Rachel Salabes CCTP 745 May 4, 2010 Discovery Communications: A closer look at the internal and external communications

of an international organization

Introduction Discovery Communications is a multifaceted, worldwide corporation, with multiple locations and over 4,000 employees. Overall, it has international reach as the world's number one nonfiction media company. With a company of this size, it is important to help employees feel connected to one another, as well as to the organization itself. With technology constantly evolving, employees have many choices as to what communication mediums to use to communicate with one another, as well as which Discovery resources to use on a daily basis. Discovery uses multiple platforms in order to connect to employees, including a Discovery portal, newsletters, and community events. In addition, Discovery Communications has created a strong online presence. Its website is informative and interactive, and the organization is present on a variety of influential social networks, including Twitter and Facebook. Discovery often encourages employees to participate in its social networking promotion efforts; therefore, employees' perspectives on engaging in social media for work purposes will be examined. Through the analysis of employee interviews, it is hoped to gain a better understanding of the following topics: How employees choose to interact internally, if the company is effectively engaging with employees, as well as allowing employees to connect to each other, and finally if the organization is effectively motivating employees to become involved in social media efforts.

Literature background In order to answer these questions, several theories will be incorporated into the discussion of the findings. Media richness theory, developed by Daft and Lengel, is the extent to which media are able to reduce uncertainty and equivocality (Daft and Lengel 557). This is based on a particular medium's capacity to provide immediate feedback, communicate multiple cues, present individually tailored messages, as well as use natural language and convey personal subtleties (Daft and Lengel 560). A medium's information richness is defined as its ability to convey information in order to change understanding within a set time interval (Daft and Lengel 560). According to Daft and Lengel, communication mediums that can overcome different frames of reference or clarify equivocal issues in a timely manner are considered to be rich (560). The dual capacity model will also be incorporated in order to understand how particular communication technologies are chosen by employees. This model was developed by Sitkin, Sutcliffe, and Barrios-Choplin, and considers both the capacity of media to convey data and the capacity of media to communicate and manifest meaning (563). In addition to taking both of these topics into account, this theory also considers that media use is influenced by characteristics of the task, message, and individual, as well as organizational and normative factors (Sitkin et al. 563). This model considers task characteristics, such as analyzability, uncertainty and urgency. Analyzability indicates that ambiguous tasks require richer media, while urgency implies that data is needed quickly and therefore, the most readily accessible medium will be chosen (Sitkin et al. 578). The dual-capacity model also considers the message, including

characteristics such as complexity, clarity, volume and relevance (Sitkin et al. 578). Complexity has often been thought to be an important factor when determining media use (Sitkin et al. 578). It is evident this also plays a role in the choices of Discovery employees. In addition, this model is essential in that it considers the recipient. Making an effective media choice depends on various factors that affect recipient response, such as interaction history with the communicator, media familiarity, and knowledge of the communication context (Sitkin et al. 581). The constitutive flows of communication, developed by McPhee and Zaug are evident within Discovery Communications. Membership negotiation is the essential process of communication that first establishes and then maintains a relationship with each member (McPhee and Zaug 34). As McPhee and Zaug explain, it is vital for an organization to have members and then develop a steady communication with these members because maintaining this strong relationship allows the organization to exist and grow (34). Organizational selfstructuring is also present within Discovery Communications. This flow focuses on the internal relations, norms, and social entities that shape the organization's community and work processes (McPhee and Zaug 36). Within the flow of activity coordination, members and subgroups of the organization work toward the organizations' manifest purpose (McPhee and Zaug 39). Employees form attitudes about the organization, as well as realize they are working within a common social unit (McPhee and Zaug 39). The flow of institutional positioning involves the communication within the organization to other outside organizations that exist at the "macro level", such as collaborators, customers, competitors and other institutions within the community (McPhee and Zaug 39). It is important that organizations develop relationships with other entities because

