How to keep the media dogs at bay?
March 16, 2018 11:21 PM Subscribe
A friend of mine was just contacted by a news organization that is dredging up painful memories that she'd rather not revisit. What is the most effective way to keep out of the spotlight?
The email arrived from a reporter at a prominent national news source asking to talk to her about "Joe", a person from her distant past, best left forgotten. A long time ago, Joe and my friend had worked together on a politcal campaign. Nobody, save one other woman, might have a reason to dig up these distant memories all these years later, especially in any newsworthy manner.
My friend came to me in confidence after receiving the cold-call email from the reporter. The only reason she can think of for any public interest in Joe is that he might be running for office or some other highly public endeavour that attracts attention. The only person my friends suspects could have made this connection is one with a shared #MeToo experience with Joe.
The problem is that my friend is not interested in thinking about her own #MeToo experience. Definitely not wanting to talk to anyone in the media about it even if only in a corroborating capacity. For her, these are dogs that are best to let lie.
What is the best approach for my friend to fend off any incoming media enquiries? Ignore them? Reply with a simple "no comment"?
The goal is to keep the media away and return Joe to a distant, and ignored, memory.
The email arrived from a reporter at a prominent national news source asking to talk to her about "Joe", a person from her distant past, best left forgotten. A long time ago, Joe and my friend had worked together on a politcal campaign. Nobody, save one other woman, might have a reason to dig up these distant memories all these years later, especially in any newsworthy manner.
My friend came to me in confidence after receiving the cold-call email from the reporter. The only reason she can think of for any public interest in Joe is that he might be running for office or some other highly public endeavour that attracts attention. The only person my friends suspects could have made this connection is one with a shared #MeToo experience with Joe.
The problem is that my friend is not interested in thinking about her own #MeToo experience. Definitely not wanting to talk to anyone in the media about it even if only in a corroborating capacity. For her, these are dogs that are best to let lie.
What is the best approach for my friend to fend off any incoming media enquiries? Ignore them? Reply with a simple "no comment"?
The goal is to keep the media away and return Joe to a distant, and ignored, memory.
You friend can ignore, or she can respond saying she doesn’t want to comment or be named in any story. Any reputable news outlet should respect this.
posted by lunasol at 2:59 AM on March 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 2:59 AM on March 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Ignore them. Don’t even reply to say no comment. Don’t call and say they they’ve got the wrong person or that you’re not interested in talking. Just go completely dark. Legit journalists will get the message after a few tries and back off. (Yes, it feels super rude, in case you’re the type of person who likes to stay on top of your phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages). This method is very effective, which is why you’ve never seen my name in the news!
posted by whitewall at 3:32 AM on March 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by whitewall at 3:32 AM on March 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
Also, media training 101 is to never say, “No comment,” because the journalist can work that into the story however they want and it confirms you were contacted and that you exist.
It’s the difference between:
“The other woman accused of stealing llamas, Jane Smith, a doctor in Springville, said, “No comment,” before hanging up the phone when contacted by a reporter about the accusation.”
and
“Another woman accused of stealing llamas could not be reached for comment and her identity could not be confirmed.”
So, do not engage on even a minimal level.
If this gets too crazy, you get a lawyer/PR person and they handle *all* communication with the press, but that seems about 10 steps away from this. For now, ignore, ignore, ignore.
posted by whitewall at 3:38 AM on March 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
It’s the difference between:
“The other woman accused of stealing llamas, Jane Smith, a doctor in Springville, said, “No comment,” before hanging up the phone when contacted by a reporter about the accusation.”
and
“Another woman accused of stealing llamas could not be reached for comment and her identity could not be confirmed.”
So, do not engage on even a minimal level.
If this gets too crazy, you get a lawyer/PR person and they handle *all* communication with the press, but that seems about 10 steps away from this. For now, ignore, ignore, ignore.
posted by whitewall at 3:38 AM on March 17, 2018 [27 favorites]
Former reporter here. Sorry to be alarmist - but I’m going to set out the worst case scenario below. The best case scenario is it comes to nothing, the reporter may just drop it and move on.
To start, ignore and do not respond - not even to say no comment. Simply hang up. Ignore emails. Don’t confirm your name, don’t say ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ or ‘I don’t want to be quoted.’ Nothing. Zip. Blank. And I’d recommend locking down LinkedIn and any social media accounts, putting at least two factor authentication on email and social. If she has contact details for work online see if she can take them down. It may be too late for this given they have found her (if this is how the found her) but no need to hand them a par of background for free. And if it goes off, you’ll make it a bit harder (although again, not impossible) for other outlets doing follows.
