10 things companies should not tell journalists

Of all the statements that officers or representatives of a company should never say to the media, the “No comment” answer tops the list.

This, according to Guam Business and Marianas Business Journal publisher Maureen N. Maratita during a brief presentation at the first Saipan Rotary Club meeting for 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

Maratita provided the Rotarians the Top 10 statements that businessmen—or anyone for that matter—should never say when confronted by journalists or reporters.

Maratita said the “No comment” statement usually places someone in a compromising situation. She said businessmen should understand that journalists are just doing their job and that stories should be shared with them.

Instead of saying “No comment,” Maratita said that sources should say, “Can we talk about it in the office later?” or “I need to talk to my public information officer.”

The next statement that should be avoided is, “I never said that.”

The third statement would be, “There are weapons of mass destruction,” said Maratita, as this only means an “open-mouth, insert-foot” situation.

Next is, “I insist on seeing the article before it goes to print.” This statement only tells the journalists that “I want to make sure the journalist spelled my name right and I want to make sure you have the details right.”

However, she said, by industry convention, journalists do not have to send the story to the source before it gets printed. She added that a good reporter will always make sure he or she has the right spelling and the right details in a story.

Another statement that should not be said to a journalist is, “I’ll call you back with the answer” or “I’ll get it to you before deadline.” Maratita said this only tells the reporter that the source doesn’t really have an answer or don’t know anything about the issue at all. Instead of saying this, the source should say, “I need to figure that one out. Let me get back to you.”

Some sources would also say to journalists “Can you e-mail me the questions?” but in reality this would only tell the journalists that, “Beyond the questions in the email, I won’t answer any other questions.”

“You’re right, that is a great story,” is the next line to avoid when being interviewed by journalists. Maratita said this statement only tells them that a press release should have been placed in the paper or a publication.

The statement “That’s not news” is also something to avoid because this will only insinuate the statement “Why are you making a big deal out of this?” Journalists more or less know what is news and what is not news.

“Don’t ever tell journalists that ‘You guys would write anything to sell newspaper,’” said Maratita, saying that journalists only write what is news and what is fair.

Lastly, the statement that one should not say to journalists is, “I want you to do a story on my company.” She said this statement only means “I really like a free ad.” Sometimes companies would get jealous that another company gets news coverage and they don’t. Maratita said it could be that the other news is more newsworthy than the others.