they can draw on each other for resources that are needed to accomplish goals, as well as maintain its existence (McPhee and Zaug 41). Both social construction of communication technology and the social influence model are present within the organization. Social construction proposes that interactions within a social environment influences technology use, as well as attitudes toward technologies (Fulk 921). Fulk explains that social influences on technology-related attitudes and behaviors are stronger with individuals who are highly attracted to their work groups, indicating that employees had the desire to conform (941). Within this theory, if a new technology is introduced into the workplace, it is more likely to be implemented if attraction to the group is high and a powerful and attractive leader uses the technology (Fulk 925). The social construction theory relates to the social influence model of technology. This model suggests that both individuals' media perceptions and use are partially socially constructed (Schmitz and Fulk 490). According to Schmitz and Fulk, social influence is a process that involves complex cognitive processing of multiple direct and indirect information cues embedded in the individual's social world (493). This theory also explains that critical interaction with a key individual may entail substantial social influence within an organization (Schmitz and Fulk 493). Attitudes toward the usefulness of communication mediums can be influenced by coworkers, such as the coworker's ego network, and the overall social context (Schmitz and Fulk 493). In fact, it was determined that coworker use is the most consistent and strongest predictor in technology use (Schmitz and Fulk 513).

Methods In order to answer the proposed questions about Discovery Communications, I interviewed four employees over email. These employees included Jane, a cataloging specialist, Brice, a music coordinator, Philip, an associate producer for the program Continuing Medical Education, and Jeanna, a footage operations manager. For several interviews, I followed up with additional questions in order to get a more in-depth response on certain topics. Each interview was then coded to find themes present throughout the answers. Several units of analysis were employed in order to address the different aspects of the organization that were examined for this paper. When analyzing Discovery's internal communications, the unit of analysis used was reasons for choice of communication medium. When examining internal communication resources, the unit was use and feelings on portal and newsletters, and finally when addressing Discovery's online efforts, the unit of analysis was reasons for participation or non-participation in social media promotion. Many themes were present throughout the interviews for choice in communication medium, including media richness, presence, consideration of message and consideration of receiver. Several themes were also present in the employees' and organization's use of the portal and newsletters, including employees connecting to each other and to the organization, as well as the organization connecting to employees and the community. The reasons for participating or not participating in social media promotion varied, including themes such as they do not want to feel forced, they would rather participate in their own way, and that social media is reserved for spare time.

Internal Communications Choice of Communication Medium Because of Discovery's size and international reach, internal communication technologies within the organization are essential. The organization has thousands of employees, as well as several locations and multiple departments. Therefore, it is important to understand how employees choose to communicate with one another and which technologies employees find to be the most effective Email was used the most frequently out of all the communication mediums; however, the reasons for this choice varied among each employee. For example, when considering what form of communication to choose, Brice's bases his choice on the thought of interruption. Out of all the options, including instant messaging, telephone, and face-to-face, he finds email to be the least intrusive. According to Brice: I use email first because it will not interrupt a person while they are working. If I want to meet face to face, I do not want to go directly to a person's desk and bother them if they are busy. Instant messages also interrupt me when I am working. They pop up out of nowhere while I am in the middle of a research project. Emails can be answered by recipients when they have finished what ever work they may be handling at that time. Therefore, Brice chooses email because it is not as rich or personal as other mediums, such as face-to-face. Through email, he has the option of not being overly present to the recipient. The other three employees interviewed, Philip, Jane and Jeanna, also use email the most frequently. Each of them mentioned that email is chosen when they are not familiar with who they are communicating with. In Philip's interview, he said, If I feel comfortable enough with someone then I will communicate with them personally, but if not, I usually 'hide' through email and interact with them that way. Once again, email is ultimately chosen because of its place on the richness scale. It is not 6

