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Correcting the Record: Using Newspaper Comments for Public Relations Benefit

Posted on Aug 17 , 2007 in Communication & Persuasion & PR & Reputation & Spin This!

University of Oregon Associate Professor Scott R.Maier, who teaches in the School of Journalism and Communication, has discovered that fewer than 2 percent of factually flawed articles are corrected at daily newspapers in the United States. Which means that quite a bit of flawed and damaging information is left out there to potentially ruin your reputation. Maier's research paper is expected later this year.

But the prospect of leaving damaging and incorrect information dangling in the webosphere where most newspapers are increasingly publishing their content leads to a discussion of how PR can clear up the record before it becomes lost and forgotten. A technique I have taken to in recent months is to use the comment sections of a newspaper's website to clean up the facts. Here's a recent entry in response to EDITORIAL: Blowing the whistle on 'corrupt, cozy system' :

Michael Sommermeyer wrote on August 13, 2007 10:10 AM: In my conversations with Terry Carter, the author of the ABA Journal article, I described to him how the traffic court uses a hearing officer to preside over attorney sessions that allow attorneys to bring in large numbers of tickets to be adjudicated in one court session. Attorney sessions are not an unusual practice of the court. These sessions allow the court to quickly adjudicate a large percentage of the more than 100,000 traffic tickets processed each year in the Las Vegas Township Justice Court, especially when a defendant just wants to plead guilty and pay a fine. Fines are determined by a set schedule and defendants routinely must reduce their insurance points by attending traffic school.

At no time did I describe to Mr. Carter a system of "who-you-know" justice. I did indicate that individuals are sometimes referred to attorneys specializing in traffic cases and those attorneys negotiate to represent a defendant in attorney sessions. The full text of the ABA Journal article can be found at http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/youre_not_the_boss_of_me/.

Michael Sommermeyer is the Court Information Officer for the Clark County Courts, which includes the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and the Eighth Judicial District Court.

Of course, there are pitfalls: for instance, in this case, my comments fueled a flame war and it could be argued that I should have just left well enough alone. However, since the editorial implied I said justice was for sale, I felt it was important to add more context to the editorial. Also, this editorial follows a long series of articles and controversial web posts detailing alleged bad acts of a single judge.

I have done this quite a few times in regards to other stories with the goal of correcting the article, add pertinent information and clear up the record. I always indicate who I am, so that readers will see the transparency. Usually, this serves as a better forum for clearing the record than a correction: in this case, the story already exists and I'm not generating a second story, or correction item, that has the potential of more errors.

Does anyone else do this or think this is a bad idea?

  • http://www.wordymouth.com Michael Sommermeyer

    The LA Times sees adding comments to a news story as a ploy to allow spin, obfuscation and lies in an editorial challenging Google’s plans to allow direct replies to stories posted in Google News. They do allow for one purpose, “plugging holes in stories or correcting mistaken impressions,” but overall “the comments section is likely to be larded with spin, hype and obfuscation. A seemingly heartfelt comment may carry the CEO’s name, but the words will probably have been typed by corporate flacks.”

    It’s Not Journalism

    One more thought: too often journalism has favored the intent of the story over the facts, meaning, that if the intent is to improve or right a wrong, then if the facts are twisted or incorrect, it’s okay. The ends justify the means. As a former journalist, this frustrates me because I was taught to be truthful, honest and unbiased. Of course, I didn’t win an Emmy or a Peabody either. Sometimes the best journalism is the kind that forces action, and that sometimes requires a journalist to break my rules.

    Still, I believe it is important to clear up misconceptions and twisted truths, especially in volatile stories containing many facets, facts and faces. The LA Times may see it as spin, but I see it as improving the story.