Dealing with the Press

Hello all, Regarding this discussion about dealing with the press, I feel compelled to reply, because (as some of you know) I'm a reporter AND a vintage computer collector. Of course I have to make a disclosure: the opinions I'm about to convey are solely my own, and when I'm on this email list, I do not represent my magazine (eWeek) or its publisher, Ziff-Davis. And now on with my opinion... It really saddens me to see so much negativity about how the press can only get it wrong, look for the bad news, or generally miss the point. I suppose that stems from the approach that "the media" includes everyone from The Wall Street Journal to Fox's "Entertainment Tonight" in the same boat. The reality is, as with any group of people or businesses, there will be a vocal minority who make the good majority look bad. In fact, local newspapers are still the heart of American journalism, and most do a superb at covering their regions and small towns, in a way that the AP or CNN never will be able to do. The comments about emphasizing the preservation angle, about these machines being the 'opposite' of business computing, and about the growing size of our vintage computing hobby are all very good ones. Another very important point to emphasize is the legacy integration angle. Everyone from the world's largest businesses to the one-man shops has some old data or peripheral lying around, which one day they may have to use. That requires people who can help. Moreover, when you explain this to a mainstream news reporter, focus on the angle of history repeating itself. Above all, make the best possible analogies that you can come up with. For example whenever I explain my collection to someone, I focus on how it's very similar to collectors of antique cars, furniture, art, stamps, etc., and that it only makes sense that one generation removed from computers first becoming a commodity, people would start to collect them. There were other comments that are really wrong. "Don't look them straight in the eye" is just silly. As a reporter, what I appreciate most is interviews that flow more like conversations. Also, "don't tell them more than they need to know" is off-base too. If I'm interviewing someone and the replies involve little eye contact and terse replies, THEN maybe I'd think they have something is amiss. Granted, sometimes too many details can overwhelm people, but that's a characteristic of over-zealous collectors, and it's entirely unfair to make the broad assumption that reporters are an idiotic breed who can't handle too many facts with accuracy. Remember, reporters wouldn't bother asking for an interview if they didn't care about the topic! Good reporters are experts , not incompetents, about juggling multiple, fast-incoming facts. The assertions that reporters "usually get them wrong anyway" and are "technically unsavvy idiots" is one really concerns me. Granted, I'm an exception, because I was a computer nerd BEFORE becoming a reporter. But again, I want to stress this: it's not an inherent trait of reporters that facts sometimes get mangled; think of yourselves when you first started collecting computers -- all of us asked dumb questions, were slow to learn, etc. Something that I'm grateful to Sellam for is his explanations of how the VCF is to celebrate, not blindly hang onto, old technology. He's right, and the can't and won't grow if we (I'm speaking as a fellow collector now) treat non-hobbyists as clueless nimwits. I believe that would be the same spark that caused computers to be so difficult for the public to use in the first place. So an absolutely key thing to remember is, the people who we're preserving vintage computers FOR and the people who reporters SERVE are THE SAME PEOPLE. We reporters aren't out to 'get' anyone; we just want to understand and then share with the masses. (Any reporter who disagrees with that is discredible.) One final comment: ethical news publications do not let interviewees "check" stories before they're printed. As an ethical reporter myself, sometimes I'll fact-check very technical things and/or fact-check that I got someone's point of view correct. But no self-respecting journalist or publication would ever allow people to approve or pre-read a story. Yes, we make mistakes sometimes, as does everyone. However when someone accepts an interview they have to trust that the reporter is a professional at getting facts correct. I'm sure parts of my above comments are a bit jarbled. I won't deny that this email is somewhat reactionary; after all I see my fellow collectors attacking my profession. So in summary, if any of you are asked about your collections by a reporter, please just keep in mind that we reporters WANT to understand, to get it right, and to share your opinion with our readers. Personally I write an average of three to ten stories per week, and I haven't got time to ask people questions for which I don't care about the answers. Assume that a well-reported and well-written story can HELP you, but remember that reporters are people too. - Evan