considered as rich as telephone and face to face, because of it's limited ability to convey personal cues and subtleties; however, it acceptably serves its purpose of conveying a message and its ability to reduce ambiguity on certain issues (Schmitz and Fulk 488). Due to it's leaner qualities, email can serve as a mask from people that employees are not comfortable with. According to Schmitz and Fulk (1991), the richest medium is face-to-face. This is followed by telephone, electronic mail, personal written text, formal written text, and formal numeric data (488). However, it appears that in this day in age, some people now choose email over telephone for complex issues, while others still find phone and face-to-face to be the best forms to explain in-depth problems, as well as reduce equivocality. For example, Jane finds email to be the best way to explain complex issues, saying: I definitely use email the most, because it's a catch all type of communication. For example, I can email when there are attachments to forward, or I want a hardcopy to refer to in the future...If there are web links involved or I'm sending over a lot of information, whether for social or for a work context, I will send an email. While coding the interviews, it was evident that various aspects of the dual capacity model were present in the media choices of each employee, including consideration of the receiver, message content, and purpose. Once again referring to Jane's interview: ...my communication choices will tend to reflect the purpose of the message being conveyed and the content of the actual message. If its a quick question with a quick answer and I am familiar with the person I am contacting, I will tend to shoot them an instant message. In addition to familiarity with the receiver, employees also consider their past interactive history with who they are trying to reach. For example, Philip Riley explained that his choice is often dependant upon which means he finds to be the most effective when contacting a colleague, providing this example, I have coworkers that are best connected through IM and so

I reach for my IM when contacting them. Due to past communication history with his coworkers, Philip is aware who is best reached through instant messaging and therefore, when it is most beneficial to use this medium. From the interviews conducted, it is clear that IM is a popular form of communication throughout the organization since most employees mentioned that they use it on a daily basis; therefore, coworker use may persuade an employee to use IM in certain situations, even though they would prefer another medium. Also referring to the dual capacity model, message and task characteristics were considered by employees when choosing the most effective form of communication, such as importance and urgency. For example, Jeanna pointed out, I tend to use IM if I am working with the colleague cross-departmentally and am trying to get a brief answer, like a status update. She also tends to use IM for messages that are not work related, such as lunch plans. Face-to-face, the richest medium, was the rarest for employees and reserved for complex and involved messages for every employee except for one. For example, Jeanna only chooses face-to-face in serious situations, saying, I will have a face-to-face meeting with someone in a different department when initiatives need be implemented or workflows need to be reassessed. The only employee that prefers face-to-face is Philip explaining, I prefer the opportunity to get up and away from my desk as well as the social interaction that comes from talking to someone in person. Even in this situation, he ultimately bases his choice on the receiver since he explained that face-to-face interaction is reserved for coworkers he is familar with. Brice also considers the message importance and complexity when choosing communication medium; he will even choose two forms of communication technology if the message is particularly involved. He said, If I have an in depth project I will make a phone call,

and possibly follow up with an email to share any additional info.

Internal Communications Discovery Portal & Newsletters The constitutive flows are present throughout Discovery Communications. The organization uses multiple platforms in order to communicate with employees, help employees initiate and establish relationships with each other, as well as form a connection with the company itself (McPhee and Zang 34). A prime example of this form of membership negotiation is the Discovery portal an internal space that employees use on a daily basis. In addition to housing tools and software that employees need to perform their job, the portal also has several other sections such as community news, the classifieds, rewards, and educational opportunities. Within the classifieds section, employees are able to post questions on any number of topics, ranging from questions about restaurants in the area, to sports tickets, to places to live. This area of the portal allows employees to reach out to each other and to potentially form relationships. An example of this was present in Jane's interview when she replied, I usually peruse the classifieds at least once a week. I have replied to a couple ads before- in fact, I tutored another employees daughter twice a week for about four months by responding to an ad on there. A major component of this research was to determine whether the portal accomplishes establishing a pathway of communication between employees themselves, and between employees and the organization. For example, the majority of employees, including the four I interviewed, visit the portal on a daily basis in order to access tools and software they need to perform their job duties. Discounting these essential sections, the extent to which each employee

