How Reporters are like Elephants
By Darrell L. Browning
Reporters are like elephants. They are not large in number but you’ll definitely notice them when they enter the room. They travel in herds and seem to think alike. One of our principals just got back from a training assignment for The World Bank in Africa and made some additional observations you might find useful when you suddenly find yourself confronted with these, ahem, beasts. When you find yourself or your company in the wild, keep these things in mind.
- Elephants know what they want. So do reporters. Elephants want grass. Reporters want stories.
- Elephants stick together. Reporters do too. It is rare that you will find journalists disagreeing with each other over an approach to a story. Elephants are also very, very protective of their young–as with the two- week-old baby elephant in our photo. Editors are no different and will almost always stick up for their reporters with just as much zeal.
- Elephants are big–and they know it. Reporters take their jobs seriously and try–really–to get their facts straight when handling difficult or complicated stories. Some reporters are obnoxious; others playful and some you just shouldn’t mess with. You can’t ignore the elephant–or the reporter. But you can accommodate them–help them with their story. Eventually–and at a time of their choosing– they will mosey on along somewhere else.
- Never argue with an elephant. Or a reporter. Your chances of coming out of either encounter with anything less than life-threatening injuries are doubtful. Always keep your cool and never lose your composure. Instead, ask leading questions of the reporter to find out what they are after–and then help them get something compatible with that they can use in their story.
- Elephants never forget. Reporters won’t either, especially if you lie, fudge or mislead them. In addition, elephants will immediately warn others in the herd of impending danger. Reporters–yes, from competing news outlets–routinely share sources– and stories about whom to stay away from out there in the wilderness.
Elephants are biased; you won’t find them hanging out with the zebras. The same is true of reporters. When confronted with an obvious bias use it to your advantage by offering to educate and inform the reporter–not “correct” their mistaken point of view. The final thing you should never do is make an elephant mad. The elephant will simply stomp you. The reporter may carry that anger right into the story–which could result in the same thing. You’ll regret it. Better to back off and just watch.
For more information see http://www.browninglafrankie.com.
©BrowningLaFrankie 2009
About the Author:
Darrell L. Browning is a principal founder of BrowningLaFrankie LLC, a Philadelphia-area based company specializing in helping companies manage crises, train leaders in media and presentation skills in addition to facilitating strategic change through leadership development and organizational development workshops. Browning is the trainer-of-choice at The Wharton School MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania in crisis communications, media training and business writing. A journalist by profession, Browning has more than 20 years of media experience with CBS-Radio, daily newspapers and national magazines. He holds degrees in Journalism and Social Sciences from The Ohio State University. For more information see http://www.browninglafrankie.com.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How Reporters are Like Elephants
Baby elephants play
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