Dealing with fakers

[JayFarrar]

So has anyone had to deal with people claiming to be reporters and all they are really doing is saying that to get a credential?

Just today, two more names popped up in my work inbox of people claiming to work for my company so they can get credentials.

We also have a case of a woman showing up at various city and state government pressers claiming to work for my paper.

I have no idea who any of these people are.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

So has anyone had to deal with people claiming to be reporters and all they are really doing is saying that to get a credential?

Just today, two more names popped up in my work inbox of people claiming to work for my company so they can get credentials.

We also have a case of a woman showing up at various city and state government pressers claiming to work for my paper.

I have no idea who any of these people are.

It happens a lot and has for years.

At my first paper, we had a prep stringer who was credentialed for all four of the local professional teams. I assumed he was stringing for someone. A couple years in, one of the PR guys asked me what he did for us. I said, "He freelances preps for us. I assumed he was freelancing for one of the other papers." and I was told he was credentialed through our paper and to his knowledge had never written a story. We had prep writers who helped out on other beats, but this guy wasn't one of them. He never ran quotes or did anything.

It kind of became a running joke among the writers. None of us really wanted to get involved and turn the guy in. He was quiet and didn't bother anybody. I don't know when he started doing it, but as far as I know he lost his credential when a local team made it to the championship and the PR guy called the SE and said, "We're really sorry, but we don't have the room to credential this guy."

I was told the story when I ran into a former co-worker at the NCAAs. We just sat there and laughed our asses off. The estimate was that the guy got away with it for 12-15 years.

 

[Batman]

We had a guy who was laid off, but still using his ID badge (a de facto credential around town) to get into things. He used it to get into a street festival. One of the organizers knew who he was and called our ME. He was also using a credential from one of the state colleges (he'd gone to write for a web site covering them when he was laid off) and saying he was scouting for them or some such. Never saw him doing it, just heard a lot of stories over a span of several months.
If you don't catch them yourselves, there's much you can do except let everyone on your beats know they don't work for you. Once I found out that guy was still using our IDs, that's what I did. I didn't want to make life difficult for him in an already rough time, but I also didn't need him doing something stupid and ruining relationships I've worked for years to build.

 

[HanSenSE]

Haven't run across that, but had one guy call and offer to write a story for us about the last game at the old Yankee Stadium. Said no thanks, I've got AP for that. Then he asked if I could get him a press pass for that last game. I said no, and he had the nerve to ask why not? Well, if he's not doing a story for us, I explained, I asked why we should get him a credential ... then hung up.

 

[Preacher Roe]

We had a weird situation once where our reporter covering a beat had the same first name as the reporter handling the same beat for the other paper. And it was a beat where there was not a lot of in-field coverage, so a lot of the interaction with sources was over the phone.

Anyway, we came to learn that the other shop's reporter would claim they were our reporter from time to time when out covering events. No one could figure out why, considering this reporter was employed by a reputable news outlet as well, but it was what it was. The faking reporter eventually got shifted to the desk and then was let go.

 

[Flip Wilson]

When our college team played the in-state rival for our only big game of the year, lots of folks tried to get credentials. I got one request via fax -- remember that? -- and something about it seemed sketchy. I called the paper this guy claimed to be working for, and when I mentioned his name to the SE, the SE said, "What did he do now?" Turns out he had run this scam before.

I didn't let the guy know that I wasn't going to give him a credential, but I left an envelope for him at will-call, and inside was a very professional note telling him if he would like to watch the game that night, he was more than welcome to purchase a ticket. I never heard anything from him again.

 

[SCEditor]

I've got a guy who is starting a "freelance photography" business in the area, and he's called me on several occasions in the past year asking to get credentials so he can build up his portfolio. Thus far, he's requested credentials to the ACC football championship, the Masters and the New York Yankees' spring training.

I haven't called him back yet.

 

[nubyjas_wilborn]

I'd pay good money to have seen the look on his face when we got that letter.

I didn't let the guy know that I wasn't going to give him a credential, but I left an envelope for him at will-call, and inside was a very professional note telling him if he would like to watch the game that night, he was more than welcome to purchase a ticket. I never heard anything from him again.

 

[Rhody31]

I've got a guy who is starting a "freelance photography" business in the area, and he's called me on several occasions in the past year asking to get credentials so he can build up his portfolio. Thus far, he's requested credentials to the ACC football championship, the Masters and the New York Yankees' spring training.

I haven't called him back yet.

