The Media is Your Friend...

Most people view "the media" as bad. Worse, they apply tags such as lazy, shiftless, and stupid to the whole lot of us (As the publisher of TDD and a life-long journalist, I'm one of them.)

But the media is your friend--if you play the rules. And that's where most people get it wrong. They don't know how the system works. You see, it's all depends on the spin and your subject-matter.

For instance, because my electrical rates are higher than Robert Downey Jr., I contacted the local paper and pitched the story to them as a public service. "Perhaps other consumers are getting screwed by the utility," I said innocently. The New Haven Register ran the story and the DPUC, the regulatory agency in CT governing the utilities, took action by forestalling their rate increase. Of course, it didn't hurt my case that a gaggle of seniors quoted in the story also were affected. It always help your case if the elderly has been screwed with.

Same thing with Experian, the credit reporting agency. Monthly charges totaling $11.99 (ironically for credit protection services) kept appearing on my credit card. The company did not take action until I wrote (and copied Experian) to the Connecticut Attorney General's office and contacted the Hartford Courant. The result? Two years worth of credit protection services charges dropped.

Whenever an agency (or the media) screwed with radio man Don Imus, he used his microphone as his (bully) pulpit. "What do people who don't have a morning talk show with seven million listeners do to get even with these bastards? he groused. But you don't need a morning radio show to be heard. Here are some tips for getting your story circulated in the mainstream media:

1.) Before calling the media, call a state agency. Take careful notes and parrot them back to the producer or reporter. Do a little bit of their homework for them.

2.) Be a willing source in the story. Journalists are frequently lazy. If you're willing to be quoted in the story, that's one less person they have to go find on deadline. Make it easy on them.

3.) Be sure the story has merit. Calling the media agency and stating the new school proposition is "gay", probably hurts your case.

4.) Screen in. Don't screen out. Don't be intimidated that your idea is stupid, outlandish or without merit. Chances are others are in your identical situation.

5.) Be accessible. Media agencies, such as newspapers, typically don't have 9-5 deadlines. So be prepared to be contacted in the off hours.

Perhaps Chris Rock said it best: "I ain't never had to be watching the media at an ATM. Mike Wallace ain't never stolen from me."