Heather and everyone, Many cavers have long held the positions:
* don't trust or talk to the media because they will screw up what you tell them, and * we need the public to better understand caves to care about and help protect them. The problem is that we need the media to effectively educate the public so we can't afford to ignore or alienate them. Reporters are often rushed to meet deadlines, especially if they are trying to get in a story within 24 hours or less. Like for most of the public, caves are alien to reporters. They have a huge number of long-held stereotypes and mis-conceptions. One interview won't eliminate them all. Most are good people trying to sincerely do a good job, but they often mix-up their misconceptions with what they actually heard, especially if much of the interview is in a cave where they can't take many notes. I get interviewed frequently in my job. One thing I've found to keep the printed word accurate is to essentially tell the reporter at the end of the interview: "Thank you for interviewing me. I can tell you want to write a great report and I'd like to help. A lot of what I've told you and what you've seen is completely new to you. A lot of it is complicated. I may not have been clear on some points and you could have misunderstood me on others. What is your deadline? Send me your draft article and I'll make myself available to quickly fact-check it and get it back to you ASAP to meet your deadline. That way we can be it is right." I've found that this works about 70% of the time, so most of my interviews turn out well. As for the other 30%, my worst experience was when a reporter misquoted me 15 times in 11 short paragraphs! Rather than berate her, I pointed out the errors, expressed sympathy for her position, and developed a good working relationship that has since benefited caves and karst. We are all ambassadors of caves and could be potentially interviewed. If you find yourself in that position, remember to keep the information simple to minimize confusion and mistakes, ask to review the draft article for technical accuracy, and after the article is printed to contact the reporter. If the article is good, thank the reporter. If there are problems, thank the reporter for what was right and discuss the problems in a sympathetic way. Make that reporter a better reporter for caves and karst. And if you are in position where you are likely to be interviewed again, then build a relationship with the reporter so you will each learn to go to each other when needed and can trust that the outcome will be good. George ******************** George Veni, Ph.D. Executive Director National Cave and Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org www.nckri.org
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