How to improve accuracy in news stories about your event

By Joan Stewart

You spend months convincing a major newspaper or magazine to write a story about your special event, and finally, they agree.

Instead of being elated, you ask the reporter, “Can I read the story before it’s printed?”

Of course not. But there are many things you can do before, during or after the interview to increase the chances of a fair and accurate story.

• If the reporter has a preconceived notion about a story, and it is inaccurate, set the record straight immediately before proceeding with the interview. You can do so by providing background information, reports, etc., to prove your case. If the reporter persists in writing about something you feel is inaccurate, you might want to decline being interviewed, but explain why.
  
  
• Prepare for the interview. Choose three or four main points you want to make and be sure you mention them during the interview. Don’t wait for the reporter to ask the question that will then let you bridge to your key point. Weave your key points into the interview.
  
  
• Offer to send a media kit ahead of time. This is a folder that contains information about your event, such as profiles of the presenters, a history of the event, a fact sheet, etc. Or gather accurate background information the reporter might find helpful such as newsletters, past news clippings about your event or other materials the reporter can take back to the office.

During the interview:

• Talk slowly and in short sentences so reporters can get accurate quotes. Ask reporters if they would like you to repeat any information.
  
  
• Ask the reporter to read back your quotes either during the interview or before the story is printed. More disagreements arise over inaccurate quotes that in any other part of the story. Understand, however, that if you don’t like the sound of what you actually said, or you regret having said it, you don’t have a right to change it.
  
  
• Don’t talk “off the record” to reporters you don’t know well. If you know and trust the reporter, and you need to offer background information that can’t be printed, first ask if you can go off the record. If the reporter agrees, state the information, then make sure the reporter understands that he or she cannot use it. The danger in talking “off the record,” however, is that reporters can use the information if they can find someone else to confirm it “on the record.” The best rule of thumb, therefore, is that if you don’t want to see it, don’t say it.
  
  
• Spell out names phonetically for the reporter: For example, “Her last name is Stewart: S as in Sam, T as in Thomas, E as in Edward…” and so on.
  
  
• Make sure the reporter gets correct titles. Ask them if they’d like to double-check titles with you.
  
  
• Ask the reporter to “fact check” the story with you before it is printed. A reporter does this by calling you after the story is written and reading back to you the facts as they will appear in the story.
  
  
• If the interview is super-sensitive, tell the reporter you want to record it. If you record it, allow the reporter to record it, too.
  
  
• If you’re providing photos for the media, make sure names of people in the photos are written on a sheet of paper that’s taped to the back of the photo. Never let information for the caption become separated from the photos.

After the interview:

• Ask the newspaper to correct inaccurate information. If the publication doesn’t correct the error, it might appear again in print.
  
  
• For grievous errors, or if you feel the publication treated you unfairly, write a letter to the editor or an opinion column (send your photo) to set the record straight in your own words. Editors will seldom if ever refuse to print these.
  
  
• Don’t forget to send a handwritten thank-you note to the reporter who wrote the story and to any photographers who took photos.

Keeping these things in mind will help reporters do their jobs even better. And that helps you become a valuable source that they’ll keep returning to again and again.   

Joan Stewart publishes “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” a free ezine on how to generate thousands of dollars in free publicity. You can sign up for it at www.PublicityHound.com where you’ll also find 50 free articles on all aspects of publicity.