Who Ya Gonna Get to Do the Dirty Work?

Since we know the pundits aren’t ready to drive nails into your coffin, and they want to treat you as fairly as you deserve, how do you get them on the phone? You call! But before you pick up the phone, make sure you know which paper or magazine is the right one, and who is the best journalist to contact. Don’t call people or e-mail them, asking, “Are you the right guy for this idea?”

Start by picking up the past ten issues of the newspaper or magazine to get more acquainted with it. Do your homework. Try to find the right journalist. One who is willing, if need be, to say, “I’m wrong for this. Sorry.” Are they covering public companies? Are they columnists or reporters? For those who aren’t sure of the precise difference (’fess up, now), columnists are people who write snippets of sometimes sinister, often salacious tidbits and news-of-the-second on people and places, peppered with their own opinions or outlooks. Reporters create stories of longer-lasting value, often with an interesting snippet or vignette leading off the story.

Once you’ve narrowed your search a bit, find out what your target reporter does. For example, does he specialize in profiles of public firms? Does he go for local neighborhood news, or does he only cover big-time entertainment muckety-mucks?

After you’ve found the right writer and you have his or her ear, tell the full story. Withholding important information makes for a poor story, or no story at all. Since we know it’s not innate in journalists to inflict pain, we can rest a little easier knowing that everything doesn’t have to be a secret, damaging, or, God forbid, proprietary. If you are honest with reporters, they will try hard to be fair with you.