According to Dan Gillmor, former columnist with the San Jose Mercury News, the four pillars of journalism include thoroughness, accuracy, fairness and transparency. Understanding a journalist’s creed can help us identify best practices for working with them.
Accuracy is a shared goal between journalists and PR professionals. As we think about how we can help journalists develop accurate articles, it is important to recognize the increased pressure they face today. With newsrooms cutting back on resources, there are fewer journalists to do the same amount of work. In addition, journalists face fierce competition to break stories first in both online and print mediums. Sometimes, journalists do not have time to fact check an executive quote or data point that was discussed during an interview, which can result in an inaccurate article.
Inaccurate articles can leave some executives reluctant to work with the journalist again on future articles, missing a great opportunity to increase awareness for the organization and its products and services. The journalist may also get frustrated and turn to another source -meaning your competitors get ink.
To help ensure an accurate story, we recommend taking the following steps when working with journalists:
1. Seek to understand the journalist’s interview questions and story angle. Whenever possible, request interview questions in advance. This provides the spokesperson with the opportunity to prepare, organize facts and identify supporting data. Furthermore, by asking the journalists for questions it helps him or her focus on the direction of the story and be better prepared for the interview.
Some journalists will not want to share questions in advance. If this happens, it is important to explain your rationale for needing this information. For example, the questions might help you identify the correct spokesperson for the opportunity.
If you don’t feel comfortable asking for the questions, paraphrase back your understanding of the journalist’s angle and interest in talking with your client. This helps ensure you have captured their objectives and can accurately convey them to the spokesperson.
2. Ensure a PR person is present during the interview to make introductions, capture notes, clarify facts, keep the discussion on point and recap action items. Having a third party present helps to hold everyone accountable and can go a long way toward ensuring accuracy.
3. Record the interview. During interview introductions, disclose to the journalist that you are recording the discussion and then give them a written transcript following the meeting. Having a written transcript provides an opportunity for the PR person to double-check facts while also providing journalists with a helpful reference for their article.
4. Ask to confirm quotes and stats. Affirm the journalist’s commitment to accuracy and ask if he’d be willing to let you review quotes or stats before publishing the story. By proactively checking quotes and stats, you also will save the journalist the hassle and embarrassment of making any corrections after the article is published.
While an accurate story can have a tremendous impact, inaccurate information can damage perceptions of your company and its products and services. Being creative and looking for win-win solutions can go a long way to fostering solid relationships with journalists and clients alike.