Martin Wisckol, OC Register political reporter offered a quick schooling in press relations for candidates in a recent post to the Total Buzz blog on the paper’s site.
A candidate for Orange County Council is widely known to live in Newport Beach (several cities and miles from the city of Orange). Wisckol publishes an email from Rudat and then recounts a phone conversation with her where he explains what off the record is all about.
Those of us who deal with the press regularly have few problems with these rules and when we do have a problem with one reporter, we usually learn our lesson.
Wisckol explains:
It’s the reporter’s prerogative whether or not to go off the record. If the reporter doesn’t agree to go off the record, the source then decides whether to talk at all or to how much to temper their comments. Sometimes when a source wants to go off the record, I’ll ask them to make their "on the record" comment first — then offer them the opportunity to speak off the record. Sometimes I’ll do it the other way around. One thing I always try to do is make it absolutely clear whether we’re on the record or not. Otherwise, you have misunderstandings and that doesn’t work out well for anyone.
Wisckol is one of the best reporters I have ever dealt with. He is fair, reasonable, has a healthy curiosity.
There are several lessons in Wisckol’s post. Chief among them is that candidates should be cautious with press contact and not email or offer comments without careful consideration. Don’t shy away from the media, after all they will print your name and what they know about you whether you like it or not. But recognize the role of the press and that their job is different than yours. Sometimes your interests will be similar, but when they are not, don’t think them mean or evil (some are but that is true in any profession) for doing their job.