Blaming The Media, Why Not?

BLAMING THE MEDIA FOR FANNING THE FLAMES - OF PUBLIC ANGER

SPECULATION IS AN ACCELERANT OF MISINFORMATION

     THERE WAS AN ACQUAINTANCE I KNEW, QUITE A FEW YEARS BACK, WHO WAS LOCKED IN A WEEK BY WEEK BATTLE WITH THE LOCAL PRESS. I MET HIM SOCIALLY, ONE AFTERNOON, AND I FELT COMPELLED TO ASK HIM HOW THE PRESS WAS TREATING HIM……BUT KNOWING FULL WELL, IT WAS A ROUGH RELATIONSHIP. I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO WHACK ME FOR ASKING.

     THE CHAP CONFESSED THAT HE WAS AT THE END OF HIS TETHER, WITH THE NEWSPAPER, AND WASN'T SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT. HE LOOKED AT ME FOR ADVICE. BY THIS TIME I WAS OUT OF THE NEWS PROFESSION, BUT I MADE AN OFF-THE-CUFF SUGGESTION. "STOP WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!" HE LOOKED AT ME, SHOOK HIS HEAD, AND SAID, "I JUST PAID A LAWYER TO GIVE ME THE SAME ADVICE."

     EVERY TIME HE GOT MAD AT A NEWS ARTICLE, WHICH WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIM, HE'D FLY OFF THE HANDLE, SO TO SPEAK, AND GRAB UP A PEN AND A PAD OF PAPER. HE WAS HELL-BENT ON RETALIATION. INSTEAD OF CONTACTING THE NEWSPAPER, AND OFFERING TO DO A FULL INTERVIEW TO PRESENT HIS SIDE OF THE STORY, HE TEMPORARILY PLEASED HIMSELF, BY SENDING AGGRESSIVE NOTES BACK TO THE EDITOR. EACH LETTER WAS ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE VERY NEXT FRONT PAGE NEWS STORY…..AND IT WENT ON AND ON. I ASKED HIM BLUNTLY, WHAT HE FELT HE HAD TO GAIN, BY FANNING THE EDITORIAL FLAMES. THE NEWSPAPER WASN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG, IN EDITORIAL CONTENT, AND THERE WAS NOTHING LIBELOUS TO JUSTIFY A LAWSUIT. HE JUST GOT IT IN HIS HEAD, THAT INSTEAD OF ARRANGING A SIT-DOWN SESSION WITH THE EDITOR, TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE IN FULL DETAIL, IT JUST SEEMED MORE GRATIFYING TO LAUNCH THESE SHORT SCUD MISSILES (LETTERS TO THE EDITOR), AND HOPE THAT IT WOULD HIT AT THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE PUBLICATION. WELL IT DIDN'T. EACH NOTE SENT TO THE PAPER, JUST MADE THINGS WORSE AND MORE CONFUSING. READERS WERE GETTING A REAL TREAT HERE, AS THIS SOAP OPERA RAN ITS COURSE.

     EVENTUALLY, HE TOOK THE ADVICE, AND STOPPED CORRESPONDING ALTOGETHER. THE MATTER PASSED, AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE IT NEVER CAME UP AGAIN. I'VE ADVISED MANY FOLKS, WHO'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE MEDIA, HOW TO COPE WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN ADVERSARIAL EDITOR. THEY DO EXIST. JUST NOT AROUND HERE THOUGH. MY ADVICE IS STILL ROUGHLY THE SAME, REGARDLESS OF AN EDITOR'S MEAN STREAK OR UNFATHOMABLE BENEVOLENCE. GIVE AN INTERVIEW. BE HONEST, LAY IT ALL ON THE TABLE (AT LEAST WHAT YOUR LAWYER TELLS YOU IS ALLOWABLE UNDER THE LEGAL CIRCUMSTANCE), AND PLACE SOME TRUST IN THE EXPERIENCE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS ACHIEVED EDITORIAL STATUS.

     THERE ARE EDITORS AND REPORTERS WHO WILL BE INTENT ON PRESENTING A NO HOLDS BARRED PROFILE OF SOME EVENT, OR SITUATION YOU MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. IF CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS BROAD SWEEPING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, (YOU MAY NOT BE USED TO) GET A LEGAL OPINION BEFORE ATTENDING THE INTERVIEW. ESPECIALLY IF YOU PLAN ON INVOLVING OTHER PEOPLE IN THE REVELATIONS, OR PRESENTING UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS…..WHICH IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA. SOMETIMES INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS, WILL INVOLVE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS, AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.  QUITE A FEW HAVE BEEN BUDDING POLITICIANS AND SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS, FACED BY AN UNEXPECTED NEGATIVE SCENARIO, THEY WISH TO RESOLVE. I'M GLAD MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE MEDIA CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE, BUT MY ANSWER TO THEIR QUESTIONS IS ALWAYS THE SAME. "PHONE UP THE EDITOR, AND WITH OR WITHOUT A WITNESS, (YOUR CHOICE), OFFER TO DO A FULL INTERVIEW ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR NEWSWORTHY CIRCUMSTANCE." THERE IS A LONGSTANDING FEAR, THAT IF A REPORTER GETS A HOLD OF SOMETHING JUICEY, THEY TURN INTO RAGING VAMPIRES, OUT FOR BLOOD. IN ALMOST ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT I'VE OFFERED THIS AS ADVICE, I'VE NEVER HAD A SERIOUSLY NEGATIVE OUTCOME; ALWAYS BETTER THAN IF THE PRESS WENT ON THEIR WAY WITHOUT A FULL FILE FOLDER OF INFORMATION. ERRORS IN NEWS STORIES ARE OFTEN THE RESULT OF SOURCES BEING UNWILLING TO COMMUNICATE THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY. IN MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE LOCAL WEEKLY PRESS, EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS ARE QUICK TO SPOT LIBELOUS MATERIAL, AND IT IS REMOVED FROM PUBLISHED STORIES TO PROTECT ALL WHO ARE INVOLVED, INCLUDING THEIR OWN MEDIA OUTLET.

