Should we replace internal comms with a free press?

The author proposes scrapping the internal communication department and replacing it with—yes—a free and independent press What if we killed the internal communication department as we currently know it? What if we did away with the team who is hired to sit on staff and proffer the innocuous, reviewed-to-death, often news-less, bland and legally blessed corporate line? What if, instead, someone outside the organization reported what was going on inside the organization for the people inside the organization? With (here’s the tricky part) no editorial oversight or interference from the organization? Yes, you read that right. I’m suggesting organizations consider using a free press model for their internal communication. I admit that, at first blush, it sounds impossible. Why would an internal communicator propose a concept that would essentially do away with her job and those of her professional colleagues? There are a few good reasons. Here’s one: Right now, the internal communication function, despite the best efforts of great communicators, doesn’t work that well.