Gaining the public's respect

[Mr. X]

What can I do to gain the public's respect?

It seems like I'm only as good as my last story to them.

If for one week a certain team isn't mentioned (either because of space reasons or inability to contact the coach) some parents become livid. (I've tried to solve the space problem by writing a second, longer version for the paper's Web site.)

In a related question, how does one build a reservoir of good will with the readers/players' parents? Our cityside columnist has tremendous respect because people fear his wrath. Plus, he can make mistake after mistake, and it doesn't matter. I think part of it is the difference between being a columnist and reporter. My opportunities to criticize are limited (in a way they could be argued I have NO opportunities to criticize) and I cannot threaten to not write about someone. If they do something newsworthy, I have to write about them, otherwise that would be considered less than professional and leaves me open to being beat by the competition.

 

[DyePack]

Find an underaddressed PC issue and jump on it HARD.

 

[Angola!]

I think a writer gains the public's respect by writing good, fair stories. I also wouldn't really worry too much what the public thinks about you unless it might cost you your job.

 

[Mr. X]

I also wouldn't really worry too much what the public thinks about you unless it might cost you your job.

I doubt it would cost me my job as I have built up a good measure of goodwill with my boss, but it could hurt in getting another job.

The public here can be very vicious, and negative comments can quickly spread, including to a potential employer.

I'm trying to get out of this profession, but want my remaining days in it to be as pleasant as possible.

 

[Bubba Fett]

If I cared what some of my readers thought about me, I'd have left the business a long time ago.

 

[Breakyoself]

you have to realize you will not please everyone, and the ones you hear from are most likely in the minority. unfortunately, the minority is the most vocal about these things. nothing you do will change them, unless you only cover their team and if you only write good things. that won't happen, therefore every other week they will hate you. don't sweat it. we all deal with it.
if your boss likes you, and you get along with coaches, that should be enough.

 

[fishwrapper]

Time to get fitted for a "Thick Skin Suit."

 

[Eagleboy]

Let it roll off your shoulder, dude.

Be able to look yourself in the mirror and know you did a good job. That's the only respect you should be trying to "gain".

That's what I was going to say. As long as you're doing your best and you know it, you're going to unfortunately **** some people off. That's just the nature of the deal. Look past it and move on. You can't appease everyone.

 

[Mr. X]

So there is nothing really I as a reporter can do to gain respect.

Just doing my job competently will keep the wolves at bay.

When the situation arises about their child's sport not getting covered, just play the Internet or coach card, right?

Just as I have challenges when I draw criticism, I also felt really uncomfortable when an athlete told me how happy his parents -- one an elected official -- were when he led the roundup after setting a track record.

I didn't know how to react. I think all I said was, "I led with that because it was the most newsworthy feat of the week."

I said to myself, "Your leading the roundup means very little in the overall scheme of life, other than making your parents feel good with their warped set of values and giving them something to brag about to their friends."

 

[Mr. X]

There is plenty you can do as a reporter to "gain respect".

Please provide details.

 

[buckweaver]

There is plenty you can do as a reporter to "gain respect".

Please provide details.

Start by not worrying about prep parents. Someone, somewhere, is always going to complain -- no matter what you do.

"Respect" is not built by appeasing the vocal minority. You'll learn very quickly that you can't be everywhere you want to be, you can't cover every game you want to cover, you can't write every story you want to write.

- Focus on the stories that matter. The important stories, the biggest stories, the best stories.

- Focus on fairness, not equality -- covering the 0-10 team as often as the 9-1 team is equal, but it's not fair. Doesn't matter "how hard our boys work" ... you can't justify the newsworthiness of covering an 0-10 team as much as a 9-1 team, objectively speaking. The player that scores 30 points is going to get more writeups than the player that scores 2 -- that's the nature of news. Don't sweat it, and don't waste your time trying to convince parents of this. They'll never get it, and it doesn't matter if they do.

- Focus on building relationships with your sources. Readers don't "respect" the cityside guy because of his wrath -- they respect him because he's probably fair to his sources. He gives people a chance to respond. He always returns phone calls. He isn't trying to appease anyone. He always shows up to take the heat the next day after he's written something negative. Things like that. THAT's respect.

But you don't get that by worrying about building up "a reservoir of goodwill", because you're not there to please people. You don't get that by "threatening not to write about someone", using the power of the pen as a sword. You don't get that by criticizing in a column if you haven't put in the time doing the reporting first.

"Respect" is not something you gain. It's something you earn.

