By Marty Helle

Editor in Chief

I don’t think I want to write any stories about my hometown neighbors Carol and Larry.

Every time I talk to them about being a journalist, they make clear that they don’t ever want to see a journalist anywhere near their house. In short, they would not take any crap from any cocky reporter. Neither would their dog.

The couple is experiencing what I perceive to be a growing feeling of distrust and paranoia about the media. It is a feeling that I have noticed grow in the few short years I have worked as a journalist.

People are afraid to speak to the media. In any office, you can find someone who has been misquoted, treated rudely or otherwise screwed over by a member of the media. Others’ brains default to visions of the “A Current Affair” scandal team breaking down their door with microphones and cameras:

“Mrs. Jones, is it or is it not true that your church will be holding a bake sale this weekend?”

“Well…”

“Just answer the damned question, Mrs. Jones. Have you ever heard of salmonella?”

“Well, yes I have.”

“And have you taken precautions to prevent a salmonella outbreak at this ‘BAKE SALE’?”

“Well, no, I am just taking some cookies I wrapped in cellophane…”

“Just what we thought, Mrs. Jones. Thank you very much.”

Although confrontational journalism has its place (generally when a journalist is pursuing a slippery “bad guy”), 90 percent of the time sources have nothing to fear when a journalist asks them questions.

This is one of the drawbacks of the popularity of tabloid-style news. Everyone thinks that the press is out to get them. I don’t blame them, since when journalists choose to show themselves in action, they always seem to show their confrontational side and not their pleasant and simple fact gathering side.

The last thing people want to do as they walk away from the scene of the traffic accident they were just involved in is talk to a journalist. We know this. But it is always safer to get the facts directly from someone, rather than taking things from police records. It is our way of giving people a chance to recount their side of the story.

Journalists get paid to find out information that no one else knows and to do it extremely quickly. Unfortunately, those requirements often make reporters seem pushy and impatient. I never trust pushy and impatient people, either.

Sources have lots of power over journalists. Without them, there is no story. So here are some things I think a source is entitled to while dealing with a journalist:

1. The Point. The source should be told what the purpose of the interview is in general terms. Sources shouldn’t be given the entire story, (censorship danger) but they shouldn’t be expected to open up without knowing why.

2. Politeness. Most stories do not require the journalist to yell questions at the source or to follow the source around. If your story does require these tactics, you will know why, you bad guy.

3. Speed. Simple “Where, when, why, who, how” interviews usually take less than 10 minutes to complete. Good journalists remember that sources have jobs to do, and that the source’s time is valuable.

So is ours, and so do we.

Marty Helle is a senior in English and journalism from Lyle, Minnesota. He is the editor in chief of the Daily.