     

COUNCIL SHOULD TAKE THIS ADVICE

     When I suggest to local council representatives, that they should consider creating friendly relations with the media (and the public generally) to stop-up the endless stream of embellishment and speculation, about what is going on at town hall, they always look at me as if I'm the devil's advocate. Much as if I'm actually pushing them toward the inferno, of a raging media scrum…….which honestly in Gravenhurst would be dialed down to a thin, thin scrum. Pretty much a one on one. Still there is a reluctance, no matter how small the media presence, to avail themselves for interviews, because there is this idea that one wrong word, taken out of context, could put them in an above-the-fold news story. Councillors generally, possibly after the media scrutiny regarding the recreation centre allegations, early in their four year term, seem a little tense about stepping too far away from the protection of the mothership…… town hall. I don't think their concerns about the media, if there is distrust, are justified based on the news coverage over the past half decade. There have been some big news stories involving town council, but frankly, nothing in my opinion, that would rank even a tenth of the fervor of my vintage in the community press, in the 1980's……when competition between publications had bared teeth all the time. Honestly, I always thought this was a good thing for the constituents, because they got more investigative reporting than they would have with only one paper serving the community.

     I think council looks upon the media as a nosey neighbor.  They want to keep some things about the operation confidential, as is their requirement, but they worry the press would print it, if they could find it, even if it meant looking through town hall waste baskets. It's really not like that, at least in this bailiwick. Still there is a nervousness about what might make it to print, or in this case, cyberspace, and what impact something negative might have on the seaworthiness of town hall. The assumption that no press is good press is just silly. Just as someone who will say the opposite, that any press is good press. I would advise any elected official, to begin on day one of their campaigns for office, to saddle-up to the local reporters, for print and electronic media, and spill the beans. Be honest. Share your story, your ambitions, values, and objectives, if successfully elected. Once in office, don't shun the media because someone told you it would be dangerous to reveal all the cards you're holding. The person offering this advice, obviously hasn't been connected to the media. I have. Many politicians have exceptional working relations with the media, and all sides benefit from honest, fair treatment, in good times, and bad. You don't need to look further than Toronto City Hall, to appreciate just how bad it gets, when politicians decide the media are a bunch of a-holes. There's no turning back from this public stance, but you certainly forfeit a change of the press climate, in your favor from this point. How many councillors and civil servants have felt the a-hole thing about me…….and I'm one of their supporters…..most of the time. I don't have to be called names to know how many councillors feel. They don't like being criticized, and I don't like being critical……if I have a choice. I would love the opportunity to talk to, and possibly interview each and every councillor, for this blog site, if they'd give me the time of day. I'd like to ask them responsible, timely, insightful questions, but I won't unveil them before the interview. I'd love to report on their stories, and overviews of the first two years of one of the most difficult council terms in Gravenhurst history.  They can take pot shots at me if they wish. If they think I've been unfair in the past, I'd welcome their rebuttals, and I wouldn't dream of censoring their reviews of my blog. It's only fair. If I can suggest they hide behind council protocols, to avoid meeting the press regularly, then they can accost me about editorializing from afar……insulated by the outer limits of cyberspace. Gads, that would make me a cyber bully, if their assessments are correct.

     I will not be flooded by responses. Maybe a couple of councillors might sense this to be an opportunity to test my theory, that co-operation with the media isn't such a bad or scary thing. It is no cake-walk to be an elected official anywhere……especially in Gravenhurst these days. There have been a lot of shingling circumstances in the past two years, where overlapping events have made governance a daily walk over hot coals. It's with this appreciation, that I have asked many times, for council to consider the idea of hosting a serious public meeting, at the Opera House, to answer constituent concerns in an open forum……where questions aren't censored, and time strictly regulated for making presentations. If it goes all night…..it goes all night. I think the outcome, and the show of goodwill, would vastly improve the prevailing lack of faith that has been building for almost two years……that we elected the wrong people to office. I don't believe this is the case, but that's not how many citizens see it today. Thus, a public meeting, might provide a bottom line that pleases everyone…….and reduces the political tension for the balance of the present term of office.

     The way to treat the media is the way to treat the public. By being open and honest, and relying a lot less on cliches and literal facades, to cover what we all know, is important council business, that we should know about……because, by golly, we just might be able to offer a hand to help. The media isn't out to head-hunt. They are out to inform the public, about what their democratically elected council, is up to……whether it is controversial, or just a walk in the park bylaw. We want to know. The media is trying to fulfill this request for information. I'm sorry to say this, but the fly in the ointment, is that council isn't sharing what it should……..when it should. This isn't just a perception.  But it is something that can be corrected and certainly improved upon, if the desire for change exists at town hall.

     Thank you for visiting today's blog. You're always welcome to visit and comment.