Joanne the Coach

Should the Daily Mail journalist who interviewed Juliet Shaw be named and shamed?

A sad tale emerged yesterday about a woman called Juliet Shaw and her experience of being interviewed as  a case study for a feature in the Daily Mail. The resulting story mashed up and changed the facts to the extent that it bore no resemblance to the interview Juliet thought she was giving, with ongoing negative consequences. Many of the comments on her blog post reveal similar experiences.

Recently at MediaWomenUK we have been discussing whether or not it's a good thing for journalists to show case studies what you've written about them before it's published. As an interviewee, I've had the full gamut of experiences, from the interview supposedly in first person quotes from me which bore very little resemblance to anything I'd said, to the journalists who send the whole piece for approval, or the subs (usually on monthly mags) who ring up to check that you actually did say what you're being quoted as saying.

The spoken word and the written word are different, and a certain amount of 'cleaning up' is to be expected when one is becoming the other. But since when did it become OK to insert untrue details and put words into people's mouths? A long time ago, unfortunately. But not everywhere, and not every journalist, by a long way.

The name of the journalist involved in the Daily Mail story is now circulating on at least two forums. The feature itself has been removed from the Mail's archive, but nothing ever goes away 100% once it's online, so the feature is still findable, if you care to look. I have no doubt that the journalist involved will be publicly outed before this story is over. The sensible thing would be for her to get in there first and tell her version of events. But since she is still working for the Mail, with a byline on another case study-led feature just ten days ago, she may prefer to keep quiet, or have been told to do so.

Commenters on Roy Greenslade's blog at The Guardian are calling for the journalist to be named and shamed. But really, what would that serve? All that does is make it about a person, when this story is about a much wider issue.

Should case studies be shown what's written about them before it's published? Should interviewees start taping any interview they give? Is anything true in the Daily Mail? What do you think?

 

pic: Flickr fontplaydotcom

10 things Twitter can do for journalists

It seems like every media bod I know has put "Get to grips with Twitter" at the top of their To Do list for 2011.

So looking back at over two years on Twitter @joannemallon, and with the help of the hive wisdom of the members of MediaWomenUK , here are 10 things that Twitter can do for journalists and other media professionals:

1. Find them work
   This isn't just a myth. I've spoken to enough journalists who've found work via Twitter, and experienced it myself, to know that people really are finding writing jobs, and jobs are finding them. For example, one night at 10.30pm an editor I follow tweeted that they were looking for anyone who could write about toys. I do lots of this, so I jumped on it like a tramp on chips, and the result was this commission for Tesco Magazine.
   Travel journalist Abi King @abigailking says that she's picked up extra commissions by letting her Twitter followers know where in the world she is, and where she plans to go next.
2. Provide social connections and a sense of buzz when you're working home alone
   Or as one freelancer put it to me "It can stop you going mad". Well maybe, though I think you might be over-estimating the power of the tweet there mate. But it is definitely useful for making social connections and acting as an online introduction, so it's easier to chat when you meet in real life.
3. Suck up all their time
   Watch out that Twitter doesn't become yet another procrastination device. It's such a whirl of ever-changing energy that it's very hard not to get sucked in. Keep reminding yourself that you don't have to click on every interesting looking link you see. There will always be more monkeys on pigs to look at later.
4. Save you time
   Conversely, if you're clever about it you can use Twitter to save you time as well. If you're researching an issue, Twitter can give you a quick snapshot of what a wide group of people are saying. Just don't use it as your Bible and make sure you also solicit opinions elsewhere.
5. Make them feel inadequate
   Follow some people and you could be forgiven for thinking that everyone is having the most delightful, sexy, successful time ever. This is your red flag warning that you're following the wrong people. Unfollowing someone on Twitter is much less fraught than defriending them on Facebook, so don't be afraid to chop and change the people you're following until you find a mix that works for you.
6. Find case studies
   Use the hashtag #journorequest (started by @SarahEwing and now widely used) and people will retweet your request. Journalists tell me that even quite obscure case studies are being found relatively easily using this method.
7. Provide new skills
   Tweeting on behalf of a business is a new writing job which many people are now being paid to do. So if you want to be in with a shot at jobs like that, the best way to prove you can do it is to start tweeting from your own account.
   And for other jobs, tweeting is now regarded as a necessary skill. For example, the writers at parenting site Ready for Ten all have dedicated Twitter accounts - here's mine @RFTJoanne - which they use to support the site's content. If as part of your next writing job you were expected to tweet as well, wouldn't it help if you'd already been doing it?
8. Connect them with PRs
   Because we just love talking to PRs, don't we hacks? The PR sector is quite well represented on Twitter, and if you state on your profile that you're a journalist then many of them will start to follow you. And this makes it easy when you want to do a shout out for information on products or brands. So when I was writing about advent calendars last year, I mentioned this in a tweet, and it turns out they make advent calendars for dogs. Wowsers. Who knew?
9. Pimp your stuff
   Hey, we've all got to eat. As long as it's not all you do, it's fine to link to your latest work or blog post. You can even link to them more than once, just stop well before you feel your inner spam alert rising.
10. Provide a creative outlet
    It's underrated, but I think there's a lot to be said for the mental challenge of coming up with something interesting in 140 characters or less. And since there are no real rules of Twitter, you can make your own up.
    I have created two hashtags (so far only used by me, but every trend has to start somewhere): #boggles is for when I see something amazing but hard to understand (like a pigeon eating a slice of ham whilst simultaneously walking and crapping), #kudos is for something so amazing I wish to send it good vibes (like a woman dressed all in green with green hair as well). Very occasionally, I will spot something worthy of #kudos and #boggles. Well, it amuses me.

