By Dino Corvino for Wausau Pilot & Review
Dear public officials,
In recent weeks, we have seen an increase in combativeness from elected officials and municipal employees when it comes to communicating with journalists. I think that is a mistake, and I want to offer a bit of advice.
A common criticism is that the media is going to write or produce whatever content it wants, no matter what “the truth” is.
Well, that is a little bit true, but it is also mostly false. Let’s say 95% false.
First, reputable journalists do not knowingly publish falsehoods. Doing so can expose them to legal liability, and it destroys their credibility. So I find it hard to believe that anyone serious about being a journalist is simply out there making things up.
But more importantly, as a public official, you have an enormous amount of control over the story you tell.
You control your own actions as an elected official or public employee. You control how you vote. You control how you do your job. You control what you say in public meetings and what you post on social media. You have a platform, and that platform is yours to use.
When a journalist contacts you, you also control how you answer the questions.
Again, literally: You control the words coming out of your mouth or the words you type in response to an on-the-record question.
That is a lot of control.
A journalist is not a public relations person. Their job, in a nutshell, is to identify a potential story, research it, report it and publish it. The decision about what story to pursue — and ultimately what to write — belongs to the journalist.
But you have a role in that process.
If a journalist asks you a question and you choose not to answer, you are taking the bat off your shoulder and letting the pitch go by. If you say “no comment,” same thing.
And both choices are reportable.
What is also reportable is the response you choose to give. When a journalist asks you a question, you have an opportunity to consider it and put forward what you believe people should know. Then the journalist decides whether that response supports the story, complicates it or takes it in another direction.
But you get to control the story you tell.
You do not control what a journalist ultimately publishes. You do control your participation in it. And engaging with a journalist — especially when the subject is something you care deeply about — matters.
Sure, not every story is going to go the way you want it to. That is part of public life. But taking some agency over your own response is almost always better than refusing to participate.
I get it. The constant criticism on social media is exhausting. I am one of those online critics.
But burying your head in the sand and hoping no one notices what you do — or says anything about it — seems like a pretty bad strategy.
If you do not tell your story, someone else will tell it for you.
Related: I could not be more stoked to be associated with the Wausau Pilot and Shereen after this summer’s reporting. The Pilot’s increased focus on municipalities throughout the Wausau area has been incredibly rewarding to watch.
I am proud of Wausau Pilot.
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