What fresh hell is this?

“…the same rowdy crowd that was here last night is back again…” — “Sharon” by David Bromberg

The Same Rowdy Crowd is a bunch of folks who combine idiot idealism, a hairball or two of cynicism and an irresistible urge to shoot our mouths off about communication - good, bad and stupid.

We’ve been doing it for years in boardrooms, classrooms, newsrooms, bars and the op-ed pages; amazingly, each of us has made a living in communications for decades. Some of us have worked for newspapers, some for government, some for universities, some for companies large and small. Now we all work for ourselves, and we’re ruined for real jobs.

We either teach communications or counsel organizations on how to communicate effectively in calm seas and in storms. We’re all writers, and we’d like to think we can make some smart observations about how people and organizations say things. We take the subject very seriously, ourselves not so much at all. We don’t all agree on everything; part of the fun of doing this, in fact, comes from the back-and-forth.

We want to make a difference, spark clear communication, have some fun and raise some hell.

Thanks for giving us a read. See what you think, yap back at us if you’re so inclined. We’re eager to mix it up.

Jon Austin
Bruce Benidt
Tony Carideo
Gary Hornseth
Mike Keliher
Joe Loveland
Ellen Mrja
Michael Tankenoff