Late last year, Sports Illustrated’s reputation took a hit when it published AI-generated content and presented it as if it were written by a human. When asked about it, Sports Illustrated at first said nothing.  Next it deleted the content and issued a statement, blaming a contractor for stating that its content was made by humans when it obviously wasn’t.

This is a striking example of questionable content being passed off as the real thing. As a result, trust in the news media is very low.  According to a 2022 poll done by the Gallop Organization, only 7 percent of Americans have a “great deal” of trust in the media and only 27 percent have a “fair amount” of trust in the media. 

As a result of this lack of trust and the fact that it is easier than ever to pass off questionable or fake information, members of the media are working harder than ever to make sure that the information they are putting out to the public is the real thing. One way they do that is by having trusted sources. If you are reaching out to the media, how can you build and maintain trust with the media and become a trusted source?

Provide quality content

It has been said that “Content is king”, so make sure that your content is right for and benefits both the media outlet and its audience.  How do you do that?  By taking the time to read the publications or watch the news programs to get a feel of the offerings of the outlet.  Follow the news outlet and relevant journalists on their social media platforms and engage with them. That way, when you are ready to reach out, they may already know who you are and you will be prepared to provide content that matches what they are looking for.  By doing that consistently, you will be seen a source of high-quality information that they can rely on.  If you do that often enough, you might get lucky and have members of the media reach out to you.

Know your facts — and foster transparency

When sending information to the media, be sure that it is accurate, thorough and correct.  If a reporter asks you a question, answer it clearly and plainly.  If you don’t know, say so.  Don’t guess or wing it.  Instead, offer to find out, and be sure to ask when the reporter’s deadline is so you can get back to them in a timely manner. It’s okay not to know something because that provides is an opportunity to find out.  What isn’t okay is to present inaccurate information.  Doing that reduces your likelihood of getting positive media coverage and increases the likelihood of being put on the reporter’s black list. So, don’t forget to do your due diligence before reaching out to the media.

Have a trusted spokesperson ready to comment

One part of doing your due diligence is having a trusted spokesperson at the ready.  Make sure whomever you put in front of reporters has been trained on what to say and what not to say to the media. You never know when something will happen and reporters will be knocking at your door, so it is important to be prepared. 

Be responsive

If a reporter calls you out of the blue and asks you some questions, be sure to answer the questions correctly and in timely manner. This is especially important in an emergency situation. During an emergency, everyone from your employees to the surrounding community wants to know what is going on.  That’s when being responsive to the media is of the utmost importance.  Provide information as soon as it is requested and if you don’t have the information, say so, let the reporter know when you will have the information ready and get a hold of the reporter as soon as you have the requested information.

In order to build trust with the media, you need to be trustworthy.  That involves providing quality content, being transparent and responsive.  Those things show that you are worthy of the media’s trust.  Once the media trusts you, they will be responsive when you reach out to them. 

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