Why bother talking with the press?

[Monkeyleg]

Several weeks ago a "reporter" from a small and very left-leaning weekly newspaper called to get input for an article on campus concealed carry. I spent over an hour on the phone with him, giving him all sorts of information.

The article just came out, and the pro-gun side is under-represented. And, of course, "studies" cited are the usual bias we're used to.

Oh, and I just love the reasoning that, because there's so much drinking and drug use on campuses, it's just one more reason not to allow guns. If that's the case, why not prohibit students from owning cars?

Anyway, here's the article.

 

[scrat]

problem i see is that most reporters will listen to you to see what is of interest to the readers. They dont want to hear anything else. even if you were to talk to the reporter in front of a camera. Unless its live everything you tell them will be cut to maybe 3-5 seconds of what they will use to keep the view interested. NOT THE TRUTH

 

[hotshotshoting]

we had a tragedy happen at our range... i wont go into it atm but i wanted to release a statement to the press and i did... they twisted all of my words and made it say what they wanted it to say...

either way the media will edit every thing you say to promote their point they are trying to make...

lesson learned

from now on its "no comment" and "get off my property"

 

[JackBurtonJr]

Here's an excellent website:

http://www.concealedcampus.org/arguments.htm

 

[Old Fuff]

Monkeyleg is right. Today's reporters listen to everybody, and then cut & paste the article so it comes out saying what they (or they're editors) want it to say.

In general, if it's a publication that you know is going to twist the truth, turn down any request for an interview and tell them why. Otherwise they will use you as a foil to make any point they want, and you won't recognize anything you said.

With anyone else, tell them you will submit a written statement, but only if they print it in its entirety and unedited. If they say, "no," tell then to find someone else.

The left-wing media only spews propaganda. There is no reason to help them do it.

 

[230RN]

I sat and listened to what the President of a small Trade Association speak once. I mean, I was right there. When the article came out, it was as if it all occured on another planet.

Not even in this Solar System, either.

Haven't trusted any newspaper article since.

Reminds me of the Congressional Record. If I'm not mistaken, Congresscritters have the right to edit before publication and make the "record" say anything they want.

Wish we could get editing rights before publication, too.

 

[antsi]

Every time a media journalist has covered any event that I had personal knowledge of, I was amazed how wrong they got it.

 

[KC&97TA]

As an active duty US Marine, who's done a few 'fun tours', I avoid the press more so that curseing in front of my 80 year old very religious grandmother.

 

[Frank Ettin]

It is possible to attract favorable media attention, especially locally. A few years ago, our club's Scholastic Clay Target Program team won the state SCTP trapshooting championship. I was helping coach the kids at the time and was there, So I immediately sat down at my Blackberry and composed a press release, tracked down the email addresses for the sports editors of a couple of our local papers, emailed the press release and included my cell phone number.

A few hours later I got a call from a feature writer for one of the local newspaper chains, and I arranged for her and a photographer to come out to the club the next week to interview the kids. And that resulted in a very nice article being published in all the chain's newspapers, covering roughly the entire East Bay side of the San Francisco Bay Area.

See http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n15831214 (Unfortunately, the version of the article in this link doesn't include the photographs).

A little while later, the anchorwoman of one of our local morning news shows challenged the woman reporter on that station's evening magazine show to a shooting contest. Our club was contacted, and we arranged for them to shoot some trap. We also provided some coaching for the anchorwoman. We got a nice segment on the show, and the two reporters had a good time and came away with a positive view of shooting sports.

Sure these are only local media, but I think things start there. If you are active in a club, develop lines of communication with your local TV stations and newspapers, and keep them informed of activities at your club.

And yes, in both cases the focus was on the sporting aspects of guns and shooting. But that is often the most effective way to introduce the subject to the uninitiated and begin to dispel the "demons" many people associate with guns. IME, once someone has begun to see guns in a positive light through the shooting sports, they become more open to rational consideration of self defense applications.

 

[skua44]

I encountered this several years ago in Antarctica. My foreman, as a joke for more than anything else, turned my name in as "person of the week" (whoop-tee-friggin'-do). Out comes the Navy reporter (I'm civilian) to do the interview. He had note pad, tape recorder, the whole works. I explained my job, the difference in constructing a sea-ice, compacted snow and a glacier runway, among other things. When the article came out he got my name right and that's about it. I got the royal horse-laugh from my co-workers. A tape recorder and he still bungled most of it. It was harmless but sure made me wonder how badly serious issues are mis-represented by hostile media.

 

[PennsyPlinker]

I talked to a reporter a few months ago. He was waiting for someone from our group to show up to a meeting place we had advertised. He asked me if I would talk to him, and if they could film it. I agreed, asking him if he was going to treat me fairly. I wasn't sure that he would, and based on previous experience with reporters on even neutral subjects, I did not expect a lot of accuracy.

He started in by asking me, "Just how important is this Second Amendment stuff to you?" I responded by asking him how important this First Amendment stuff was to him. It stopped him cold for a few seconds. He thought about it, and then said, "That's a very good point. I never looked at it like that before."

He ended up giving me some good air time on the web with the video, and quoted me in the article he wrote for his paper. He has been covering an ongoing incident in northeast PA, and to his credit, he is doing a pretty decent job of it, at least as far as I have seen. So while I do not expect a lot from reporters in general, I still give them the time, because I never know if or when I might say something that will get through to them or to their audience. I guess I am still something of an idealist.

 

[Monkeyleg]

I've had fair treatment from the press before, but those times were far from the norm.

At least this guy didn't put words in my mouth, which other reporters have. He just gave the other side 90% of their arguments.

I once had a reporter call about concealed carry. He asked why it was needed in Wisconsin, since our state has a fairly low violent crime rate compared to other states.

