Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Amazon demonstrates how to change the narrative.


Amazon has been getting some really bad press lately. Workers are rallying over high injury rates - more than double the national average according to The Center For Investigative Reporting.  The New York Times wrote a multiple page cover story about Amazon's $15.40 wages and the company's effect on Baltimore.  And then there's the fact that Amazon paid $0 in federal taxes this year, for the second year in a row.  LOL. (Evans, 2019)

So what is Amazon going to do?  They could improve working conditions for their employees.  But why bother when they can simply change the narrative?

Research shows us that once we believe something to be true, we block out messages that challenge those beliefs; and listen more closely to those that support them.  So just pointing out that Amazon donated $250,000 to food banks in 2019, was enough to convince my students that they didn't need to give up the convenience of Amazon even if Amazon's practices conflict with their values. 

You can read their comments here...


Maybe Amazon did.  Because on December 3, two days after the story ran in the New York Times, Amazon announced their new "Toys for Tots" holiday partnership featuring Robert Downey Jr.  (Gazdik, 2019)

That should certainly distract everyone. 

At the very least it will influence Google's algorithm so that when people search for Amazon, the negative stories aren't the first to pop up. 

And that's the beauty of changing the narrative.  It's just so darn easy these days.


SiLive (2019, Monday November 25)  Amazon Donates Dinners While Employees Protest Safety Issues.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved November 27, 2019, from

Kovach, S. & Pagano, A. (2019, February 14) Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year - here's how the $793 billion company gets away with it.  thebusinessinsider.com.  retrieved December 11, 2019, from  https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-not-paying-taxes-trump-bezos-2018-4

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