“From the mighty pen, true wisdom flows.
If it says so, then it is so. If it is so, so it is.
A thought’s not fit to think ’til it’s printed in ink. Then it says so, so it is.”-Rabbit, Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
It seems Rabbit has been hoodwinked into believing, in today’s instant-information society, that if it is written, it must be true.
Dear, dear Rabbit, you are not alone. I, too, believed something said was true last week, when in fact, it was a bit muddled.
It was a blustery Monday morning when I was told PageNet would be laying off 30 percent of its work force because it and other paging companies “have suffered from price wars and competition from wireless phones,” according to Reuters. “If it says so, so it is.”
RCR Paging Reporter Antony Bruno was working on the story, and had to ask PageNet executives, again, if the introduction of PCS service has contributed to PageNet’s announced employee reduction.
Paging operators have been adamant for the last three years that PCS service would not mean the death of the paging industry. Radio and TV coexist peacefully, has been the argument. Cellular’s arrival didn’t hurt paging growth.
Guess what? Paging operators, including PageNet, are still adamant that the introduction of PCS service will not irreparably harm their business.
As the nation’s largest paging carrier, PageNet touts 10 million subscribers-more than the 6 million to 8 million customers of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and more than the 1 million PCS users Sprint PCS boasts (if you want to keep comparing apples and oranges).
Yet, several consumer newspapers reported PageNet was hurt by wireless services as if it were fact, not opinion. Where is the (mis)information coming from? PageNet blames some in the financial media.
Sometimes, we are too busy focusing on the misinformation to pay attention to the real issues. The question for PageNet is how do you cut 30 percent of your staff and increase customer service at the same time?