So what does Twitter do for you? And what do you do for Twitter?

pic: Flickr user - Andreia

You Couldn't Make It Up

So it's all going swimmingly over at ParentDish, and I have written a googlennium of words about the weird and wonderful elements of the parenting world. 

But one thing has surprised me, and that's how hard it's been to get people to send in questions for my Agony Aunt column. I've had enough questions so far, but finding them has been like pulling teeth. One parenting website refused to include my request on their media board and told me sniffily "We have our own experts for that sort of thing".

When I answer dilemmas, I do my best to be kind, thoughtful and practical, so I don't know what's keeping questioners away. You can trust me, y'know, I'm a life coach.

Several journalists have told me that when they've written similar columns in the past, they've just made the question up. And even though I like to think I have superhero-strength integrity, I can see that they have a point.

When you're addressing a problem, the conversation is never just about the questioner - it has to speak to the wider readership as well. Maybe they've been in a similar situation. Maybe they like to imagine what they would do, in the questioner's shoes. Maybe they just like to gawp into somebody else's life.  And this is where a blogsite agony column is different - the comments box allows anyone else to chip in their 10p's worth. So the 'expert' opinion is only the starting point of a discussion, not the final word on the matter.

So yes, I can see that there's a case for making things up, for the benefit of the wider readership. But I haven't had to, and don't want to. The closest I've come is when one troubled parent sent me several problems, so I did change her name, because I reckoned to do otherwise would distract from the questions being asked.

But I think my real objection to making up these questions is that it will only ever give you one dimension, one perspective - mine. The best questions are about the things I could never have predicted, like the kid who won't take his socks off, or the little girl who has to put up with people saying her sister is cuter.

So I shall keep plugging away at encouraging people to send in questions. I just received my first one from a dad in Chile, so it looks like word is spreading. So if you've got a parenting challenge, the time to send it in is now, to this address. 

Now Finding US Case Studies Gets Easier Too

Now here's a useful thing.

As you may have noticed, this blog always has keen beagly eyes for resources to help you find case studies more easily.

So I was interested to hear about Peter Shankman's Help A Reporter service.  Basically it's an email list which circulates daily case study requests from US journalists.  So how is that relevant if you're working for UK media?

Some of the canniest freelance journalists I've known have always been pro-active in looking abroad for features ideas.  Previously, this has mostly meant leafing through a spare copy of O Magazine in WH Smiths.  But if you subscribe to Help A Reporter, you'll get a daily list of what a variety of American journalists are working on.  Some of them are exactly like the kind of stuff you see on UK media request boards and some of them are so out there you wonder if they'll ever come in to land.  But it's all interesting, all thought provoking.

