Consumer reporting presentation -- Anaheim #EIJ17

Mark Hamrick

Senior Economic Analyst, Washington Bureau Chief, Bankrate.com

President, Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW.org)

@Hamrickisms

#EIJ17

-Reporting for consumers is important

- Virtually all of us are consumers – people who spend money so they can consume goods and services. Think of all the money washing around the economy. That’s a lot at stake!

Subsets include savers, borrowers, investors, job hunters, small business operators.

Factoids:

Median household income U.S. 2017 -- $59K

Total U.S. GDP 2016 (value of all goods and services/output) -- $18.6 trillion

Holiday sales (Nov/Dec) 2016 -- $658 billion
Financial literacy in the U.S. is relatively low compared to other developed economies. 

-People need help resolving consumer problems. Journalists can explain, teach and translate

-Understanding what is happening with business, the economy, products that are available and where they’re having trouble with a business.

-By extension, journalists can help consumers solve problems

Examples:

-Unhappy with a landlord, bought a car that was a lemon, not sure how to afford college education or retirement, selecting the right product or service (Consumer Reports), what’s happening with the financial markets (investing/money management best practices), what are the best jobs available, best majors for college students.

-Sources for information that you can provide

-Consumer advocates and regulators (Local, state and federal agencies, advocacy groups like the Consumer Federation of America, National Endowment for Financial Education,  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Agriculture Department, your local government(s), state attorneys general.

-People who come to you to report a problem. (Mistreated, ripped-off, concerned about water quality, etc.) 

-Social media where problems are shared. You can also crowd source, promote that you’re available to report, investigate or lend assistance.

-Companies or representatives offering new products, services or solutions (Is the new iPhone worth it, product to prevent robo calls, Uber vs. Lyft, cremation vs. burial, credit monitoring)

-Don’t forget follow-ups. What happened a year later after resolution or attempt to fix.

-Reporting across platforms

At the AP, treating stories differently for print/text, radio and television/online video.

-What is visual about your story? Mold damage is easier to show than a complex financial scam.

-For visual stories, the human side of the story can be the most compelling.

-Audio or podcasts can be short for either short or long takes, including longer explanations. 

-Text/print is good for material that can be reviewed repeatedly or used as a reference over time, including lists and dense material.
-You can break out a longer form version of an interview or a Q&A that doesn't make air or print via the Internet or social.

-Getting to the audience

By sharing your own content via social, you get the opportunity to own your brand and establish or affirm your credibility. Trust is key for maintaining your relationship with the audience. Even if the material is “local,” the experience or information can travel across boundaries when the story or advice is compelling and/or useful.

-Ideally, you can provide a combination of these even via your own distribution channel(s). One thing to remember Many of the reporters/experts who are most successful are those who have “owned” their own reporting. Examples, Jane Bryant Quinn, Suze Orman, Jean Chatzky. Within our group, Greg McBride of Bankrate.com, The Points Guy (TPG).

-Bloggers and digital (sometimes organic) media are moving into this space. User reviews are taking over some of this function.

As the business changes and evolves, the distribution channels will change, but the need for good information (resolving problems) will not.

In praise of Tom Brokaw

America's senior statesman in television news, Tom Brokaw, is marking a-half century at NBC News.

As a nation, we've been fortunate to have his steady, accurate and truthful, midwestern middle-of-the-road presence all these many years. His reporting preceded the Nixon administration and continues as we try to process an assault on journalism which in some ways is unprecedented in our country and in others is reminiscent of the Nixon days.

From a broader perspective, we're grateful for his important contributions to the American narrative: His celebration of "The Greatest Generation," covering Watergate and reporting from the scene during the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I've been fortunate to have some personal interaction with him (not nearly as much as some of my friends), which came to mind as his own anniversary is marked.

Covering Pres. Ford in Kansas

In 1975, President Ford came to Kansas and held a news conference in Topeka, the state capital. My father, a newspaper editor at the time drove 3 hours from our home to cover it and I tagged along. While I couldn't go into the room where the president spoke, I sat outside and watched the journalists file reports afterward. Among them was Brokaw. I was fascinated by it and a bit starstruck at age 14. A year later, inspired by that, I began hanging around my hometown radio station and was on-the-air at age 16 a year later. 

At the National Press Club

When I was president of the Club in 2011, we had an opportunity to host Brokaw at our famed luncheon series in connection with a book he'd written. Of course, I jumped at the chance. This event is one where the NPC president takes 5 minutes to introduce the speaker, he or she speaks for 20-25 minutes and then the president poses questions for the remaining half-hour or so.

One small, but remarkable thing occurred early in that hour. After I gave my introduction, the audience applauded to welcome Tom. He stood up, moved to the podium and shook my hand while asking quietly so no one else could hear, "how long do you want me to go?' That was a first, indicative of what an accomplished speaker he was. So, on that guidance, he talked for about 25 minutes, which sounded as if he'd taken great pains to write the speech.

I spent a good amount of time, some privately, with him before and after the speech, which I treasured. As you'd expect he was the consummate gentleman, taking time to speak with almost anyone who came by or wanted him to sign a book. And by the way, he traveled alone, without handlers. So many less-accomplished people surround themselves with others to insulate them from potential interactions they might find uncomfortable. 

(By the way, I'll be eternally grateful to Angela Greiling Keane and Melissa Charbonneau for their work to bring him to the Club back then and for organizing the event.)

His example and a bit of preaching on my part

Many of today's practitioners in the news media would do well to follow Tom Brokaw's ethics-based example. One would have had a hard time distilling his personal political beliefs while reporting in the field or when anchoring newscasts. By his own admission, he's had a bit of good luck. He sat in the anchor chair before network audiences were challenged by the explosion in competing outlets and technologies. Network news can still attract a good-sized audience, but doesn't have the impact that it did during his reign on "NBC Nightly News" from 1982-2004.

When cable outlets, talk radio and other media try to compete for the shrinking audience by creating confrontation they ultimately offend or drive away as many people as they think they attract. Using the excuse of changing and challenging business models is a poor cover for anything less than time-honored, best practices in journalism. That's probably not what the Founding Fathers envisioned when they placed freedom of speech in the First Amendment.

My good fortune

To have had the good fortune to meet people and spend some time with people like Tom Brokaw, who've inspired me dating back to childhood is a remarkable blessing. It is among the reasons I try to say a spoken or silent prayer of thanksgiving on a regular basis. A little (or a lot of) good luck goes a long way!

Follow me on Twitter: @Hamrickisms