[Texascavers] Reporters
Before we hired some staff to do public outreach and handle all of our media relations, I commonly got stuck being the go to guy for technical questions and anything that came up over the weekend when the General Manager was gone. So, it was not uncommon to do one or two interviews a day on Saturday during a drought. You did have to be careful what you said. I remember a reporter asking me about the water level on the San Antonio index well (J-17). The reporter would ask, “Where is J-17 today” and I would say, it’s still over at Ft. Sam Houston where it’s been for the last 80 years. Anyway, my boss told me one. “He would never hold me accountable for what I said to a reporter only what the reporter said I said.” Yikes. Geary ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
My media relations prof at UCLA advised us to supply reporters with one-page ³fact sheets² along with any other relevant written background materials when we gave interviews. Over the years I¹ve found reporters appreciated that material as useful reference for their writing.If nothing else, it helped them spell the names correctly in the article. Frank Binney Frank Binney & Associates Interpretive Planning and Media Development P.O. Box 258 Woodacre, CA 94973 415.488.1200 Voice 415.488.1500 Fax 415.999.0556 Mobile fr...@frankbinney.com From: Texas Cavers Reply-To: Texas Cavers Date: Monday, January 19, 2015 at 6:01 AM To: Texas Cavers Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters I was told during media training *not* to ask to review the interview before publication. I used to offer and no reporter ever took me up on it. I find that having a short list of perfectly-honed sound bites (relevant to the topic, of course) is a good strategy. They almost always pick them up so I am able to use them to craft the final product, to some extent. Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D. 700 Billie Brooks Drive Driftwood, Texas 78619 (512) 799-1095 a...@gluesenkamp.com From: George Veni via Texascavers To: "texascavers@texascavers.com" Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2015 2:22 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters Heather and everyone, Many cavers have long held the positions: ·don¹t trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what you tell them, and ·we need the public to better understand caves to care about and help protect them. The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so we can¹t afford to ignore or alienate them. Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and mis-conceptions. One interview won¹t eliminate them all. Most are good people trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a cave where they can¹t take many notes. I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I¹ve found to keep the printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the interview: ³Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great report and I¹d like to help. A lot of what I¹ve told you and what you¹ve seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have been clear on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. What is your deadline? Send me your draft article and I¹ll make myself available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your deadline. That way we can be it is right.² I¹ve found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a good working relationship that has since benefited caves and karst. We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If you find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be interviewed again, then build a relationship with the reporter so you will each learn to go to each other when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave and Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com <http://texascavers.com/> Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-arc
Re: [Texascavers] Reporters
Bill Mixon's comment reminds me of something that happened during Emily Mobley's rescue at Lechuguilla in 1991. The place was a total zoo with reporters running around at all hours of the day and night. (Including a Japanese TV reporter doing a live broadcast from the parking lot at 2 a.m.) Ron Kerbo was run ragged, and when one reporter asked him a particularly asinine question, he looked her in the eye and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, but you must have mistaken me for someone who gives a shit!" and walked off. It was priceless, but surely never made it into print or on the air. Mark On Sun, January 18, 2015 10:01 pm, Mixon Bill via Texascavers wrote: > One of my fantasies is to somehow become newsworthy and have the > opportunity to tell a reporter who is asking stupid or nosey (of > course) questions to fuck off. Unfortunately live interviews are > broadcast with delays. ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
I too was told in the media training that I got with the City of Austin not to ask to review the interview. Much of what I did was in front of a camera for TV news so speaking in short sound bites was always the safest. I did have a good, long standing working relationship with a reporter from San Antonio (unfortunately, he left the newspaper). He would call me up tell me about environmental and cave stories and ask for specific quotes. Sometimes he would even call me up and ask me to explain things to him that he got from other sources. His articles were always good. It’s hard to just say, “I’m not talking to the media.” So many times, benefits from articles outweigh the inaccuracies. It is irritating to be misquoted but sometimes you just have to suck it up and look at the big picture. Of course, many of the tips that have been given so far work well for a straight up interview. Whenever you take a reporter to the field and have an extended experience (like taking them caving) it becomes more difficult because so much information has been passed on. A good strategy for this type of interview is to debrief the reporter immediately after the trip. For example, if the interview is in a cave, as soon as you get out of the cave, sit and “catch your breath.” You can use that time to debrief the reporter and go over the main points again. As them to look over their notes and see there are any gaps or additional questions. Professionals who have been in the journalism field for a while take less debriefing. Beginners, like student journalists, need more debriefing. Just my two cents worth, Allan From: Andy Gluesenkamp via Texascavers Sent: Monday, January 19, 2015 8:01 AM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters I was told during media training *not* to ask to review the interview before publication. I used to offer and no reporter ever took me up on it. I find that having a short list of perfectly-honed sound bites (relevant to the topic, of course) is a good strategy. They almost always pick them up so I am able to use them to craft the final product, to some extent. Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D. 700 Billie Brooks Drive Driftwood, Texas 78619 (512) 799-1095 a...@gluesenkamp.com From: George Veni via Texascavers To: "texascavers@texascavers.com" Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2015 2:22 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters Heather and everyone, Many cavers have long held the positions: · don’t trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what you tell them, and · we need the public to better understand caves to care about and help protect them. The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so we can’t afford to ignore or alienate them. Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and mis-conceptions. One interview won’t eliminate them all. Most are good people trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a cave where they can’t take many notes. I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I’ve found to keep the printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the interview: “Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great report and I’d like to help. A lot of what I’ve told you and what you’ve seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have been clear on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. What is your deadline? Send me your draft article and I’ll make myself available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your deadline. That way we can be it is right.” I’ve found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a good working relationship that has since benefited caves and karst. We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If you find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be i
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
I was told during media training *not* to ask to review the interview before
publication. I used to offer and no reporter ever took me up on it. I find
that having a short list of perfectly-honed sound bites (relevant to the topic,
of course) is a good strategy. They almost always pick them up so I am able to
use them to craft the final product, to some extent.
Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D.
700 Billie Brooks Drive
Driftwood, Texas 78619
(512) 799-1095
a...@gluesenkamp.com
From: George Veni via Texascavers
To: "texascavers@texascavers.com"
Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2015 2:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters
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Heather and everyone, Many cavers have long held the positions: ·
don’t trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what you tell them,
and ·we need the public to better understand caves to care about and
help protect them. The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate
the public so we can’t afford to ignore or alienate them. Reporters are
often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying to get in a story
within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves are alien to
reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and
mis-conceptions. One interview won’t eliminate them all. Most are good people
trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions
with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a cave
where they can’t take many notes. I get interviewed frequently in my job.
One thing I’ve found to keep the printed word accurate is to essentially tell
the reporter at the end of the interview: “Thank you for interviewing me. I
can tell you want to write a great report and I’d like to help. A lot of what
I’ve told you and what you’ve seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is
complicated. I may not have been clear on some points and you could have
misunderstood me on others. What is your deadline? Send me your draft article
and I’ll make myself available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you
ASAP to meet your deadline. That way we can be it is right.” I’ve found that
this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews turn out well. As
for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter misquoted me 15
times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I pointed out the errors,
expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a good working relationship
that has since benefited caves and karst. We are all ambassadors of caves
and could be potentially interviewed. If you find yourself in that position,
remember to keep the information simple to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask
to review the draft article for technical accuracy, and after the article is
printed to contact the reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If
there are problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the
problems in a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves
and karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be interviewed
again, then build a relationship with the reporter so you will each learn to go
to each other when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good.
George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National
Cave and Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad,
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
Mixon, he was a student, not an idiot. Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 18, 2015, at 9:01 PM, Mixon Bill via Texascavers > wrote: > > I don't have a lot of sympathy for the sort of reporters who will write for > publication about things they know nothing about, which puts them beneath > contempt. But there are good reporters and bad ones. A good one will record > interviews and at least get the quotes right. My guess is that the guy who > wrote that article is an amateur doing freelance work for a not particularly > prestigious publication. A writer for a magazine should be held to higher > standards than a newspaper reporter, because he doesn't have as tight > deadlines. And at a decent magazine (of which there are very few), the staff > would have checked the facts in the article. The writer is obviously an > idiot, but the magazine is obviously worthless. Of course, one rather expects > that of an alumni magazine, the sole purpose of which is to arrive > periodically to remind the alumni, most of whom are probably illiterate and > don't read it, to be generous. > > One of my fantasies is to somehow become newsworthy and have the opportunity > to tell a reporter who is asking stupid or nosey (of course) questions to > fuck off. Unfortunately live interviews are broadcast with delays. -- Mixon > > A fast runner gives a slower one a head start. The faster one can never catch > up, because he first has to pass the place the slower one has just left. > > You may "reply" to the address this message > (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) > came from, but for long-term use, save: > Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu > AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org > > ___ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] Reporters & Editors
My experience with the press has been much like Mark Minton's: Some good; some disastrous. National Geographic was very conscientious as was Texas Highways. My relationship with A&M Press (the Pittman book, Texas Caves) was so bad as to be almost black humor. Suffice to say that despite repeated assurances that I would have the opportunity to review my text and photo captions, it didn't happen and, as a consequence, there are serious errors. To top it off, I had to threaten to sue to get some of my slides returned. Live and learn. My experience with newspaper reporters/columnists has been varied but I am always wary and hoping for the best. Newsletter editors vary quite considerably in expertise and enthusiasm but good basic journalism is a quality that really ought to be placed ahead of spell checking. If “two, too, and to” are misused or if “it’s is confused with its,” or if an occasional sentence is repeated, we can mostly overlook that so long as the photos are properly captioned, credited, and appear in the correct location. As others have pointed out, sometimes the task appears to be above pay grade. ===Carl Kunath carl.kun...@suddenlink.net -Original Message- From: Mark Minton via Texascavers Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2015 8:18 PM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] reporters My experience with reporters has generally been less accommodating than George's. Most have not been willing to allow me to review their work before publication. A couple of notable exceptions have been "The New Yorker" and "National Geographic", both of which seem to be very conscientious about fact checking and getting things right. Unfortunately even then inaccuracies manage to make their way into the final piece. I suspect that George and others are right - the subject may be so foreign that they don't really understand the implications of their errors, or care. Sigh. Mark Minton mmin...@caver.net On Sun, January 18, 2015 3:22 pm, George Veni via Texascavers wrote: > > ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
