaries of journalism as the beacon newspaper of Silicon Valley. The online medium was a perfect opportunity to tell very complex stories, especially one of the paper's best investigative reporters wanted to tell. 

Gary Webb was a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter who wrote a series known as "Dark Alliance: The Story Behind the Crack Explosion." The story was complex and combustive. Grossly simplified, it asserted a connection between CIA-backed Contras and Nicaraguans smuggling crack cocaine into South Central Los Angeles, alleging the profits funneled back to the Contras. A movie about Gary Webb, called "Kill the Messenger," opens Friday, and has resurrected the experience, sparking reflection for me and my former colleagues.

Working with Gary, we immersed the reader into the story, sharing audio-surveillance clips of alleged drug deals, declassified government documents with redactions throughout, interactive maps showing the flow of weapons and drugs across continents, and perhaps most importantly, an interactive forum for readers to share their reactions with Gary. Crude interactions when compared to today's content, but all innovations in a time well before Google, YouTube or Facebook.

Gary loved the interactive elements, and saw the power it brought to his words, in a way that let him connect with readers. His resolute confidence, his dogged pursuit of the truth, and his thirst for answers typified everything that had made me want to be a journalist. I loved working with the guy, just hearing his stories about his work, and in a small way, helping him with his mission. 

The story was controversial, and the website and forum helped ignite the fire that took it around the world, far beyond the reaches of the modestly sized newspaper. Congressional leaders called for hearings. Their constituents demanded justice and action. The story began to pick up around the world, and the forum's activity grew.

But almost as swift as the story took off, so did the condemnation, at first from major news outlets like the NY Times, LA Times, and Washington Post. And soon after, even from within, from colleagues and coworkers, who began to question his reporting and the paper's handling of the story. 

It was strange having people ask me whether I believed Gary. It was difficult participating in discussion panels where my journalistic heroes from storied newspapers tore apart Gary's work and our online presentation of it. Maybe I was too green to know better, but I still believed in him. 

It wasn't long before the Mercury News wrote a well-considered retraction and self-investigation. Gary's reputation was destroyed, and he was shuttered to a remote office. He eventually left, and after what must've been an amazingly difficult period of several years, tragically, he took his own life.

Before he did, there was some vindication. Some of his critics stepped back from their accusations, admitting they went too far, and there was more truth to the story than they had accepted. Even the CIA eventually admitted some relationship, if not as explicitly detailed in Gary's account, but enough to show he wasn't way off the mark.

While my role was very small, my experience working with Gary still resonates with me today in three lessons:

You have to stand for something.

Whether at work or in life, what matters to you? What are your convictions and beliefs? What drives you ahead? It's easy to slip through every day's routine and losing sight of why you keep showing up. What do you want to be known for leading? What's the one thing people will say about you in discussions at work? (e.g., "She's the person who guarantees we will be more customer-focused." Or "He's the person who will ensure this company does the right thing.")

It doesn't have to be a superhero trait like truth or justice! It can be an initiative you're working on that you're passionate about -- something you will refuse to see fail. It can be a conviction about investing in your family first, perhaps. But if you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing.

Having courage can be lonely.

Sometimes doing what you believe in means others will criticize you, isolate you, and take action against you. You can find yourself alone as a result. This is a time where bravery is even more difficult. With your courage of convictions, you have to press forward.

At work, it's always easy to be tempted with the short-cut, or to compromise on the product in the interest of time, or bend on things you thought were resolute. While you must be open-minded, if you stand for something, sometimes, you might have to march forward alone.

The truth isn't always clear.

In a world of polarizing news stories and rhetoric, it's easy to be seduced by the headlines. But often, truth is nuanced. I dont know if Gary ever doubted any of the things he wrote. And maybe we won't ever know all the truth behind what happened.

No surprise that work and life aren't that different. But can you have conviction, and still be willing to consider the contrarians? Without that consideration, you push the same one-sided rhetoric. The best leaders I've seen have a clear vision and plan to pursue it, but are never unwilling to hear other opinions to potentially adjust that path.

It's easy to reflect back upon my experience to pick up these soundbite lessons. But I admit it's sometimes difficult to be consistent. If I were in Gary's shoes back then, I don't know I could've maintained the objectivity, especially amid the relentless criticism. But I hope to embody his integrity and passion through my work in the future.

PS by LadyE: Truth is SINGULAR; It's variations are not.

This story was culled from: LinkedInShare, written by Mark Hull, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn.

The story was tilted: Kill the Messenger: Lessons Learned from a Global Controversy

Oct 8 2014 on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Google PluseShare on Twitter.