Silence often brings out only the bad

I OFTEN reflect on the inevitable tensions that exist between media and various organisations.

Media have to break a lot of traditional taboos; the most ingrained of which is minding your own business. As we grow up, we are frequently told to mind our elders and betters, respect authority and tend to our own knitting.

The thing is, journalists know that elders are not necessarily your betters, authority isn't always right and the colour of other people's knitting can clash with society's values.

The media has the prerogative, on behalf of the public, to make the acts of others transparent, if they are deemed to be of public interest or concern. This can unfortunately lead to the concept the media is always the enemy unless an exception is made.

It requires a lot of intelligence - on both sides - to navigate that kind of mindset. Public voyeurism - sometimes only thinly disguised as public interest - is an undeniable and unpleasant aspect of human nature, and media outlets absolutely pander to it. Even gentle aspects, such as entertainment news or "property porn" are widely read.

Where the relationship works best is when an organisation realises a newspaper genuinely wants to showcase and praise their community. Just as there is a hunger for information for "bad" events, there is also a hunger for successes and praiseworthy situations. At least, this is the attitude I have for the Times-Age.

Schools are a particular example of this. Wairarapa is slightly unusual, in my experience, of having a marketing person preparing material for certain schools. This relationship works well, in that we get to praise good work and the schools get to look energetic and progressive. But frankly, I welcome calls from schools or boards. Every editor knows a cohort of smiling school kids in the paper means a few more retail sales from relatives.

With organisations like police, government departments and district health boards, the tension is much, much higher.

Schools latch on quickly to a newspaper willing to publish good stories, but other organisations prefer to stay well clear. The demarcation builds up and becomes an imbalance, because if one side never talks about the good things, other people are quick to talk about the bad.