The following observations were made during the course of working for four years at a college student newspaper in Ohio, serving as an intern at two weekly newspapers and working three years as a full-time reporter in Georgetown, Ky. Not all sources use these questionable tactics in dealing with reporters. Some do, though, and reporters must not fall victim to these tricks.
1. Some sources will try to place bumper stickers on your car. At a Republican Party fund-raising dinner in 2002 in Georgetown, Ky., representatives of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell approached people as they walked into the reception hall. These representatives would ask whether people wanted McConnell bumper stickers. The catch: In order to get a bumper sticker, you had to let the representative place it on your car. Needless to say, it is not acceptable for any journalists to place bumper stickers advertising political candidates on their cars.
2. Some sources will try to purchase meals for you in exchange for your vote. During a city council campaign in 2003, a candidate agreed to an interview at a restaurant. Interviews often occur during lunch and dinner meetings at restaurants. In this case, the candidate offered to pay the reporter's lunch bill, as long as the reporter promised to vote for that candidate. The reporter declined the candidate's offer and did not promise to vote for the candidate. It is unacceptable for sources to pay for reporters' meals, and it is illegal for candidates to pay for votes or to attempt to pay for votes.
3. Some sources will always complain that you've misquoted them in stories. During the course of three years spent covering one police department, a police chief always complained that he was misquoted in stories about city commission meetings. The police chief often disagreed with city commissioners and often received complaints about his tactics from city residents. The police chief did not want such disagreements and complaints being printed. His complaints about being misquoted stopped when all meetings started being tape recorded.
4. Some sources will try to purchase you drinks in return for favorable stories. A popular rock band in Athens, Ohio, switched lead singers in early 2001. Prior to switching singers, they were actually being courted by major record labels. Their new singer could not match the vocal range of the prior one, and their first gig with a new frontman bombed. Prior to that gig, the new frontman attempted to purchase beers for a reporter in exchange for favorable coverage. The drink offer was turned down and the singer wasn't happy with the resulting story.
5. Some sources will try to manipulate you into writing stories that advance their agenda. During the summer of 2000, two men started an independent record label in Tennessee. Not only was it important for stories about the label to stay away from being a free advertisement, but it was important to realize that these two men didn't always see eye to eye on business matters. Despite the sources' best efforts to engage in a war of words via quotes given to a reporter, the resulting stories did nothing to help advance their personal agendas.
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