How to Talk to the News Media

The elements of journalism work both ways, and we citizens have to do our part in the relationship. We have a responsibility to show up, to be engaged, to send e-mails, and letters to the editor, to be part of the public forum and in some cases to initiate it.

1. How to Interact with a News Organization
    
2. How to Complain
    
3. If You Have a Story Idea or Suggestion for Coverage
    
4. All About Corrections
    
5. What is an Op/Ed?
    
6. If You Want Someone to Talk to Your Group
    
7. If All Else Fails

How to Interact with a News Organization

1. Make yourself intimately familiar with the rights listed here. This can make your conversation with news organizations far more effective. They allow you to say to an editor, "I understand you are a business, but you also have a responsibility to the community." Journalists widely embrace the principles listed here and should not argue.
   
    
2. Do not approach news people merely as a customer whose main recourse is threatening to withhold business. Approach journalists instead as a member of your community. This empowers you and makes the conversation one between peers.
   
    
3. Know what you want to communicate. Are you complaining or suggesting something? Do you want something corrected, or added to future coverage?
   
    
4. Contact the right person. Do not call the newsroom to discuss a problem with home delivery. Do not call the sales department to complain about a news story.
   
    
5. Presentation is important. If you are writing or emailing a newsroom, proofread what you write, use a spellchecker program. A letter with correct spelling and grammar is more likely to be taken seriously than one without.

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How to Complain
Above all, contact works best if it comes constructively, as advice and information rather than condemnation. In that spirit:

• Give the news organization the benefit of the doubt. If an account seems biased, assume the correspondents, editors and producers were trying to be fair and that their failure was in their execution not in their intent.
  
   
• Don't go to the boss first. Contact the responsible reporter or editor. Or the reader representative if the organization has one. Journalists want to get things right and there are consequences if they don't. They should listen.
  
   
• Be armed with facts and figures, people to contact, documentation, evidence, not just hearsay.
  
   
• If you are ignored, try again, and through more than one method, such as a letter or email to the responsible correspondent and his or her supervisor. The third time, contact the publisher or general manager in writing. Most news organizations want to hear from you and want their employees to listen.
  
   
• Since you are a citizen, not a customer, you are not always right. Be aware that if your complaint is unpersuasive, or a matter of interpretation rather than fact, you may not prevail.
  
   
• Be extremely careful with email. It can be sent in a nanosecond, but it can't be retrieved. With an old fashioned letter, we had to address the envelope, find a stamp etc. and a few seconds or minutes passed for reconsideration. Very hurtful emails are sent every day - and regretted later.

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If You Have a Story Idea or Suggestion for Coverage

The advice here is similar to that for complaints:

• Contact the responsible reporter or editor first, not some person higher up or the person responsible for letters to the editor.
  
   
• Be armed with facts and figures, people to contact, documentation, evidence, not just hearsay.
  
   
• Be prepared to save the reporter time. News organizations may get thousands of faxes, entreaties, come ons and pitches a day. They have to sort through what is real, what is efficient and what is spin. Information will prevail. Urgings and guilt trips will not. If that requires you do homework first, do it. Don't expect the reporter to have to spend his or her time just because you heard something second hand and you think they should check it out. They have too many competing and more solid leads to follow.

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All About Corrections
Corrections are one area where news organizations often have very different policies. Sometimes citizens can raise a point for possible corrections in letters to the editor. Sometimes there are specific phone numbers for people to call. But just as important as knowing who to contact is understanding what most news organizations think are correction-worthy errors.

Here again what gets "corrected" can vary from organization to organization. But often relatively small mistakes, such as the misspelling of a person's name or a street, may not merit a formal correction. It is still worthwhile to tell news organizations about these problems, however. Your concerns will likely make their way to the reporter to help prevent future problems. Usually formal corrections are reserved for larger factual errors that deal with more central points of the story in question, such as dollar amounts or time elements. So the calling a street "Garnet Lane" instead of "Garnett Lane" may or may not end up being corrected. But reporting a new project will cost "$5 million" when it will actually cost "$8 million" is almost certain to be addressed in a public way.

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What is a newspaper Op/Ed?
Op eds, or brief essays appearing opposite the editorial page, are usually 650 to 750 words that make a larger argument but usually focus on one idea.
Usually there is an editor who is responsible for soliciting and editing such pieces. Often the best approach is to call or email first and see if there is an interest in your piece and your message before taking the time to draft the piece. The news organization may already have one or several on the subject waiting for publication. Most organizations do not want to have duplicative essays on the same subject. Be prepared to have your piece thoroughly edited, streamlined and trimmed. Your voice will be heard, but not every word is sacrosanct.

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If You Want Someone to Talk with Your Group
If you want to invite representatives of the news organization to talk to your group or organization, the public affairs office is a good place to start. But if you want a particular journalist, call them directly. They are often happy to meet and talk with readers. Again, give them time to respond to your request. And then, if you haven't heard from the journalist try calling the public affairs office and find out if there is a specific process you have to follow.

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If All Else Fails
What can you do if all your offers are ignored? Rights mean something only if they are viewed as rights. At that point, do withhold your business. Drop your subscription. Change channels. But not silently. Write to explain why you have done so, send it to the news organization and then make it as public as possible. The marketplace fails if citizens are passive. It works only if we act, with a voice and a reason.

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