I'm not for one moment suggesting that you pinch their ideas - that would be seriously bad karma, guaranteed to rebound on you as sure as eggs is eggs. Just use it as a way to stimulate thought, see what other writers are working on and use it as a springboard for your own unique ideas.

Unless of course, you're based in the US, in which case I recommend using the Help a Reporter service exactly as it was intended - either as a journalist to advertise for case studies, or as any other species, to reply to them.  And what's more it's free, like the snow.  You can't say fairer than that.

Which Came First, The Story or the Case Study?

Getting Ink Requests is a new blog designed to help journalists and case studies meet in perfect harmony.  Hurrah say all the freelancers, and thanks for making the gnarly task of finding case studies that bit easier.

Not so says student journalist & blogger Dave Lee.  (I do love a Student With Something To Say, almost as much as I love Students Who Shrug and Mumble.  You have to watch out for the S & Ms, they are slow burners who will eventually come to great things).

Writing in the Press Gazette student blog, Dave laments the outrageousness of looking for people to fit the story you're writing.  He feels it's downright unethical to look for case studies to fit pre-conceived stories.  Instead he pins his hopes on finding "extraordinary people around every corner".

I once worked for a TV show editor who believed, like Dave, that there's a story round every corner, and it's just a case of going out and finding them.  So we were banned from advertising for case studies, and were instead dispatched around the UK to approach people in shopping centres etc to ask if they had a story to tell. 

It was a HORRID experience, a poor use of time and ultimately worthless in terms of actually finding people for the programme.  Imagine you're out doing your shopping and someone from a TV show approaches you and asks (a) if you have a story and (b) are interested in talking about it on TV?  Naturally you'd tell them to eff off immediately.

Now of course everybody's got a story of one sort or another, but where does a researcher start to find it if they've just randomly stopped someone on the street ('Anything happen in your childhood? No? Umm...how about adolescence?  Any teenage traumas? etc etc ad feckin' infinitum). 

It took days and days and contributed absolutely zipola to the programme - not one interviewee was found via these stop and search tactics.  All it produced was an exhausted and demoralised production team.  And in the end we did have to advertise for case studies, in order to avoid producing a chat show without any guests.*

The only way this research method could possibly have worked was maybe with an enormous staff of people approaching vast quantities of people.  A bit like...oh yes...distributing case study requests via a website.

The more specific you can be about what you are looking for in a case study, the easier it makes it for someone to put their hand up and say 'oh yes, that happened to me'.  Of course there will be times when you find the case study first and the wider story follows later, but in general this is not how the media world works.  A Thing happens, a journalist researches and writes about it, and in the process looks for case studies to prove that The Thing is real (and to make it less of a snore if it's an economy story).

The times when you find the case study first and develop the story from there are in the minority.  I guess the answer is always to keep your ears open because you never know if your next case study will find you or vice versa.

~~

*  The TV programme in question only lasted one awkward series.  Several of its staff left the television industry soon after making it.  The production company in question prospers on and is now making the bogglesome Lily Allen show for BBC3.  Go figure. 

Going Underground: More on Searching For Case Studies

The good thing about looking for case studies is that you'll rarely reach a dead end.  Yes, sometimes it might feel like you're wading uphill through custard, but it's rare to come to a complete stop.  Obviously some stories are easier to find than others, but in general there is always somewhere else to try, another number to call.  Don't just give it 15 minutes' Googling then give up.