Interesting series of comments. Pity that Blair is not able to chime in. I must admit that my experiences are closer to Marks than to Georges. It's asking a lot to review a story before publication. All of us who appreciate the folk process (like Charlie) certainly know the famous quote atributed to Mark Twain: "The only thing that ruins a good story is an eye witness." That holds true for bad reporting as well as an entertaining story. Both tend to live on for a long time. ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] reporters
I don't have a lot of sympathy for the sort of reporters who will write for publication about things they know nothing about, which puts them beneath contempt. But there are good reporters and bad ones. A good one will record interviews and at least get the quotes right. My guess is that the guy who wrote that article is an amateur doing freelance work for a not particularly prestigious publication. A writer for a magazine should be held to higher standards than a newspaper reporter, because he doesn't have as tight deadlines. And at a decent magazine (of which there are very few), the staff would have checked the facts in the article. The writer is obviously an idiot, but the magazine is obviously worthless. Of course, one rather expects that of an alumni magazine, the sole purpose of which is to arrive periodically to remind the alumni, most of whom are probably illiterate and don't read it, to be generous. One of my fantasies is to somehow become newsworthy and have the opportunity to tell a reporter who is asking stupid or nosey (of course) questions to fuck off. Unfortunately live interviews are broadcast with delays. -- Mixon A fast runner gives a slower one a head start. The faster one can never catch up, because he first has to pass the place the slower one has just left. You may "reply" to the address this message (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or sa...@mexicancaves.org ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
I never allowed anyone to review the lies that I published as truth when I was a journalist. I depended on my own self to make everyone free with the truth. On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 8:27 PM, Diana Tomchick via Texascavers < texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: > This is why you don't want someone that knows nothing about caving as an > editor of a caving publication. > > Diana > > > On Jan 18, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Mark Minton via Texascavers < > texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: > > > > My experience with reporters has generally been less accommodating than > > George's. Most have not been willing to allow me to review their work > > before publication. A couple of notable exceptions have been "The New > > Yorker" and "National Geographic", both of which seem to be very > > conscientious about fact checking and getting things right. > > Unfortunately even then inaccuracies manage to make their way into the > > final piece. I suspect that George and others are right - the subject > > may be so foreign that they don't really understand the implications of > > their errors, or care. Sigh. > > > > Mark Minton > > mmin...@caver.net > > > >> On Sun, January 18, 2015 3:22 pm, George Veni via Texascavers wrote: > >> > >> ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, > > > > ___ > > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers > > > > UT Southwestern > > > Medical Center > > > > The future of medicine, today. > > > ___ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers > -- Charlie Loving ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
This is why you don't want someone that knows nothing about caving as an editor of a caving publication. Diana > On Jan 18, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Mark Minton via Texascavers > wrote: > > My experience with reporters has generally been less accommodating than > George's. Most have not been willing to allow me to review their work > before publication. A couple of notable exceptions have been "The New > Yorker" and "National Geographic", both of which seem to be very > conscientious about fact checking and getting things right. > Unfortunately even then inaccuracies manage to make their way into the > final piece. I suspect that George and others are right - the subject > may be so foreign that they don't really understand the implications of > their errors, or care. Sigh. > > Mark Minton > mmin...@caver.net > >> On Sun, January 18, 2015 3:22 pm, George Veni via Texascavers wrote: >> >> ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, > > ___ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today. ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
My experience with reporters has generally been less accommodating than George's. Most have not been willing to allow me to review their work before publication. A couple of notable exceptions have been "The New Yorker" and "National Geographic", both of which seem to be very conscientious about fact checking and getting things right. Unfortunately even then inaccuracies manage to make their way into the final piece. I suspect that George and others are right - the subject may be so foreign that they don't really understand the implications of their errors, or care. Sigh. Mark Minton mmin...@caver.net On Sun, January 18, 2015 3:22 pm, George Veni via Texascavers wrote: > > ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
*OK. As some of you may know I worked for the fith estate for nearly 12 years as a sports editor for a small paper. I wrote lots of sports stories from Pop Warner to the Super Bowl. I had a column twice a week in which I wrote what ever I thought would be funny or poke some one. I drew political cartoons that also made folks angry and made me a bevy of political enemies. It was all good fun. Let me say interviews with folks are arbitrary. What might be important to you might not be important to the other guy or the editor or publisher. My spelunker stories were always totally silly and goofy, but then I never in my years of caving took any of it seriously. It made as much sense as surfing or climbing cliffs. Going down into Mexico to grab a rope and drop into Sparrow cave was about a silly and stupid as anything I ever tried to do. I wrote about it and made the whole thing into a farce. Eating and getting drunk and removing all the schmutz on cave walls was brilliant. Carrying a case of beer into Grutas del Palimito was difficult. * On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 2:22 PM, George Veni via Texascavers < texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote: > Heather and everyone, > > > > Many cavers have long held the positions: > > · don’t trust or talk to the media because they will screw up > what you tell them, and > > · we need the public to better understand caves to care about and > help protect them. > > The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so > we can’t afford to ignore or alienate them. > > > > Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are > trying to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the > public, caves are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held > stereotypes and mis-conceptions. One interview won’t eliminate them all. > Most are good people trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often > mix-up their misconceptions with what they actually heard, especially if > much of the interview is in a cave where they can’t take many notes. > > > > I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I’ve found to keep the > printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the > interview: > > > > “Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great > report and I’d like to help. A lot of what I’ve told you and what you’ve > seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have > been clear on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. > What is your deadline? Send me your draft article and I’ll make myself > available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your > deadline. That way we can be it is right.” > > > > I’ve found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews > turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a > reporter misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate > her, I pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and > developed a good working relationship that has since benefited caves and > karst. > > > > We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If > you find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple > to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for > technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the > reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are > problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in > a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and > karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be interviewed > again, then build a relationship with the reporter so you will each learn > to go to each other when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good. > > > > George > > > > > > George Veni, Ph.D. > > Executive Director > > National Cave and Karst Research Institute > > 400-1 Cascades Avenue > > Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA > > Office: 575-887-5517 > > Mobile: 210-863-5919 > > Fax: 575-887-5523 > > gv...@nckri.org > > www.nckri.org > > ___ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers > > -- Charlie Loving ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
Well said, George ! Jerry. Sent from my iPhone On Jan 18, 2015, at 1:22 PM, George Veni via Texascavers wrote: > Heather and everyone, > > > > Many cavers have long held the positions: > > · don’t trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what > you tell them, and > > · we need the public to better understand caves to care about and > help protect them. > > The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so we > can’t afford to ignore or alienate them. > > > > Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying > to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves > are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and > mis-conceptions. One interview won’t eliminate them all. Most are good people > trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions > with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a > cave where they can’t take many notes. > > > > I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I’ve found to keep the > printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the > interview: > > > > “Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great report > and I’d like to help. A lot of what I’ve told you and what you’ve seen is > completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have been clear > on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. What is your > deadline? Send me your draft article and I’ll make myself available to > quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your deadline. That > way we can be it is right.” > > > > I’ve found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews > turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter > misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I > pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a > good working relationship that has since benefited caves and karst. > > > > We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If you > find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple to > minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for > technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the reporter. > If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are problems, thank the > reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in a sympathetic way. > Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and karst. And if you are in > position where you are likely to be interviewed again, then build a > relationship with the reporter so you will each learn to go to each other > when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good. > > > > George > > > > > > George Veni, Ph.D. > > Executive Director > > National Cave and Karst Research Institute > > 400-1 Cascades Avenue > > Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA > > Office: 575-887-5517 > > Mobile: 210-863-5919 > > Fax: 575-887-5523 > > gv...@nckri.org > > www.nckri.org > > ___ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
Re: [Texascavers] reporters
Heather and everyone, Many cavers have long held the positions: * don't trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what you tell them, and * we need the public to better understand caves to care about and help protect them. The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so we can't afford to ignore or alienate them. Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and mis-conceptions. One interview won't eliminate them all. Most are good people trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a cave where they can't take many notes. I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I've found to keep the printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the interview: "Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great report and I'd like to help. A lot of what I've told you and what you've seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have been clear on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. What is your deadline? Send me your draft article and I'll make myself available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your deadline. That way we can be it is right." I've found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a good working relationship that has since benefited caves and karst. We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If you find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be interviewed again, then build a relationship with the reporter so you will each learn to go to each other when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good. George George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave and Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] reporters
To Heather Tucek, Maybe I should not have posted that Alcalde article. I was once interviewed by a student newspaper reporter. I never made that mistake again. You are right, Sheesh! .. Sam___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
