Time and time again, I’ve heard folks comment on how they wish to have their events or organizations covered in the media.
For the most part, that’s easily remedied on my end – I just give them my email address and a few simple instructions.
Firstly, we need at least two weeks’ notice in advance of an event to make sure we can schedule someone to come out and attend.
Secondly, photos and any story made from covering the event are subject to run on space available in the newspaper.
And lastly, remember to communicate all pertinent details as soon as possible – especially if anything changes.
In retrospect, these seem like simple and concise rules to adhere to, and for the most part it does work out well.
There are still those who have yet to get with the program and in the unfortunate event they reach out at the very last minute for something, we’re both at the mercy of our schedules.
I’ve heard plenty of times that someone was in charge of contacting the newspapers and other media presences in the area and they dropped the ball or backed out and that task fell to someone else.
More often than not, those “someone else” people have so much else on their plate that they forget or put off contacting us until the very last minute.
Sadly for those entities, we have something else to cover and can’t attend their event – it’s gotten exponentially worse since Christmas looms on the horizon this weekend.
Even with schools finally out for their respective winter breaks, it’s a mad dash to cram everything seasonal into the last two weeks without spilling over into New Year’s celebrations and January.
Now, I have to say that most of our local governmental bodies keep us in the loop for their meetings and events.
But, like with everything else, some are just better at it.
Personally, I’ve had great communication with city council members and other city and county offices along with Van Vleck and Tidehaven ISDs.
All of those officials and representatives are also easily accessible via email and in some cases with cellphone numbers.
Regrettably, communication falls short with others and requires constant monitoring on our end – so much so that if it’s a special meeting or something out of the ordinary monthly or weekly routine, I have to set aside time out of work to check up on it.
I don’t understand if a secretary or assistant is emailing out agenda packets and meeting information to board members then how hard is it to include mine or Mike’s email in the address line?
Email notifications ping my Android every few hours and if it’s something super important, then I can reply to the sender immediately.
The more important the item is, then I’m also more likely to jot back a reply about having received the information sent and adding the event to my digital calendar.
We’ve had our newspaper running for over a decade now and the lack of communication feels like a jab and dismissal at this point.
I just have to tell our readers that if they’re not seeing something being covered, we’re at the mercy of these entities and time – there’s only three of us in the Sentinel office, and until they perfect cloning, it is what it is.
