If you’re a reporter (or a PR rep) who’s got an all-or-nothing attitude, you’re doing it wrong

Journalism isn’t a zero-sum game

Reporters and PR people are like cats and dogs. Always at each other’s throats. Always trying to one-up one another, amirite?

Except they’re not.

Medium user Jim Epperson claims that you should, “Never, EVER say ANYTHING you don’t want to see in print.”

Reporters are supposedly always on the prowl for the next big scoop, as the author admits was his attitude during his time as a journalist. This mischaracterization does nothing but further the public’s distrust in the media.

The notion that we’re all out for a scoop is true to an extent, but breaking a big story isn’t a zero-sum game where reporters spurn any and all sources on the road to A1.

In fact, my editor was trying to crack a story as I read Epperson’s piece. And as I listened, the conversation was a radical departure from the assumptions the post asked its readers to adopt about reporters.

Here’s what happened. (And this is where I apologize about my newspaper’s unscalable paywall. If I could link to the articles I’m about to reference without inadvertently hitting you up for 99 cents, I would.)

There’s a bit of a shakeup happening at a small school district in Southern Oregon right now.

Three school board members in Glendale are being threatened with a recall and we’re not entirely sure why. Rumors are flying, of course, but in a town of less than 1,000, word gets around.

That’s why it’s been so tough to get anyone to lead us in the right direction.

As I was reading about how you should NEVER tell a reporter ANYTHING you won’t see in print, I overheard my boss talking to a woman who might be able to help us make sense of things.

He started the conversation casually, introducing himself and explaining what we were looking for.

She wasn’t too keen on talking.

He told her his hunches. She confirmed some, but wouldn’t talk about others.

Then the conversation shifted. And it didn’t sound like a negotiation (even though that’s basically what it was.) It sounded like two friends shooting the shit at the bar.

“Hey, this is what people think is going on out there. It’s a little weird, don’t you think?”

I can’t say much more about where the conversation went, but it’s going to help steer our reporting.

See, when reporters respect their sources, it doesn’t sound like a transaction. It’s a free-flowing conversation where one (the reporter) gets vital information while the other (the source) is helping lead to a bigger story.

Good journalism, like good comedy, begs its practitioners to punch up. That means if there’s wrongdoing somewhere, the people ultimately responsible for it are the ones we’re trying to expose.

Their secretaries and PR people? Not so much.

I understand where Epperson’s coming from. Some reporters might ignore the traditional code of conduct. And for the greenest of us, it’s a really easy thing to screw up.

When I was a managing editor at The Emerald at the University of Oregon, I would field calls from department heads who were burned by student reporters, either because they didn’t show up for interviews or were overly aggressive in getting a 500-word story on university finances.

Those instances would turn into teachable moments.

Students sometimes get this notion that PR reps are on call to answer questions on the turn of a dime. Or worse, that they’re paid to build walls. These people exist, but they’re the minority. Most of them just want to guide you to the right person for your story.

The same goes for journalists. There’s a small percentage out there who see it as a zero-sum game. But most know the importance of keeping things cordial.

I guess what I’m asking is that you ignore posts that say NEVER say this to reporters or that journalists ABSOLUTELY want to land on the front page every time.

Instead, remember that when it comes to your conversations, make sure everybody’s on the same page before divulging information.

We’re all just doing the best we can.