Sid Cato -- Sid's Soapbox: December 2003

		Periodic editorials concerning everything from the very worst industry—from an annual report standpoint, that is—to what's wrong with the Fourth Estate. Reporters who can't hit an accuracy with a cannon.

A kinder, gentler Sid.
Blame it on the holidays, or on Notre Dame's stomping of Stanford, its gridiron blowout brightening the month's final Saturday night.
Or, even, news of record day-after-Thanksgiving sales, reported by the likes of Wal-Mart (one of my more-unfavorable companies) and Target (surely there must be SOMETHING nice you can say about it...I'm thinking! I'm thinking!).
Or, even, that as luck would have it, yours truly wasn't subjected to an overload of turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving.
Say what you will, with the snow holding off, at least for the Midwest-leaning-toward East. And that our terrorism color has been kept at yellow, scary enough. Be thankful those in power haven't instigated another run on duct tape and batteries for your flashlights.
Whatever the reason, this month's column, kinder, gentler, will strive to focus on the positives.
Let me think:

Be thankful for, sing the praises of, the likes of AFLAC, DTE and Tellabs, whose producers truly care, fight the good fight to turn out an informative, revealing annual report.

Thank goodness our 21st year—every year since the 1982 crop of the world's reports—is over. Done, gone, buried, deep-sixed.

Be glad companies like Salt Lake City-situated Questar, Louisiana's Orthodontic Centers of America and Cleco (even Unisys and MDU Resources)—that they invest time and energy and the requisite dollar amount so their annual reports will be the best they can be. At a minimum, better.

Hail the gods that helped create IBM, whose professional communicators truly care about the quality of their annual report...whose communications executives care enough to offer to sponsor the reception at next fall's International Annual Report Conference, our 16th annual. As well as suggesting an executive roundtable addressing the future of the key corporate communiqué. Confronting, in other words, fate of the print version of the annual report.

Finally, give thanks that a new year is upon us: the 2003 crop of annual reports, a dozen of which await evaluation—from companies on a fiscal-year basis. Pray this may be the turnaround year, the year the glory, the stature of annual reports is restored.
A guy can dream, can't he?

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www.thehungersite.com