This is a posting about the changing news media. It’s changing because all of us are now a part of the news media whether we know it or whether we like it. I’ll tell you how to do it successfully for your business, your hobby, or your political campaign.

 

Thanks to my book, politicians and political operatives ask me overwhelmingly about overcoming media bias.

 

The main complaint: reporters fail to give equal time or weight to both sides. And many times, the offended politician or operative has a valid point or at least a semblance of one. However, I’m not quick to bash the media – especially the television side.

 

First, TV news is a visual and auditory medium. So if a politician is looking to explain a complex issue, TV usually can’t do it in a 15-second sound bite or a 90- second story.

Second, TV is an entertainment medium. Reporters have a tendency to handle stories with conflict only between two sides – where one side wins and the other loses. Try getting “deep” on the immigration issue which has more gray than black or white.

 

Third, TV is being squeezed financially. This deals more with local stations.

TV stations must switch from the analog to the digital spectrum in 2009. That takes a lot of money. Furthermore, stations are losing their piece of the advertising pie to cable, satellite, and the Internet. Margins are tight in TV.

 

That means TV stations have less money to hire experienced reporters. Stations seem to be hiring more reporters – to handle the bulk of the reporting – who are just out of broadcasting or J-school. As a result, context and depth can be missing from many stories. I refer to this as TV’s youth bias.

 

A friend’s recent experience with a TV station best explains the three factors I just mentioned.

 

This friend is an author. He’s an expert on a number of issues. So, the station called him to comment on a story that pertained to one of his books. The TV reporter was a young man who asked my friend, as the photographer was setting up the camera, “What do I ask you?”

My friend was dumbfounded. “The reporter is asking me what to ask? I couldn’t believe it.” I told him not to shoot the reporter. This young reporter probably had five other stops that night for interviews on topics he barely knew about. Then I explained the three points I outlined above.

 

What’s happening to TV reporters today is this. They’ve become 5/7 reporter. They’re more porter, picking up stories, rather than reporter, assessing and analyzing stories.

 

(I can’t take credit for that. Credit Tom Armitage. Tom was a great photographer I worked with in Providence at WPRI from 1985 to 1987. To make sure I didn’t get too big of an on-camera ego, he told me that letter formula. Then he told me to carry the rest of his gear.)

The majority of what we consider media bias is errors of omission. So, I tell these politicians and operatives to stop getting angry. Instead, help these TV stations and help yourself. This pertains to businesses as well.

 

You need to Be The News. Create your content. And today it’s easy.

 

First, use your webpage. It’s exactly what I’ll be doing. When someone hits your webpage or is directed there, they should see a video presentation from you. Check with your webmaster if your site can accommodate streaming video.

 

Second, prepare a five minute talk. For instance, a local official believed a talk show host based an interview with him on incorrect information. I told the official to do one of two things. First, do a five minute on-camera talk to your constituency laying out the interviewer’s inconsistencies. Second, if you feel uncomfortable with that format, have someone act as a reporter asking you questions about the reporters inconsistencies.

I told him to email his constituents with a link to the five minute talk or interview. The voters who are interested will view it. The ones that don’t most likely aren’t following the issue. However, if the issue catches fire, the news media will ask to take parts of the talk or interview to use on their broadcast, which would be great. Sure, they can edit it, but at least the public can see it in its entirety.

 

Think of the implications for a business. Let’s say you run a motorcycle shop. Your manufacturer tells you there’s a part recall. You can be “up front” with your customers and let them know what’s happening and how you will handle it. And if nothing is happening, you can at least speak to your customer once a month about an issue concerning them.

That five minute talk or interview will, in most cases, be much cheaper than producing a 30-second TV spot. You won’t have to pay for air time. Plus, you’re reaching a niche audience – your customers – and not ten times more people who don’t care about you or your product or service.

 

The Internet is working. Just look at Barack Obama. You may not vote for him, but you have to admire what his campaign has done. The amount of money raised from small donors is amazing.

 

But Obama’s campaign is using the Internet and social websites to get the word out while circumventing the mainstream media. A recent New York Times article, “Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On,” writes this: Senator Barack Obama’s videotaped response to President Bush’s final State of the Union address — almost five minutes of Mr. Obama’s talking directly to the camera — elicited little attention from newspaper and television reporters in January. But on the medium it was made for, the Internet, the video caught fire. Quickly after it was posted on YouTube, it appeared on the video-sharing site’s most popular list and Google’s most blogged list. It has been viewed more than 1.3 million times, been linked by more than 500 blogs and distributed widely on social networking sites like Facebook.

 

So how do you do this?

 

Go to any production company that offers an Internet TV studio. Make sure they’re not giving you a Hollywood production – and the associated costs. All you want is a camera that focuses correctly so the image looks like you, and a good microphone so it sounds like you.

 

Here are some suggestions. In fact, you can see interviews I’ve done with these experts: Dave Bernstein, Mike Stewart,  and Mike Koenigs.

If you’re in Las Vegas and you need a studio, here’s the one I use: Vixzen Productions.

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