My first year at my old place I started covering college hoops and wondered why there was a guy with a credential from our sister paper considering he didn't work there. He was a local coach who the former editor used to get a pass for. I stopped that real quick - told the SID he wasn't with us. Didn't see him again.
We also had a guy we used as a freelancer for our preps and local coverage. He was great, but ethics were a bit iffy. I later found out his son-in-law - who worked at our sister paper - was getting him credentials at a PGA Tour event solely so he could play in the media day event. I was none too happy about that.

 

[Bud_Bundy]

We fired a guy in the pre-internet era for the combination of incompetence and being a generally bad human being. Now he would start his own website, but back then he created a fictional "news service" so he could get into prep games. Turns out he was using an old one of our IDs to get in, but once word got around, nobody at any of the stadiums would let him in without paying. He was none too happy and actually called our SE (the guy who fired him) to complain.

Had another guy badger our SE (a different SE) for a credential for our local LPGA tournament. SE said no, our staff was handling our coverage. He cornered me as the tournament and bitched that he could write rings around anybody on our staff (which included at least three APSE winners). We did use him for as a freelancer for one Friday night HS FB game that fall ... he never reported the quarter scores as we asked. didn't answer his cell phone when we repeatedly called him and he never filed anything until noon the next day. His excuse? He didn't think it was proper to answer his phone in the press box. After the game, he was cold and hungry, so he decided to drive home (a 45-minute drive) and fell asleep once he got there. Thus endeth his brief freelance career for us.

 

[vandelayindustries]

So, about a decade ago, a new SE at a Deep South paper sent a credential request to The Masters. Paper had never covered it, but new boss figured they should. A few weeks later, he gets a letter that basically says, 'Hey, you're already got 2 credentials, and you've had them for the last five years.' Turned out, the former publisher had made the request and just gave the media passes to two of his buddies.

 

[The Big Ragu]

This thread reminded me about this guy:

http://archive.apsportseditors.org/news/2005/041505fakereporter.html

He used to be a staple at NY sports games -- Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Rangers, Jets, Giants, etc.

 

[Danwriter]

It's even more annoying when FBI agents do it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/business/media/fbi-chief-backs-agent-who-posed-as-reporter.html?_r=0

 

[Starman]

So has anyone had to deal with people claiming to be reporters and all they are really doing is saying that to get a credential?

Just today, two more names popped up in my work inbox of people claiming to work for my company so they can get credentials.

We also have a case of a woman showing up at various city and state government pressers claiming to work for my paper.

I have no idea who any of these people are.

If you are at the authority level to decide who should be getting credentials issued to your paper (SE, or, I suppose, ASE for Assignments), if you (or anybody else around the desk) don't know who they are, I'd blast back an email at light-speed, demanding (not asking) to know:

1) Who the **** are you?

2) Have you written for us before? When was the most recent time (precise date)?

3) What is the specific time and place of the event for which you are requesting credentials?

4) Have you covered this event for us before?

5) What precisely do you intend to produce from this event and when can we expect it to be sent? (Leave no doubt he will in fact be expected to submit something.)

6) You have 120 minutes from my transmission of this email to respond.

Assuming they do respond, if even one of their answers doesn't sound and smell just exactly right, send them one more email: "**** off and get lost," and immediately zip off an email of your own to the sponsoring organization: "Be advised an individual named Jack Jackoff may present himself to you and request credentials as working under an assignment from our paper. He is not. Please do not issue any credentials to him under the auspices of our organization."


If the dude's answers do check out, inform him that all future credential requests will be made through you, and you will need at least 10 days lead time for any such requests (much longer for events anticipated to sell out).

Also review for him the idea that the process usually goes, 1) You the Sports Editor decide to assign him to a game, and 2) You the SE will secure credentials. The huge majority of the time, he shouldn't even be in the process of actually obtaining credentials.

I've had to deal with a few of these mooks over the years -- almost always the result of some slack-ass predecessor as SE or freeloading publishers or ad staff scamming themselves or their buddies in.

Not too long ago, we had a prep stringer (probably one of our C-level stringers -- we had him doing one or two stories a week on pretty nondescript stuff) start to absolutely pepper us with requests, which became demands, for credentials for NASCAR races halfway across the country.

We turned him down politely at first, then a little bit more firmly, then he threatened to "take it up the food chain." A couple days later Mr. Publisher buzzes on the intercom and says, "I've got Jack Jackoff on the phone, he says he writes prep stories for us."
"Once or twice a week, yeah."
"He says he wants credentials for (rattles off about 9 NASCAR races). We cover NASCAR mostly with wire, right?"
"Almost entirely with wire."
"Have we ever covered the NASCAR races in our state?"
"Not within the last half-decade or more."
"Do you ever anticipate covering them in the future?"
"Not really, not unless our local coverage priorities change. But it would be nice to still be ABLE to get credentials, if at any time in the future we decide we want to do so."
"So I should tell him to shove off?"
"That would be my inclination."
"He got kinda huffy and said if we don't get him these credentials, he doesn't know if he wants to cover cross country or girls' soccer for us any more."
"We'll live."



There were a few wannabe civilians. It's kind of amazing how insistent some of them are. Sometimes they're harmless, but even if so, it's usually temporary, and some disaster scenario is lurking -- they will really screw up the reputation of your staff and your paper with anything from mildly inappropriate to flagrantly intolerable conduct. It can literally take years to undo the damage one of these yokels can do if they **** off the wrong people.

 

[JayFarrar]

You misunderstand, or I wasn't clear.

These people aren't asking for credentials. They are people showing up at stadiums and arenas claiming to work for my company and asking the media relations staff for a credential. They'll have a bag of gear with them and, I suppose, when told they aren't on the list they'll say something like, the credential request must have gotten lost and the media relations will then give them a game day pass.

It seems that it has happened enough that the media relations staff has finally gotten around to asking who these dudes are and why they aren't on the credential request list that gets sent in at the beginning of the season.

They aren't freelancers trying to hustle a buck or a seat in the box. They are fans scamming the system so they can be on the field.

 

[boundforboston]

You misunderstand, or I wasn't clear.

These people aren't asking for credentials. They are people showing up at stadiums and arenas claiming to work for my company and asking the media relations staff for a credential. They'll have a bag of gear with them and, I suppose, when told they aren't on the list they'll say something like, the credential request must have gotten lost and the media relations will then give them a game day pass.

It seems that it has happened enough that the media relations staff has finally gotten around to asking who these dudes are and why they aren't on the credential request list that gets sent in at the beginning of the season.

They aren't freelancers trying to hustle a buck or a seat in the box. They are fans scamming the system so they can be on the field.

Email the schools in your coverage area with a list of staffers. Tell them schools will be informed if a freelancer will be covering an event. If Joe Schmoe isn't on either list, tell them to tell him to buy a ticket and don't try that **** again.

 

[Starman]

I would guess the main way you would find out about this would be when your legit staffer shows up at the gate and is told "somebody else from your joint is already here."
When that happens, go straight to the SID/PR staff and have the faker chucked out. Bang-zoom gone. Failing to do that implies your organization is OK with them being there.

 

[JayFarrar]

We gave word that if they showed up to the PR staff get their drivers license info then tell them to leave.

Then provide that info to me and I was going to turn it in to the local prosecutor and them file charges.

 

[Starman]

I think the only charges that can be filed would be trespassing, since the fakers gained free admission to the event by fraudulent means.

I doubt "impersonating a reporter," in and of itself, is a crime.

So in all likelihood, it's up to the hosting organization as to whether they want to file charges or not. They may not think it's a big enough deal to bother with, so you might have to call the SID/PR director and discuss why it would be a good idea if they did.

 

[albert77]

So has anyone had to deal with people claiming to be reporters and all they are really doing is saying that to get a credential?

Just today, two more names popped up in my work inbox of people claiming to work for my company so they can get credentials.

We also have a case of a woman showing up at various city and state government pressers claiming to work for my paper.

I have no idea who any of these people are.

If you are at the authority level to decide who should be getting credentials issued to your paper (SE, or, I suppose, ASE for Assignments), if you (or anybody else around the desk) don't know who they are, I'd blast back an email at light-speed, demanding (not asking) to know:

1) Who the **** are you?

2) Have you written for us before? When was the most recent time (precise date)?

3) What is the specific time and place of the event for which you are requesting credentials?

4) Have you covered this event for us before?

5) What precisely do you intend to produce from this event and when can we expect it to be sent? (Leave no doubt he will in fact be expected to submit something.)

6) You have 120 minutes from my transmission of this email to respond.

The only one of these I disagree with is No. 6. I'd give them one day, simply because not everybody is sitting on e-mail, so two hours may be a little too tight a time frame to reply. If they haven't responded by the next day, though, their request goes in the circular file. Otherwise, a very good list of guidelines.