Fact vs. Truth

As is the case with many public relations professionals, we spend at least a portion of our time examining, discussing and sometimes reacting to news media reports regarding issues of special interest to our clients.

Central to these discussions is whether a story is accurate and true or not. While this usually is a fairly easy conclusion to reach for those in other professions, it is not quite so simple for us.

Often, the notion of whether a story is “factual” becomes secondary. What we really want to know is if the story is “true.”

As a former newspaper and wire service reporter, I am particularly sensitive to this issue. Let’s stop and think before we pile on the news media, blaming reporters for producing stories that are factual, but misleading.

Especially today, with news organizations assigning many beats to a single reporter, it is not reasonable to expect a reporter to understand all the complexities of a particular organization or industry and what the facts actually mean. That’s our job.

So the next time you see a factual story that is lacking in perspective or context, ask yourself this: “Was the reporter properly prepared to do the story? Did we share the story’s possible ‘twists and turns’ with the reporter? Did we set the reporter up to succeed or fail?”

After all, we are the subject experts. Our expertise is why the media comes to us for comment or information. Do our job well and the likelihood that a story is factual and accurate becomes not only possible, but likely.