But what if you've got a particularly niche topic to research?  Say you're looking for people who believe themselves to be descended from lizards, and www.lizardgrandad.com happens to be offline.  What's your next step?  Well, you could always think about:

• Special interest groups your potential case study might frequent - seach under Google Groups or Yahoo Groups , Facebook or MySpace to see what's out there.
• Do an archive search to see which articles have already been written about the topic you're researching.  LexisNexis is great for archive searches, but you do need to be a subscriber - if you're a freelancer it's worth asking if the publication you're working for has a subscription.  And the BBC News archives are always worth a shuffle too.
• Think about which professionals your case study might work with, like coaches or psychologists.  A decent professional won't put you directly in touch with their clients, so don't even ask.  But they may be able to pass on a message to their professional network, or give you some useful pointers on where else to try.
• Have a look on Amazon to see who's written books on the subject you're writing about.  Many authors now have their own individual websites, so they're fairly easy to track down.
• And there will always be blogs, the safe haven of the new millenium for thoughts that really should have stayed in your own head.  If you can think of it, somebody somewhere will have blogged about it.  You may have to do some persuading to get your happily anonymous blogger to talk to you, but rest assured that you'll never be stuck for a case study whilst blogs exist

Digging For Gold - Useful Links for Finding Case Studies

When I worked on TV chat shows, finding case studies was a fairly straightforward process.  An appeal would be broadcast at the end of each show.  People interested in taking part would call in and leave their details.  A researcher would ring back and do a quick interview, and from that we would choose interviewees to film.  It's amazing how the people who think they have a great story, rarely have one, and the people who think there is nothing remarkable in their story usually turn out to have the greatest stories of all.

But if you don't have access to lists of people eagar to talk to you, where is a freelance journalist to start on their hunt for the perfect case study?

First of all, set up your own email group of people who won't mind you asking around for case studies - build your list as you go along, maybe including people you have interviewed before.  Think about the people you know that The Tipping Point calls "connectors" - people who know a lot of other people.  After all, it's not so much about who you know, but about who you know knows (if you follow me).  Each person is estimated to know at least 200 people, so you don't have to have a big list to be reaching out to thousands.  But as much as possible fill it with non-media people.  Always look to widen your circle of connections.

Use your list sparingly - your friends are going to get mightily hacked off if the only time they hear from you is when you're after something.  And make it easy for people to remove themselves from your list if they want to.

After that, try some of these avenues:

• Many websites like this one or this one exist specifically to broadcast case study requests from journalists.  The down-side to these sites is that they do tend to attract the sort of person who is actively seeking fame for fame's sake (think Big Brother contestants).  But depending on the story, that could be what you're looking for. 
• You can send a request round a variety of PR's using ResponseSource.  This won't put you in touch with 'real people' case studies, but rather those with something to promote.  But if that sits well with your story then it's a useful resource to reach a lot of people at once. 
• This website is along similar lines, but exists to broadcast your appeal to a wide variety of charities at once.
• There is a media request section on the talk boards at the parenting website Mumsnet.  Actually, many forums (fora?) have media request boards, but this is one of the busiest sites if you want to reach women with children.  You do have to pay £30 to post a message, so it might be worth saving until you have a few requests to make at the same time.
• If you're a member of MediaWomenUK or Journobiz, you'll know that members have a huge variety of life experience and are always happy to help with case study requests.  Just make sure that sometimes you help others as well - groups like this work best when you give as well as take.
• There is a journo case study request group on Facebook which is growing quickly in membership (about 500 last time I looked).
• Some journalists distribute postcards like this one as a way of gathering real life case studies.
• Others operate websites like this one as a way of trawling for stories.
• If that's too elaborate, try adding a line about who you're looking for to your email signature or blog.
• This may sound shockingly retro, but one of the best ways of all to get stories is to TALK TO PEOPLE.  Or, more importantly, listen when they talk to you.  Case studies are all around you.  I wrote this story for The Guardian's Experience section, after a friend casually mentioned his mate who'd come back from the dead.  Like you do. 

The big caveat with all of this is that if you are using predominantly online methods to find your stories, it's important that you pick up the phone and talk to your prospective interviewee as soon as possible.  Often people will email a journalist on a whim, and won't have considered the reality of talking publicly about their experience and being photographed until you mention it to them.  If you want case studies who will not pull out, it's important that you speak to them ASAP and ensure that they're clear about what's involved.

And above all, thank the people who help you when you're looking for case studies.  It's disappointing how many journalists don't.  It doesn't take much time, and it will make a difference when they choose whether or not to help you next time.