The call by some leading publications like Newsweek, Time and Fortune to bid farewell to their fact checkers isn't much ado about nothing. This surfacing trend has been widely publicized in the mainstream media as well as trade publications like the Columbia Journalism Review and it's a move that doesn't just affect journalists.
It's sure to add more to your professional plate as well.
Media outlets have reported many reasons - including cost-cutting measures and the argument that it will turn out better journalists - for the cutbacks.
Still, those reasons aren't all that comforting.
Nonetheless, here's what it means for you: As a PR/communications professional, you may have relied, in the past, on the press being the skeptics and checking and re-checking information, but now it's your turn to be a doubting Thomas and make sure that what ends up in print is fact - not fiction.
What follows is a keepsake PR rundown on what you should do to be a top-notch fact checker.
Pamela Whitney, CEO of ADI PressTrac Inc., an international news content analysis firm, advises you on six steps you can take to help reporters get the facts straight - and what you can do if they don't!
1. Make sure that all your facts can be verified in writing and give them to the reporter in advance of (if possible) and during the interview. A fact sheet with a graphic visual supporting each of your top three facts (or message points) will have more of an impact.
2. Try to keep the reporter on the facts or "on message" and again review the facts with the reporter in the interview. Sounds simple, but sometimes reporters review the materials in advance but ask questions not necessarily pertinent to the issue.
3. After the interview, e-mail or fax the reporter - again reiterating the key facts in writing. Make sure that all collateral materials submitted contain the exact facts communicated in the interview and that the reporter acknowledges having received them.
4. Keep copious notes of all telephone conversations pre- and post-interview - and especially during the interview.
Write a memo "to the file" not only after the interview but after the backgrounder or any pertinent conversation with the reporter. Staple your handwritten notes to the memo. This step will be of tremendous value should your client or company find itself in a lawsuit because of damages suffered by the company due to inaccurate reporting.
5. Make sure that key facts are part of your key message points and track them after they have appeared in the print or electronic media.
This will help you track your media coverage from all media outlets, especially those outlets that have reduced or eliminated fact checking.
If key facts are not getting coverage, you'll know early on so you can either find a more illustrative fact or better substantiate the one you're using.
6. If the reporter got the facts wrong - or they were taken out of context - immediately respond to the media outlet in writing. Call the reporter about the mistake and strongly request that it be corrected immediately. Track that specific media outlet to make sure the inaccuracy was fixed. (ADI, 941/466-6166)