When I do media training participants often are quick to point out how poorly the news media handled a particular story about their company or organization.
They will relate stories of how a reporter went with facts from a disgruntled employee or some other questionable source and used that as the basis of an attack story.
Or how a reporter contacted the company for an immediate response to a complicated question. When the answer wasn’t provided immediately the story ran with the horrible “the company refused to comment” statement, which always makes the company look like it is trying to hide something.
Yes, all veteran PR professionals have had to deal with these issues. And sometimes it makes us and our clients look bad.
I once had a reporter write an entire story where he referred to my client as “CheckPoint” instead of “ChoicePoint.” He had been given extensive background materials about the company, but just screwed up. My client was absolutely livid and I had to handle the mess.
Just as in any profession, there are quality reporters (and PR people) and there are lousy ones. Sadly, some reporters seem to follow the old adage of “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” It is easy to run with a sensational story that is easy to put together if you don’t have to deal with pesky facts.
In reality, despite what many naysayers proclaim, the majority of reporters genuinely want to get the story right. If you provide facts, figures and responses in a timely manner they will include them in the story they are compiling. Your company may have done something wrong, but at least you can try to explain the situation to the public.
You must work WITH journalists to get the story correct. It is a two-way street. You can’t just churn out news releases, but then refuse to respond when reporters call you.
An example of a news outlet that wanted to get the story right involved reporting on Rachel Dolezal, the controversial NAACP leader from Spokane who was revealed to be white while pretending to be black.
Melissa Luck, the executive producer of KXLY in Spokane, has written an interesting column about how her station covered Dolezal and her antics to generate publicity over the years. Stories about alleged racism are easy to do and generate lots of interest if a reporter does not want to verify the charges.
After Dolezal had reported for the second time that someone had placed a noose on her porch KXLY didn’t simply go with the easy story. KXLY tried to verify if her claim was actually true.
“Dolezal’s story was one to listen to, but also to be cautious of,” noted Luck on the station’s Web site (link). “There were no witnesses, no written threats, no leads. Like other reports she made to police, she was always the only intended target.
“Also, we learned of the incidents because Dolezal contacted media, not because police put out information that they were searching for suspects. Each case she filed was suspended when the leads dried up. No suspects, no resolution.”
Luck has some advice that all journalists should try and follow:
“What did we, as journalists, learn from this? Trust your gut. It’s like the old saying, ‘If your mother says she loves you, get a second source.’”
“Trust your sources, follow the leads, get the public records and – most importantly – never forget to put news in context for the people you serve.”
Wise PR people are willing to respond to reporters’ needs and deadlines for a balanced story.
