I wrote a few days ago about the tragic manhole accident in my own town, Smithtown, NY, that took the life of a seventeen year old boy. The incident was toned out at 9:11pm this past Sunday night.
The media response to the incident left me wondering if the press is looking to us to do the heavy lifting for them.
HERE IS A RECAP OF THE INCIDENT
Sunday night is traditionally a poor night for media coverage. Crews are rarely in the field, and a few freelancers following the scanners are the only signs of broadcast life.
A freelancer appeared on the scene, shot some video and interviewed me during the secondary search for additional victims in the sewer. He was anxious to get the tape to News 12 Long Island, Cablevision’s 24 hour local news channel. Although they broadcast 24/7 it is not all live. Sunday live feeds end at 10:30pm so the story did not make it on the news until the following morning minus video. He sold his video to WABC-TV in the city.
I reached out to all the local and New York City media to let them know about the incident and its status. No one, with limited resources on a Sunday night, was willing to devote time to the story.
The next morning my phone rang off the hook. Every major media outlet wanted photos, videos, whatever I had to give them. Some reporters asked me if I posted video on YouTube so they could download it for broadcast. (We do not post or share video of any incident involving a fatality.)
It appears we have become an extension of the media. All networks, newspapers, blogs and internet sites featured photos that either I took or a photographer from a neighboring department shot. Most initial information about the incident came from my news release and not one on one interviews with me.
I understand that news organizations have their resources stretched by budget constraints, and we as PIO’s want to assist them to get the news out, but over the last year or so I am beginning to feel like we are serving as their adjunct news team.
Your thoughts?
Also on The Fire PIO…
- Add some Creativity to your Staged Photos – May 7, 2010
- LiveU gives the electronic media quicker access to going live on the fire ground – February 17, 2010
- PIO’s should be Repetitive to get their message across to the Media – March 4, 2010
- Set of Irons vs Mix Minus – Fire and Media Jargon – February 26, 2010
That’s because they do see you as their adjunct news team. I think this is a fairly new trend in media relations. Due to the economy many newspapers are closing or laying off reporters, and television news is not immune to that. ABC recently closed all but the DC officeand laid off more than half of its reporter crew.
I have also seen a trend of more freelance reporters approaching us to help them pitch ideas to networks, that upon acceptance, they will come back to us to help write. I have built solid relationships with some amazing local and national reporters, but even they seem very strapped for resources and time and look to me to provide any assistance I possibly can.
While my interactions with the media are somewhat different, I am often left with doing a lot of the legwork for the reporters too, even with hot putton stories that should write themselves.
I am not sure if this is a trend or merely a figment of my imagination, but I’ve recently noticed a deep slump in hard news being reported during morning and evening network broadcasts. News has been reduced to American Idol recaps and, this morning’s highlight, the astrological implications of what month you decide to get married in. I’ve stopped expecting to see real news from network news stations (lost faith in CNN yrs ago).
Some great comments Kathrin.
I agree about your comments pertaining to freelancers looking to pitch stories to editors. This happens to me frequently. It does become time consuming since they are not covering hard news. For them to flesh out a treatment for their pitch, when they are dealing with firematic subject matter that is complex, becomes a teacher/pupil relationship. I do it though because I understand there plight in needing viable stories to put food on the table.