Hello, Is anybody home?

During the pandemic I experienced the unexpected problem of trying to track down journalists. Despite the lockdowns and restrictions, the Supreme Court of Canada continued its important work. And I wanted to tell reporters about upcoming hearings and decisions. But newsrooms were empty. No one answered desk phones or switchboards. Voicemails and websites at many news outlets were never updated with information to tell people how to reach assignment editors or reporters working from home.  

Journalists hit this wall all the time when dealing with government departments, agencies, courts and large corporations. Many organizations maintain websites with ineffective contact information - no phone number attached to a human who will answer it, or a personal email address where someone is accountable for acknowledging receipt of messages. Instead, institutions often supply catch-all email inboxes such as mediarelations@institution.ca or webmaster@organization.com. They often come with a cute 😊 little paragraph assuring readers that “this in-box is checked several times a day”. In my experience, that phrase has been very loosely interpreted to mean a few times a week or never.

Resourceful reporters will turn to skimming old news releases for a personal email address or cell number. If that doesn’t work, they may send direct messages to communications officers via social media. After multiple attempts to reach anyone with a pulse, journalists may go as far as to post their frustrations online. I’ve done it. Public shaming can be quite effective. 

All of this can be avoided by sharing the contact information of your professional communicators. After all, they were hired to communicate on behalf of your organization. They’re often the first people your stakeholders, customers, reporters and the public will meet at an event, over the phone or by email. There is no better way to empower members of your communications team than to let them use and develop their skills.