Popular journalism exists in packs.
Packs of packs. Packs of writers, packs of editors, packs of flaks and packs of sources. The flaks and sources introduce facts into the pack.
The facts build incrementally; some are verified, some are accepted. When facts become accepted by groups, through verification or otherwise, they are often considered accurate without new or separate verification.
Here’s an anecdotal example from Afghanistan. A car bomb exploded at the gate of a small Afghan security outpost. There were 30-50 casualties. A wire reporter reported 150 were killed. She said she had two independent and reliable sources. 150 casualties is a large enough number to cause interest in Washington. The Washington newspapers began to pick up on the story reporting, “up to 150 killed.” Only about 150 people inhabited this outpost. I worked hard with the journalists in Kabul and DC to achieve more accurate reporting. The ‘pack’ automatically followed the wire report.
Another story – A pro journalist used the term “compromised” in proper context about a raid we did. Locals, he explained, heard helicopters minutes before the operation which may have provided some early warning. This was true and one could possibly call this a compromised raid. The pack instead latched on to only the term ‘compromised’ while leaving off the context. As the stories continued to roll out, it seemed more and more like the raid was known about well before the troops hit the ground. The media reported the term “compromised” so much that a senator repeated the term back to the media when asked. Sweet.
So what do you do, PAO? Here it is:
Start a narrative: If you want your story to run in the news, make sure it’s interesting enough then find a pack leader. Work with the pack leading journalist who will produce a good first story. The rest of the pack will follow.
Change a narrative: This is the hardest thing to do and often your job as a public affairs pro. You’ve got to find the new information (this may be a correction or a new inject) and find a journalist who is willing to break from the pack. Breaking from the pack isn’t easy so you’ll need to work with your good friend, the pack breaker.
End the narrative: The pack is going to report on something you don’t like or want. This, I think, they teach us in public affairs school. Get all the info out to the pack as quickly and comprehensively as possible. Everyone gets everything… and fast. I prefer to do this by 200 phone calls, some prefer weak-ass press releases, some prefer an announcement. The object is to dump the bucket rather than letting it drip out.
Drive the pack, don’t let the pack drive you. Now go and do likewise.
Photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson
