Not-for-Profits Viewed as Poor News Sources

Invisible though they may be, not-for-profits deal in information rooted deep in community needs. They can provide the "human interest" angles media typically employ to set up issues-oriented stories. They also know the numbers, conflicts and complexities inherent in the issues. Not-for-profit activity often generates important intelligence that can inform community debates. Despite these factors, not-for-profits in the Puget Sound area are perceived as poor news sources by the newspeople who spoke to Good News/Good Deeds. Local newsfolks are uniformly critical in their evaluation of the way not-for-profits approach them. On everything from the technical aspects (i.e. the way not-for-profits write press releases) to their perceived self-serving nature, newspeople, in focus groups and interviews, had plenty to say:

On their perceived self-promotion:
"Amazingly enough, I get organization-based requests quite often such as 'Come review our play because we won't get funding if we don't get X number of reviews.' [Not for profits] need to tell us how the public will benefit from a story. They need to present their story [so that] it is of interest to a large majority of the population."

On their lack of follow-through:
"Very often reporters will turn to a social service agency that deals with homeless people and say 'Can you put us in touch with a homeless person or family that is willing to talk about their situation?' The [not-for-profit] shouldn't say they can when they sometimes can't." (It's interesting to note the flip side of this story. In a separate focus-group discussion, a not-for-profit executive described her frustration at trying to set up an interview between a local news outlet and a homeless person. Said she: "We've found that reporters are very lazy people. If we provide them the names or how to access a homeless person they might do a story, but when they feel they have to go out and find a homeless person themselves, they drop they story.") "I think the typical nonprofit approach to the media is 'We do good things, and you need to [cover us] because we do good things; and 'What can I get from this newspaper to accomplish our goals?' A more refreshing approach would be 'We are a resource, here is the type of resource we can be. If these kinds of issues pop up, let us know how we can help you inform the public on issues you feel are important.'"

On the community sector's inability to tell a story concisely (via the press release):
"They need to be very basic and very concise. Give me a [phone] number I can follow up with instead of having me waste half an hour wading through eight to ten pages that arrive by mail or fax."