I said that if he considered 12,000 rapes, armed robberies, homicides, attempted homicides and other violent crimes to be an "acceptable level of violence," then we had nothing more to talk about. He didn't say anything more, so I guess we really did have nothing more to talk about.

 

[sanglant]

we had a tragedy happen at our range... i wont go into it atm but i wanted to release a statement to the press and i did... they twisted all of my words and made it say what they wanted it to say...

either way the media will edit every thing you say to promote their point they are trying to make...

lesson learned

from now on its "no comment" and "get off my property"

please don't forget the "you pompous..."

 

[Trebor]

Talking to the press and getting your message across is a skill that can be learned.

One of the tricks to getting a message out, any message, is to contact the media yourself with something they'll want to cover, not just wait for them to contact you for a sound bite reaction to some topical news story.

Here's a thread on some very positive coverage we got for our Women on Target shoot last year. Note that the reporter wouldn't even have attended if I hadn't contacted the editor directly and explained the event and why it was important to her readers.

Here's the thread. I don't want to repost everything here.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=301718

 

[zerosignal]

Strangely enough, the whole "drinking" issue was the one the Air Force used to deny us all the ability to store our firearms in the dorms.

Even more strangely, you WERE allowed to keep your firearms in individual base housing, and just as much drinking happened there.

There is no such thing as a gun control argument that makes sense.

 

[UhKlem]

Photo bias trick

Something I've noticed in many newspaper articles with accompanying photos is the use of a very wide angle lens with the photographer shooting up at the armed subject. This creates a subtle 'menacing' look by making the head of the subject appear bigger, and if the muzzle is in view the bore in the foreground will appear larger. The subliminal message is that gun enthusiasts are huge headed megalomaniacs with portable cannons, looking down on everyone else.

Never let a photojournalist crouch to take your picture, and always ask them to back away so that a wide angle lens isn't needed. Better yet, have prepared composed photos with responsible poses to hand out .

 

[plexreticle]

Like most news the story is written before the idiot even does the interviews or research.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

Reporters are like Cops.

Very helpful if you call them and tell them what is going on. But, if they are looking for you, you are in deep trouble.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Why talk to the press?


* People will fill an informational vacuum with whatever their fantasies and fears suggest to them.

* If the reporter is going to bias/lie/distort, you've denied them the plausibility of innocent error: they have to make a karmic choice to step over the line.

* Silence creates an impression of consent

* The defensive strategy of diminishment, of making oneself small and innocuous (ie: "closeting") is a play for a person or group in a weak position, not for people who are mainstream, and have history, fact, and the law on their side.

 

[Bubbles]

After dealing with the press for several years with a gun-rights group, I came to realize that the only way to get your message out with a hostile reporter is to insist on a live interview so that your words can not be edited. Will they give you tough questions? Yes. But as we've seen, that doesn't mean you need to answer them; you can essentially say what you like... within FCC guidelines, anyway.

 

[siglite]

I've dealt with the press quite a bit, and here's their MO.

They start with a forgone, sensational conclusion. From there, they gather quotes, soundbites etc... that support this forgone conclusion. If you are presenting a point of view (in their comical definition of "objectivity") that opposes the forgone conclusion, your quotes will be chopped into a couple of phrases. Those phrases will be chopped to present you in the most negative light possible. Overall, the article will support the forgone conclusion.

HOWEVER.

*most* people are smart enough to see through the media today. The complete lack of objective journalism has become so common, that even the "sheeple" read nearly anything presented by the media with a grain of salt. Even being trashed by the media generates publicity for your cause.

In the past couple of months, the WVCDL has been trashed up and down in our local communist rag. Their attempts to trash us have generated more publicity and membership for us than any of our previous efforts. We view being trash-talked/slammed/attacked by our local communist rag as a sign of success. We hope they keep it up. It's working great for us.

 

[everallm]

There are a few basic facts that you have to remember about the media.

They are a business and the intent of any business is to make a profit.
Typically they have a very specific set of demographics and readership they target and therefore need to sell to.
The general rule is "If it bleeds, it leads", no one gets a Pulitzer for the headline, "Today, nothing important really happened

So as with anything, before talking to the press on ANY subject not just firearms.

I have treated any time I have had to talk to the press the same as if I was talking to an auditor from the SEC.

1. P6.....Proper Preparation Prevents P*ss Poor Performance

Try to avoid ad-hoc discussions, know your facts, stay on subject, don't assume the other side has an IQ greater than a hamster, practice your spiel before. Write it down, go over it, spell check it, treat it like a job interview.

2. Stand Up, Speak Up, Shut Up, Sit Down

Same idea as a good best mans speech. Short pithy sound bites, inject a SMALL note of humour (it's not stand up), when you've finished, ask for their comments.

3. They don't know what you know.

Avoid jargon, acronyms or "industry speak". The other side has no real idea of what your talking about or the terminology you may use. If you are explaining a concept make sure they understand it....say the difference between a semi-automatic rifle and an "assault rifle".......
Don't get caught up in intricacies. Explaining the difference in DA/SA, between a revolver and a semi-automatic will be like explaining the "off side rule" in soccer to a Yankees fan.

4. "Silence is golden" or "Verbal diarrhea stinks as much as the real thing"

Most people love the sound of their own voice and subscribe to the belief that nature abhors a sound vacuum. This is the way a good reporter or interrogator will try and get YOU to volunteer information to THEM. Once you've finished speaking STOP, ask if there is anything else you would like to discuss or "What's you view on it?". Make them talk to you.

5. "If it's not on paper it don't exist"

During the process, take notes, when you've finished, ask for an address or email address and follow up with a thank you, a round up and precis of what was discussed and any links to any proofs or statistics you may have used. This may help to avoid the "Assumptions are like sharks, they're only there to bite you in the arse" piece.