I've had good and bad experiences...

The good one was being interviewed on The Today Show about the whole United $24.99 ticket mess.

Even though I couldn't convince them to fly me to New York, they were nice enough to send a limo to pick me up and bring me to the local station for the interview.....

The whole thing was professionally done and it was lots of fun to do....

The same reporter from the New York Times contacted me along with lots of other people about some stories he was working on, and was always great to talk to.... I had no problem speaking with him on several occasions... And would again in the future any time....


Even the negative experience wasn't really *that* bad... I spent approximately 3 hours at the new SFO International Terminal being interviewed and followed around by the people for the TV program Extra....

The producer gave me a song and dance about even throwing in some money to cover my cost of parking, etc... Unfortunately, the interview was done by a freelancer who had no idea when I asked... So the interview cost me a bit of money, ( and I don't think ever aired, cuz United decided to let us fly to Paris) but it was still lots of fun...

As someone who used to work alot with media, I find they can be really helpful and usually aren't out to "get" anyone... They're just trying to get a story across, and we happen to be the people who know alot about FF programs.... (Well, compared to them, anyway!)

KevinB

I had an experiance when "Smart Money" contacted me and then flew a photographer down from JFK to PBI to take my picture.... And captioned story and photo in the June 2000 issue. Pretty neat.

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MRKEY

i did once get contacted by a WSJ reporter; the trouble was the email came from an AOL address, not a WSJ address, so i chose not to respond.

darn shame, as i would love to have been quoted in the article...but i'm not emailing some random person with an AOL addy all that info...so i guess the lesson is use your work email address. i don't see it as trolling at all; in fact, it's no biggie to me.

but that's just my humble opinion.

Have been callled a few times when Inside Flyer gave names of 'board members' for each airline (I was UA) to inquiring reporters.

If the reporters were FF savvy, I would give interview....I think each of us has our own litmus test to determine if a reporter 'gets it'. If they pass, I talk, if they are clueless, I walk (politely).

Lots of time, it is a ripple effect; your name pops up in one periodical and other reporters use that as an introductory reference.

dhacker, can you say "WACKO".

Just kidding, thx for the links.

All of the reporter trolls ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif) that have contacted me have been very polite, havent spamed me, and behaved very well overall.

I talk to some, ignore others. As long as they stay that way, I dont mind getting email from them occasionally.

I've had two such emails:
1. United problems last summer.
2. Energy surcharges

I've ignored both of them.

I was contacted back in April by a WSJ reporter, about a particular post I made...It was the first time I'd been contacted by a reporter-lurker. The initial letter was polite, personal and professional...So I took the time to sit down and write a reply, telling them what they asked me about...Spent probably a good 45 mins or so on it.

I sent it, and never as much as received a reply back...Not even a "Thanks for taking the time to write, but we're not going to use it". Nothing...I will definitely be a little more skeptical from now on.

I doubt I would ever talk to any reporters for two reasons. First, I prefer to keep a low profile. Second, the way they tend to mis-quote, twist things around and sensationalize is amazing. Why do you think all the celebrities hate them?

For 25 years I was in the coin operated amusement game business. During the video game "boom" in the early '80s, reporters were regularly contacting people in this industry. One such reporter came to my office and must have interviewed me for over an hour. He was very pleasant and all of his questions indicated it would be a very positive article.

When I picked up a copy of the newspaper a few days later, I could not believe my eyes. The headline in big bold letters read "WHAT IS PACMAN DOING TO OUR CHILDREN?"

Enough said?



[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 06-18-2001).]

I have been e-mailed by a WSJ reporter on two separate subjects, relating to specific posts I had made, and have talked with him twice and been quoted once. I found him to be very professional and prepared to discuss his topic, taking extra effort to make sure he had the facts of my incident right.

Five people mentioned seeing my name in the WSJ when the story was printed; that doesn't happen when my name's in the local newspaper!

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"If you want to win the game, write the rules."

Not only did I talk to a WSJ reporter, I was quoted in last Friday's edition.

Can I have your autograph? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif




[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 06-19-2001).]

I've been quoted in USAToday and WSJ by reporters -- of course very few people knows it's me on the board. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I actually talk to two Wall Street Journal reports (they know who they are and are probably reading this message) relatively often and wish them well on their articles. <grin>

Neal, I'll have to have my people get back with your people to work in a time for the autograph. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Well, speaking as a journalist, I'll admit that some of my fellow reporters don't exactly cover themselves with glory when reporting stories. And it appalls me that some news organizations will allow a quote to be taken out of context. (I was a rarity in J-School because I support social responsibility in the press.)And, though I don't know what the reporter told you about the interview, misrepresentation is ethically wrong and unprofessional.

That said, even the best reporters are going to mess up now and again. And, you should keep in mind that reporters aren't always the culprits--editors write headlines and they can skew the slant of a story.

And as far as celebrities go--frankly, most use the press just as much as the press uses them. The same celebs that scream invasion of privacy, etc. have no problems going out and milking media attention for all it's worth when it is in their best interest. Yes, some reporters step over the line, but then, so do some celebs. Most celebs get angry only in those situations where they aren't the ones in the driver's seat.