used the portal varied. For example, Brice does not consider the portal a useful platform to connect with other employees; however, he was unaware or unsure of many of the portal's interactive sections. When asked if the portal was an effective resource for interacting with other coworkers, he replied: I think it is a good place to read about other departments and see what it going on. I can read updates on corporate projects and strategies, but I do not find it to be a place where I can make connections with co workers. There are resources to connect with other employees, but I do not keep up with them. The links are not obvious enough and I have to search for the link. I am often too busy to check it out, but I think there is a "craigs list" type network on the portal. Again, I am not sure exactly how to get to it..I would have to look around for the link. The other employees interviewed were aware of the interactive sections; however, they admitted that overall they do not use the portal to its full advantage. For example, even though Jane generally browses the classifieds once a week, she says she has not connected to other employees as much as she could, explaining, I've seen postings for people to join sports leagues, or for recommendations for good places to eat in the area and the like, but I have never personally taken advantage of those opportunities. Similarly, Jeanna used the classifieds section a great deal when she first started at Discovery; however, she currently uses it much less. Philip Riley provided several interesting insights into the effectiveness of the Discovery portal. He is aware of that the portal is a terrific resource, using it mostly to check his benefits and rewards, as well as to occasionally browse courses and other educational opportunities. Initially, when describing his portal use, he said I usually glance at it daily but do little more than that. Philip also pointed out that he has not really made any connections with employees through the space. When asked if the portal should be improved to provide a better space for employees to interact, Philip provided this response: 10

After thinking about this more thoroughly, I have connected with employees on occasion. Generally it is because of a news flash about an event or person and that has led to email correspondence. In this respect I think the Portal accomplishes what it sets out to do - to inform the Discovery community about recent events and personal accomplishments as well as connecting each employee to the many facets of the corporation itself. Additionally, I was looking at "connecting" to employees as a two-way communication but that isn't always the case. After some thought - connection can take place even one-sided. The Portal has connected me to the rest of the company even if they haven't been connected to me in turn. Even further, the portal also provides opportunities for employees to learn about each other. For example, employee accomplishments will often be highlighted, usually accompanied by an interview with that employee allowing others to learn more about them. As Philip pointed out, this occasionally leads to email correspondence between employees. The portal section On The Move lets employees know when someone has been promoted, switched to a different department, or has moved to a new Discovery location. Based off of these responses, it appears that the organization is effectively providing spaces and opportunities for employees to connect to one another, as well as to the organization itself, even if employees do not take full advantage of these opportunities. The Discovery portal is a prime example of fulfilling membership negotiation; however self-structuring is also present. All of these separate sections essentially work together to help employees learn about each other, but also to feel a connection to the organization by knowing that they always have an internal resource where they can learn what is happening within the company. The simple sharing of information, such as one employee who has changed departments, lets employees know that the organization cares about making this information available. Therefore, through these communication platforms and resources, Discovery employees become aware of the values of the company and what the organization considers to be important. Ultimately, this is essential for

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an organization of this size - it keep employees feeling connected and informed, as well as helps them to learn about the internal relations and norms that shape the overall company (McPhee and Zang 36). The constitutive flows are also present in Discovery's frequent use of newsletters. Newsletters range from daily news, to event invitations, community events, and show promotions. Whether they are read or not, the sending of newsletters throughout the day allows Discovery to establish a steady flow of communication with all of its employees on a number of topics. It serves as a reminder that Discovery is always present and trying to establish a connection with its employees. Through the interviews, it was discovered that feelings on the newsletters varied. Jeanna finds the newsletters to be informative and engaging, saying she reads every one. Jane's favorite form of newsletter is the event invitation, saying I don't always read the newsblasts, but I will definitely read through any of the invitations. I've been to several of the events over the past year or so its a fun opportunity to get out of the office for a workish reason and to just hang out with co-workers. Therefore, newsletters that discuss employee events provide opportunities for employees to connect to each other, perhaps establishing an initial relationship with employees from other departments that can be maintained after that event. Newsletters are often sent out that discuss community events and encourage employees to participate. This is an example of Discovery's institutional positioning, making themselves present in the community on a macro-level. For example, in my interview with Jane, she mentioned a newsletter that encouraged employees to help in the Haiti relief efforts after the earthquake. When inquiring about Discovery's involvement in the community, Jane replied:

