Verbal Clues That a Reporter Doesn't Like You
Here are two:
1. When you tell a reporter you can't comment on a story, the reporter has several options for how to present that response to his or her audience.
a. "Spokesman O.R. Chard said the company could not comment on pending litigation." (Seems reasonable enough.)
b. "The company declined to comment." (Begs explanation, but fairly neutral.)
c. "The company refused to comment." (Hmmm ... looks like the reporter doesn't like you.)
2. When you give your company or client's point of view on an issue, the reporter also has several options:
a. "Spokesman O.R. Chard said that the company had done nothing wrong." (Neutral.)
b. "Spokesman O.R. Chard insisted that the company had done nothing wrong." (Bad.)
c. "Spokesman O.R. Chard claimed that the company had done nothing wrong." (Worse.)
When you're reading, watching or listening to the news, look out for these words. They'll tip you off to the journalist's true feelings about the story -- and the company you represent.
Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, Marketing
posted by Scott Baradell at
12:10 AM
6 Comments:
Speaking as a former reporter: Great post! Another good reason why media literacy should be taught in schools...with exactly this kind of stuff in the curriculum.
BTW -- another word to look out for is the use of "reportedly."
By
Ann Handley, at 6/26/2006
I agree, in principle, but let us not forget that many "reporters" on the Boob-Tube are just reading the teleprompter with words written by somebody else. It isn't a totally clear situation where you can know that what the reporter "says" is what the reporter "thinks/ believes".
I usually look for visual clues like rolling the eyes, raising an eyebrow, or that whole pointing at the side of the head and making circular motions with the index finger.
By
Tim Jackson- Masi Guy, at 6/26/2006
I'm sure you get that last one a lot, Tim.
By
SB, at 6/26/2006
Wait.. how'd you know?
By
Tim Jackson- Masi Guy, at 6/26/2006
I was glad you showed three variations on each example; quotes can be skewed in quite subtle ways. I would also add that I've seen many reporters who had such a poor command of the english language that they simply didn't see much difference between "declined" and "refused".
By
George Plumley, at 6/27/2006
You might be interested in a post I wrote about Why interviews go wrong, written from my perspective as a former journalist.
By
Matthew Stibbe (Bad Language), at 6/27/2006
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