It struck me one time when I was working with a journalist on correcting a story he had gotten wrong. He was simply misinformed by trusted and vetted sources. The facts were off. The story was now stale. In fact, a few weeks old. I was late. I cared about making sure it was correct but I asked him, “why do you care about getting this so exactly right anymore?”
He told me his story was “the record.” He’s right.
When you provide media comment, access to your organization or event, you are writing history. If you read books based on historic events, you will see that much of the author’s references are media reports.
As public communicators, you and your team should take pride in what you do not only because the free press is foundational to democracy but because you help write history.
No matter how small the event for the rest of forever, when anyone wants to look back and learn about ‘what happened’ it’ll be your work that helps explain it.
Be proud, remind your team of the important work we do. We write history.
Photo by Airman 1st Class Kathryn Reaves