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They definitely like to get out there and get involved. They get involved by offering some sort of assistance, basically, I think they get involved by offering monetary assistance to give you the extra nudge to do something you already wanted to do. For example, with Haiti, they matched employee donations. For Christmas they gave each employee $25 to donate to a charity of their choosing. For my event, they "sponsored" me by covering my participation fee and making a donation. Through this interview, it was evident that Discovery places a great deal of emphasis on their role within society, both on a local and national level. Jane mentioned that Discovery has a yearly event called Discover Your Impact Day, where every employee worldwide is asked to participate in planned volunteer events regardless of their role in the organization. According to Jane: It's heavily advertised - there are those sort of opaque cling on stickers on every bathroom mirror and on doors and windows in the building. They feature LAND, WATER, or PEOPLE, the three "genres" of volunteer work we will be doing. There are also these little signs propped up on tables in the common areas. It's on the homepage for Discovery, and finally, we've gotten a ton of emails. It's a really important initiative and you can tell every single manager has been heavily encouraged to encourage the people he/she supervises, because each level of management has sent out emails about it. Clearly, Discovery takes their positioning in the community very seriously, and resorts to a variety of measures in order to get employees from around the world involved. While Discover Your Impact Day is on an international scale, Discovery also tries to maintain a presence in the local community by encouraging and sponsoring employees to participate in local fundraising and awareness activities. As Jane mentioned, Discovery sponsored her event which involved participating in a local dodgeball tournament in order to raise money for diabetes research. While newsletters such as assisting with Haiti relief efforts are considered important, not everyone takes the time to read each and every one. For example, both Brice and Philip typically read the title of the newsletter, then delete them immediately. Philip implied this was a result of 13

the company being overly present, saying I do think they send out too many. Once a week would be enough in my opinion, however since it is a constantly moving company, news doesn't come nicely packaged for Monday mornings...In my opinion, fewer update emails would spark more of an interest to me. Proving that sometimes less is more, Philip brought up the example of his department newsletter: Our footage source department sends out a newsletter about once a quarter. Surprising myself, I read that one - for two reasons. It comes rarely, so I feel that it isn't a large expense of my time to look through it. Also, the newsletter is visually appealing and nicely formatted. It is more like looking at a well constructed webpage than a newspaper. If there is one thing that I have learned in television, it is that things need to pop in order to catch someone's attention. I have found that this is a good point in almost all areas including a newsletter. Even with little interest or time, information that pops (both visually and linguistically -if that's a word) has a much better chance of getting a message across than information that is little more than typeface. Through the newsletters, once again employees become aware of the company's values. Philip further explained, I do have a lot of respect for the PR department because they include all of the newsletter topics in the subject line. They realize that people are very busy and that people receive enough work related emails that may be more of a priority to the recipient than the Discovery updates. While various employees have differing opinions on the newsletters, it is evident that Discovery is putting a great amount of effort into communicating and forming a relationship with its employees. Overall activity coordination is a flow that occurs as the result of these combined efforts. Jane has said that Discovery has successfully found a way to promote a positive employee culture. Therefore, the constant information flow about fellow coworkers and the organization itself helps employees to feel that they are working within one large social unit

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(McPhee and Zang 39).

