Beans Wit Attitude: Reporter Relationships

My mom always told me to treat others like I would want to be treated. Apparently, some reporters and public officials missed that lesson.

The key to succeeding in the media is telling the truth. When a reporter lies to a source, or vice versa, it becomes hard to maintain a professional relationship.

This has been a problem in the past with Sergio Molina, the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. He said that reporters have lied to him several times and it kills their credibility.

On the other side, it is also common for officials to not be truthful with the press. Sometimes a source may not flat-out lie, but also will not answer the question satisfactorily. In my opinion, this kills the credibility as well; if a source is not giving necessary information, the reporter will go to someone else.

So how do reporters and public officials build trust?

According to Molina, honesty is the key. He says that reporters will lie about talking to sources, which is a dumb mistake. All it takes is one phone call to that source to find the reporter was lying. Why lose a source over something so small? Telling the truth works.

Molina also relates that he must be honest with reporters to keep his job. When officials are exposed for lying, they lose integrity with the media and their communities. Losing both of these will ruin their career.

Another factor that is important to Molina is a reporter’s ability to explain their article. If a reporter can lay out what story they plan to tell, he can answer questions in a way to help the reporter. He says he also respects a reporter who asks a lot of questions because it shows that they did their homework.

This is a problem with many reporters: they don’t ask the right questions. They do not do research and settle for the quick quote. I say dig deeper. Find out something worth knowing and challenge officials to do better. Make the story worthwhile to your reader and ask the question no one else is asking.

This, unfortunately, leads to another problem. Some reporters think a scandal lies at the bottom of every story. Instead of asking the important questions that affect the community, they instead look for a deeper meaning behind simple stories.

This can also kill reporter-source relationships. If an official is constantly on the defensive, how will they ever be comfortable answering questions? While the official is obligated to answer questions, they should be questions that the readers care about.

Citizens care about how a new sewage system will affect their taxes. They do not care if the mayor is possibly helping out a friend in the sewage business. While it may be a plausible theory, it does not attack the readers’ main concern, which is a clean sewage system that will protect them and their family.

There is also a question of whether or not reporters and public officials can become friends while maintaining a business relationship.

It is possible. The only problem is knowing where to draw the line. If a reporter becomes too close with a source, they may be more resistant in asking the hard questions. But if a source is upset with a reporter, it may be hard to get any answers at all.

It all comes back to the golden rule. Being friendly is important, and it is possible to write encouraging stories instead of scandalous ones. Molina says reporters are beneficial when they write about a program that is helping the community. If you help out your source, they will likely help you in return.

Reporters and public officials are not enemies. But, by nature of their jobs, they tend to be competitors. While this may create bad blood, it also challenges them to do their jobs better. They do not have to get along, they just have to tolerate each other by being professional and helping one another.

My mom was always pretty smart.