by Frances Laing

Created on: February 17, 2009   Last Updated: February 18, 2009

Can you trust the 'media'? I've got some pointers here for you:

1. The first thing to remember, is actually, there is no such thing as 'the media' as a faceless, blanket entity. There are journalists, reporters, photographers, multi-media specialists, press officers, investigative reporters, celebrity columnists...and they're all human, with good and bad points to their personalities. There are editors, radio and t.v. broadcasters and camera people. They are all individuals. They're all doing a job - in fact they're doing different jobs and if you really want to make informed decisions and to keep yourself safe, it is really important to remember this.

2. A bona fide journalist or photographer is usually a member of a journalists union or professional organisation like the National Union of Journalists or a Freelance Writer's Association. If you're in doubt, ask for I.D. There may be exceptions to this rule especially as far as far as 'citizen journalists' or bloggers are concerned but if you're worried - ask who the writer is writing for and if you don't like the answer you get you have a choice as to whether you talk to them or not. Bear in mind though, if you don't put your opinion across clearly, probably someone else out there with do it for you. Which option would you prefer?

3. Don't expect what you say will automatically make the headlines, or even the front page. Newspapers, television and radio journalists all have priorities to juggle. Your 'story' might be put aside at the last minute for a very good reason. Say for example there's a huge motorway accident on the same day and the newspaper you're dealing with wants to devote space to that.

4.Be aware of your personal boundaries. If you don't want to share aspects of your personal or family life - then don't. This includes pictures. Although allowing journalists to take photographs of your children works for many (the President of the U.S. for example) it does need careful thought.

At the opposite end of the disclosure spectrum - if you decide to disclose and sell a personal story about some shocking aspect of your family history, be prepared for hefty reactions when it is published and don't whinge about the consequences.

5. There should be a difference made between information which is given 'on' or 'off' the record. It's fine for a writer or journalist to collect background information in a fairly relaxed way - they need to understand the context and possibly also the history of the issues they are dealing with. But when they're collecting comments, opinions and statements for publication - they should make this clear to you. You can take the initiative and ask whether what you are saying will go 'on record' or not.

Learn more about this author, Frances Laing.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.