Program Promotion through Social Media While Discovery has a strong, complex internal communications system, they have an extensive online presence, as well. The organization has a department dedicated to new media and is adamant about using social networks to connect to its audiences, including various Twitter feeds and Facebook pages dedicated to the overall organization and its individual channels. It has already been established that Discovery is skilled at motivating and encouraging employees to participate in community events. In addition to this, the organization has attempted to involve their employees in social networking efforts. For example, through newsletters, Discovery will request that employees go on social media networks to promote new series and programming, even specifying what videos to link and what hashtags to use on Twitter. An example of this occurred recently, when Discovery sent out a newsletter asking employees to help promote the new Discovery series Life through their own social media accounts. However, based on the interviews conducted, it is extremely rare that employees participate in social media promotion. Through the interviewing process, it became evident that employees have varying attitudes regarding social media networks. Two of the four Discovery employees do not want to be told to promote Discovery programs, indicating that they would prefer to promote shows in their own way. When Brice was asked if Discovery should make more of an effort to motivate employees to participate in social networking, he said: No, I think it is the responsibility of our marketing team to handle these efforts. My duties are to focus on Music Coordination. As much as I love our programs, and do tell my friends about them, I would not like to feel obligated to do so. I have promoted certain shows that I am proud of, or think my friends would enjoy. I do this naturally. I 15

think it should be an organic process where the employees promote the programming because they want to. If an email blast came out that said to update my facebook about a new show, and the topic of the show is something I don't enjoy I won't want to post it.

Jane expressed a similar point of view; indicating that she does not promote shows when a newsletter asks her to. Instead, she prefers to promote programs on her own terms. For example, last year Dave Salmoni brought a lion to Discovery Headquarters in order to spread the word about his new show. Jane took pictures of this event and posted them on her Facebook page, mentioning the name of the show in the photo's caption. She also enjoys promoting shows through ways that do not involve social media, such as by bringing friends to events and screenings. Jeanna and Philip are on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to social media. Jeanna did not have strong feelings about social media overall, she said that she simply does not promote Discovery programming. Philip had specific reasoning for his non-participation. When asked why he does not join in social media efforts, he explained: The reason is because I don't want to. I don't like to jump on fad bandwagons which is why my experience with Twitter is close to nil. If something prompts me to do anything on Twitter I'm going to ignore it. Additionally, I see Facebook as a social network that I am part of in my spare time. I prefer not to clog it with notices and groups that I don't whole-heartedly support. I would prefer it to be a place that I go to connect with my friends and see what they are up to in their lives. Show or business pages on Facebook are the electronic equivalent of trinkets, in my book. With a company that has such strong online presence, as well as employees that overall feel connected to the organization, it is interesting that they do not feel motivated to promote programming. This could potentially be a result of the varying attitudes toward social media present within the organization. It is clear that social networking is a desire of the company since it is often requested through employee newsletters; therefore, the organization should examine 16

what options they have to motivate employees to participate in Discovery's social media efforts. An example that Discovery can look to is the Sprint Ninjas. This is a training program recently created by Sprint in order to get employees interested in using social media to connect to current and potential customers. The training program motivates employees to get involved, as well as teaching them how to optimally use social media networks. Going through such a training program creates a sense of camaraderie among employees. Proof that the program is succeeding and motivating other employees is in the numbers - it is rapidly growing and expanding, even without being paid to participate. Therefore, Discovery should consider employing something similar if they want employees to become involved with using their own social media networks to promote programming. Without strong opinion leaders or fellow cheerleaders, employees do not get the sense that other employees are participating and therefore, are not inclined to participate themselves. This program is evidence of the strength of social influence. Because of the creation of the Sprint Ninjas program, employees now had fellow co-workers adapting to and using social media networks. Employees at Sprint may also be motivated to participate because they have strong opinion leaders, such as Leigh Horner, the company's Communications Director promoting and believing in the program. The presence of social influence is evident, as Horner explained, the size of the program has been consistently growing since its inception. Therefore, it would appear that employees are highly attracted to the organization, and ultimately feel the need to conform since both co-workers and opinion leaders are encouraging the program (Fulk 941). If social media efforts by employees is essential to Discovery, the organization should consider encouraging supervisors to adapt social media and to use it for promoting purposes.

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Through setting a positive behavioral example, employee attitudes on social network promotion may change (Schmitz and Fulk 514). By starting with opinion leaders, an increasing amount of employees may become involved, encouraging other coworkers to participate. Due to this encouragement by influential leaders, and eventually fellow coworkers, the organization could potentially see improvement in this area.

Conclusion As evidenced by the conducted interviews, employees have found effective ways to communicate across departments, as well as with employees in other locations. Several themes were present in these choices, including consideration of the medium's richness, as well as consideration of the message, task, and receiver. The four flows are present within the Discovery portal, as well as the newsletters the organization sends out on a daily basis. Through the portal, the company has created an internal space for employees to interact with one another, as well as with the company itself. With the newsletters, Discovery has found a way to keep employees informed about organizational news, as well as encourage involvement within the community, on a local and national scale. Discovery Communications is extremely present in the social media world, and is currently working on encouraging employees to become involved; however, it appears they are currently struggling to do so. By taking the social influence model into consideration, Discovery could potentially motivate employees to become involved in promotion through social networking. Overall, Discovery has an extremely complex internal and external communications structure. The organization exemplifies a large company that has successfully found multiple ways to connect, including establishing a relationship with its employees,

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connecting employees to one another, forming a presence within the community, as well as continually improving its interaction with the viewing audience.

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Works Cited Daft, R. and R. Lengel (1986).Organizational information requirements, media richness, and structural design. Management Science 32(5): 554-571. Fulk, J. (1993).Social construction of communication technology. Academy of Management Journal 36: 921-950. McPhee, Robert and Zaug, Pamela (2009). The communicative constitution of organizations: A framework for explanation. In Putnam, L. and Nicotera, A. Building Theories of Organization: The Consitutive Role of Communication. (pp. 21-48).

Schmitz, J. & Fulk, J. (1991).Organizational colleagues, media richness, and electronic mail: A test of the social influence model. Communication Research, 18, pp. 487-523. Sitkin, S., K. Sutcliffe, et al. (1992).A dual-capacity model of communication media choice in organizations.Human Communication Research 18(4): 563-598.

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Appendix A

Internal Communications/ Choice of Communication Medium

Media richness

If I have an in depth project I will make a phone call, and possibly follow up with an email to share any additional info. - Brice Dean As mentioned earlier, if I feel comfortable enough with someone then I will communicate with them personally, but if not, I usually "hide" through email and interact with them that way - Philip Riley I use email if I don't know the person. - Jeanna Finamore If there are web links involved or I'm sending over a lot of information, whether for social or for a work context, I will send an email. - Jane Jetabut I've been to several of the events over the past year or so [due to the newsletters] its a fun opportunity to get out of the office for a workish reason and to just hang out with coworkers. - Jane Jetabut ...I think the Portal accomplishes what it sets out to do - to inform the Discovery community about recent events and personal accomplishments as well as connecting each employee to the many facets of the corporation itself. - Philip Riley Our footage source department sends out a newsletter about once a quarter. Surprising myself, I read that one - for two reasons. It comes rarely, so I feel that it isn't a large expense of my time to look through it. Also, the newsletter is visually appealing and nicely formatted. Philip Riley ...probably the best example though, is DISCOVER YOUR IMPACT day. every single employee worldwide is asked to participate in planned

Presence

Consideration of receiver Consideration of message

Internal Communications/ Portal & Newsletters Use and Effectiveness

Employees connecting to eachother

Employees connecting to organization

Organization connecting to employees

Organization connecting to community

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volunteer events on friday june 11th, regardless of your role in the organization. - Jane Jetabut

Reasons for Participation or Do not want to be forced Non-participation in Social Media Promotion

As much as I love our programs, and do tell my friends about them, I would not like to feel obligated to do so. I have promoted certain shows that I am proud of, or think my friends would enjoy.- Brice Dean Additionally, I see Facebook as a social network that I am part of in my spare time. I prefer not to clog it with notices and groups that I don't whole-heartedly support. I would prefer it to be a place that I go to connect with my friends and see what they are up to in their lives. Philip Riley I definitely don'tbut I sometimes promote in other ways. For example, when Dave Salmoni brought a lion to work, I posted pictures and mentioned his new show in the caption. Also, I've brought friends to a variety of events when I'm allowed to bring a plus one for movie screenings and the like. - Jane Jetabut

For spare time

Own methods

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