And what you're trying to gain -- appeasing prep parents -- that's not "respect", either. Besides, it'll never happen. So don't sweat it, ok?

 

[Breakyoself]

that's a quality answer right there.

and if the complainer is a woman and sounds hot, u can always say you'll sleep with her for better coverage of her kid.

 

[Mr. X]

Readers don't "respect" the cityside guy because of his wrath -- they respect him because he's probably fair to his sources.

No. He's not fair. He pretty much just rips and doesn't make calls and has been known to get people's names wrong who he rips. But if you are someone he likes, you are golden in his column.

It is just in these parts, people want to be thought of in the best light possible. People try to curry his favor for favorable mention and be sure to take and return his calls.

But that is a topic for another day.

 

[buckweaver]

Readers don't "respect" the cityside guy because of his wrath -- they respect him because he's probably fair to his sources.

No. He's not fair. He pretty much just rips and doesn't make calls and has been known to get people's names wrong who he rips. But if you are someone he likes, you are golden in his column.

It is just in these parts, people want to be thought of in the best light possible. People try to curry his favor for favorable mention and be sure to take and return his calls.

But that is a topic for another day.

If that's the case, then he's not respected. And you shouldn't be trying to emulate him.

 

[sportswriter not a junky]

Seriously, it's not that difficult. You do good work, you'll gain respect. You do crappy work, you won't. So many small-time reporters I run into seems to think respect and relationships with coaches are given. It needs to be EARNED!!! It's earned by QUALITY WORK!

 

[jimnorden]

stop worrying about the public and do your job. No future boss is going to be swayed one way or the other by parents who read your stuff.

 

[Batman]

Just as I have challenges when I draw criticism, I also felt really uncomfortable when an athlete told me how happy his parents -- one an elected official -- were when he led the roundup after setting a track record.

I didn't know how to react. I think all I said was, "I led with that because it was the most newsworthy feat of the week."

I said to myself, "Your leading the roundup means very little in the overall scheme of life, other than making your parents feel good with their warped set of values and giving them something to brag about to their friends."

Dude, if you're covering prep sports and that's your attitude toward it, no wonder no one "respects" you.
To them, you're a ****.
All you had to do to build some of the goodwill you crave was say something like, "Well, you did good. You earned it." You're congratulating the kid again, starting a conversation with him, and maybe the next time you talk to him after a meet or for a feature story he's a little nicer and more open to you. Or, the next time he drops a baton in a relay, he doesn't dread seeing you walk over to him and he doesn't mind answering a question about how it happened.
Instead, you looked down your nose at him and made his accomplishment seem meaningless. Just another day's work to you, and a small part of it at that. Prep sports is the low rung on the totem pole, sure. But to the people you cover it's a big part of their lives. If you treat them like **** -- and believe me, even if it's just in your attitude, it comes across -- they'll treat you the same way.
I'm not saying kiss everybody's ass. But good lord, man, learn to lighten up a little, shrug off the annoying parent calls and stop treating people like you're on some higher plane of existence than they are.

 

[Mr. X]

I get a lot of praise from parents for my coverage. They are glad to see their children's events covered and their names in the newspaper. My paper covers far more events and gets in far more names than the competition.

I had that conversation with said athlete after he completed his high school career.

 

[ColbertNation]

The fact is that newspapers (especially small ones) are easy targets for irate parents. They can yell at us all they want, and we have to be polite and say "yes ma'am" and "yes sir." If you don't like people being mad at you, then you are in the wrong business. Thick skin is a job requirement, although a good SE will shield you from as much of that junk as possible.
The bottom line is that you are never doing as good or bad a job as people tell you, so it's best to be polite when talking to them, and ignore them after they hang up.

 

[Mr. X]

Part of it is that I want everything to be perfect. I know that can't happen but wish it could.

I treat every critic with respect, try to explain what happened that led to their criticism and solve the problem if possible.

I also have trouble with how sports have changed in this community since I grew up in it.

There used to be an anti-sports feeling. Now the essentially nationwide quest for college scholarships has nested itself here, although like just about everywhere else, almost none of the athletes come away with said scholarships.

Several of the high school teams were better in the anti-sports era than in today's scholarship frenzy era, so the increased emphasis on sports hasn't had much of a payoff.

More football players are getting scholarships, although the team's record is slightly worse than when I attended the high school. There's just more really good players, nearly all of whom live outside the community and attend as part of an integration program. I don't hear much from the parents of those players.