I have been working in the media industry for 20 years. I had 13 years as a reporter, editor and manager, then a five-year interlude in public relations before returning to newspapers early last year as editor of the Kalgoorlie Miner.
We all learn through living and working. There is no substitute for life experience. I found the five years in PR gave me a special insight into how people “on the other side of the fence” view the media.
PR consultants represent people who want publicity and those who don’t want publicity. It’s a case of trying to get the best value out of a good situation and the lowest level of exposure for a bad one.
Since returning to the press I’ve taken an interest in how organisations handle particular circumstances.
Football clubs never cease to amaze me with how badly they manage negative events. Collingwood’s handling of the Alan Didak saga was a case in point.
Firstly there was denial, followed by a half admission. Either the player was totally drunk or totally stupid; a classic no-win situation.
Having worked in the health sector myself, I’ve taken a special interest lately in how the Kalgoorlie Hospital has coped with its run of negative press. And believe it or not I have sympathy for those who are trying to work through the issues.
I’ve always believed that every country community should have confidence in its police, schools and hospitals. Without it, the fabric of the community starts to unravel.
Sadly, the education and health sectors in Kalgoorlie-Boulder are under intense pressure, predominantly through staff shortages.
As a media outlet I consider that we have a responsibility to report fairly and to give a voice to all stakeholders. It is sometimes hard to be as fair as we would like when organisations clam up and try to avoid commenting.
As a PR consultant I always recommended against that approach because I considered the best strategy was to be open and honest.
The media has itself partly to blame for bunker mentality responses, mainly because somewhere in the past or present there was a breakdown in trust.
That said, I dispute the claims made by two local doctors that media coverage of the hospital lately has been unhelpful. From what I can tell, the doctors acknowledge the system is stressed, under resourced, under funded, short staffed and operating with outdated facilities.
Whether that represents a definition of “crisis” is academic. The fact is we have a problem and any system under pressure is more likely to make mistakes.
Again asking readers to believe it or not, I would much rather have happy news about the hospital in the paper than a constant series of negatives.
Jim McGinty only has to pick up the phone to our office and announce the fast tracking of the hospital upgrade. I’ll guarantee him front page on that one.
However, I consider that we have a social responsibility to tell the story as the facts appear.
There was talk last week that dialysis patients would be sent to Perth for treatment. I wonder if the Kalgoorlie Miner’s recent coverage helped prevent that from happening for the time being?
