The media have a very powerful influence on the information we receive. Words, story and information can be distorted from reporters which can not go in your favor. If you are lucky, they might have something positive to say about your company which can mean tons of sales; however, that is very rare. The media is a very powerful entity that cannot be neglected.
The best way to make the reporters become your allies is to be generous. You can try treating them to lunch or dinner and have a small chat with them when they want some information or scoop. It is better to give them some information then to have them speculate and make up stories (very bad). Treat them with respect and avoid going hostile with them.
If you go hostile on the reporters, they will surely retaliate and slander you all over the media. This is the last thing you want as your image and relationship with the media will surely suffer. Many companies and celebrities do not maintain a friendly relationship with the reporters which took a dent on their image. Try to smooth things out between the reporters to maintain a good and healthy relationship.
Reporters are a powerful influence to the media which in turn relays information to the people. Your best bet is to have some friends who are reporters and be friends with them. You want more allies than enemies.
4 Comments
The problem is that often the reporters have no clue about the topic they are writing about. I had few times people from trade magazines coming to interview me for article. When I read first what the guy made up, I did not know if should laugh or cry … It was funny, but not if people who knew me read it … When they came next, I asked them to send me the text for stupidity check before running it. They did, I checked, corrected, but they still printed something else … There is no defence …
I don’t have any dealings with reporters but found this to be interesting. IMO reporters, talk show hosts, radio dj’s.. it’s all about the shock value to so many of them. They truly do not seem to give a rat’s behind about what it is they are reporting, if they look good in front of the camera.. all’s well.
The thing is some reporters only report the news, they don’t fact check or even hunt down the story half the time they rely solely on the field agent to get the most dramatic details and call it into the station so they can be the first on the air with it and all anyone can hope for is that they will make any corrections to bad info on the 10 o’clock rebroadcast or in a little snippit in the paper.
The media–talk first check facts later.
Biz- That’s pretty crazy. I would hate to be in your shoes =D.
Susie- Yea, they exaggerate and maybe even lie just to make it worthwhile and exciting for the viewers.
Debo- Agree. I seen a lot of times how reporters report inaccurate information and have to correct them later on.