On the surface, an edict demanding the elimination of a large percentage of an organization’s newsletters can seem arbitrary and harsh. But when viewed as a challenge, slimming down the newsletter portfolio can actually create a more open, effective and regenerative communication approach. For many staff and managers, newsletters are synonymous with "internal communication." But there are a number of valid reasons why newsletters deserve to be rethought as standard internal communication vehicles:

 1) Somewhere to Hide

A key problem with many newsletters is that they tend to publish unattributed information as fact, without any individual authorship of the content or quotes from those initiating, managing or dealing with change. Consequently, such newsletters become vehicles where management disseminates information without taking ownership of it or offering a return address for comments and questions.

2) The Royal “We”

Some newsletters that lack authorship and attribution further diminish the effectiveness of communication by nonetheless expressing opinions and phrasing articles in the first person. The common use of the disembodied "our," "we" or “us” in newsletters, rather than creating a sense of team and familiarity, can actually diminish what climate of accountability and dialogue that exists within a group. Staff can become very sceptical of the use of the first person when no “first person” is visible.

3)  Editorial Inconsistency

One of the problems with many organizational newsletters is that they actually compile articles and other pieces from a variety of sources.  While this may seem an efficient way of putting a newsletter together, it often produces something that’s a mismatch of styles, contains inconsistent or inappropriate tone, and can cause important messages to become lost against a backdrop of lower-priority noise.

4) The Never-ending Stories

A particular issue with newsletters in the online era is the removal of the restriction that a physical newsletter placed on word count or number of stories. With a limitless amount of space, newsletter editors may place an unrestricted number of articles, or may be forced to by their sponsors who seek posting and placement of items regardless of their thematic relevance. But not only is there potentially a problem with the number of stories—limitless space allows articles to be written without regard for length as well.  Without the toughest of editorial control, online newsletters in particular become forests of innumerable articles of impenetrable length.

5) The Myth of Communication

George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Indeed, one of the biggest problems involved with the proliferation of newsletters is that it allows clients who use them to “tick the box,” when it comes to communication with their teams and stakeholders, a problem particularly acute if the newsletters fail to incorporate any meaningful ownership of content or a viable dialogue mechanism.

Thinking Beyond Newsletters

An even more pervasive myth about newsletters is the one that says, “There aren’t really any other options.” But such a myth can be exploded by giving some thought to the communication that naturally occurs within teams and between organizations and their stakeholders. Much of the content that finds its ways into newsletters can be woven into the other forums, vehicles, meetings and informal conversations that constitute the real communication in an organization. As for the content that can’t be so integrated, one could ask whether that content is worth asking of the organization’s time to absorb through a one-time intervention.