Without confirmation that you’ve reached someone, and without anything online, it is really hard (although again not impossible) for a reporter to do much more than “Friend’s Name could not be reached for comment.”
Anything you say, plus whatever is in the public domain, can be spun into “So and so, a former [your friend’s role] for Joe, declined to comment. Ms Friend, a graduate of [university] and former [other role], now a [current role found on LinkedIn], did [things she did] from date to date during XYZ campaign.”
Be prepared, depending on how hot the story is, who Joe is, how juicy the scandal, what other sources there are, how hungry/driven/aggressive the reporter, insane the editor or chief of staff (major factors in how far it goes), for someone to turn up in person at your friend’s home and/or workplace with a photographer. Only you can assess these fact these factors. Start by googling the reporter and see what else they’ve done. I would seriously consider staying with a friend for a couple of weeks if possible and keeping an eye on the news for mentions of Joe.
Lots of reporters and news organizations and reporters will respect your privacy - and lots more won’t. You have no way of knowing which. I’m so so sorry your friend’s #metoo is being dredged up and I sincerely hope she’s left alone.
posted by t0astie at 3:48 AM on March 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
To start, ignore and do not respond - not even to say no comment. Simply hang up. Ignore emails. Don’t confirm your name, don’t say ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ or ‘I don’t want to be quoted.’ Nothing. Zip. Blank. And I’d recommend locking down LinkedIn and any social media accounts, putting at least two factor authentication on email and social. If she has contact details for work online see if she can take them down. It may be too late for this given they have found her (if this is how the found her) but no need to hand them a par of background for free. And if it goes off, you’ll make it a bit harder (although again, not impossible) for other outlets doing follows.
Without confirmation that you’ve reached someone, and without anything online, it is really hard (although again not impossible) for a reporter to do much more than “Friend’s Name could not be reached for comment.”
Anything you say, plus whatever is in the public domain, can be spun into “So and so, a former [your friend’s role] for Joe, declined to comment. Ms Friend, a graduate of [university] and former [other role], now a [current role found on LinkedIn], did [things she did] from date to date during XYZ campaign.”
Be prepared, depending on how hot the story is, who Joe is, how juicy the scandal, what other sources there are, how hungry/driven/aggressive the reporter, insane the editor or chief of staff (major factors in how far it goes), for someone to turn up in person at your friend’s home and/or workplace with a photographer. Only you can assess these fact these factors. Start by googling the reporter and see what else they’ve done. I would seriously consider staying with a friend for a couple of weeks if possible and keeping an eye on the news for mentions of Joe.
Lots of reporters and news organizations and reporters will respect your privacy - and lots more won’t. You have no way of knowing which. I’m so so sorry your friend’s #metoo is being dredged up and I sincerely hope she’s left alone.
posted by t0astie at 3:48 AM on March 17, 2018 [21 favorites]
On preview, seconding whitewall. Look, I was no Seymour Hersh and my paper was a million miles from a major reputable news outlet in the US, but I, and all my colleagues, would have done what I’ve outlined above as a minimum. I’m so sorry.
posted by t0astie at 3:54 AM on March 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by t0astie at 3:54 AM on March 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
Other steps you can take if the heat is really on. Some of these are already mentioned above, but worth repeating:
1. Lock down all social media. Be sure to lock down LinkedIn, especially if it's a work-related story.
2. Give immediate family a heads up that reporters might be contacting them and tell them to ignore, not confirm or comment.
3. Have a plan to leave places you frequent, especially work, from an alternative exit in case cameras show up.
4. Turn on Google Alerts for your name.
5. Take you name off your badge/office door/etc. in case anyone is wandering around looking for you. Make sure gatekeepers like office admins or switchboard operators know to deflect any inquiries.
posted by whitewall at 5:31 AM on March 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
1. Lock down all social media. Be sure to lock down LinkedIn, especially if it's a work-related story.
2. Give immediate family a heads up that reporters might be contacting them and tell them to ignore, not confirm or comment.
3. Have a plan to leave places you frequent, especially work, from an alternative exit in case cameras show up.
4. Turn on Google Alerts for your name.
5. Take you name off your badge/office door/etc. in case anyone is wandering around looking for you. Make sure gatekeepers like office admins or switchboard operators know to deflect any inquiries.
posted by whitewall at 5:31 AM on March 17, 2018 [5 favorites]
Your friend should identify a lawyer and a therapist she can work with if this escalates. Based on this question, she might want to see the therapist right away. She can reach out for support and remain protected.
posted by jbenben at 6:56 AM on March 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by jbenben at 6:56 AM on March 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
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