I’ve never liked the old saw, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” When a piece is just plain wrong, it can certainly do more harm than good. To give you an example, look at this message to the ARRL PR mailing list:
So the following article came to my attention:
Note that the station added a statement two days later. Please read it, but don’t start writing to the station.
I ask you:
- What would you do if you saw this article in your local area? How would you as a PIO or PIC handle it?
- What can be done to prevent such articles?
I replied:
Whenever I see these articles, I contact the reporter and try to set them straight on the differences between the various radio services. As to what can be done to prevent these articles from being published in the first place, I think that the PR committee could be a little more proactive:
Include a page on the ARRL website linked from the Reporter/Media Information page describing all the personal radio services, the differences between them, and the role of the Amateur Radio Service in particular.
Write a press release notifying reporters that page is now available and distribute it as widely as possible.
Include the name and phone number of an actual person on the Reporter/Media Information page and on other press releases. (I’ll note that the Press Releases page is way out of date. It lists two press releases, both from 2016!)
Having said all that, I’ll ask you. How do you deal with inaccurate articles about amateur radio?