NOVEMBER 20258GOV BUSINESS REVIEWIN MY OPINIONJim Gaines, Public Affairs Manager, Fulton County GovernmentByNAVIGATING MEDIA RELATIONS WITH CONFIDENCEPesky questions: Dealing with journalists"Now, you and me, we're on the same side. Let me tell you what you need to write."He was a state university vice president. I was on the college paper staff, working on my first serious investigation. I may have been new, but I knew we weren't on the same side and he didn't understand that he was only making me more skeptical.Now, years later, I've been on both sides. I can tell you that no, we weren't on the same side. But we didn't have to be opponents.Journalists and government officials have different motives and goals. These won't always align. But that doesn't mean they're always hostile either. The overarching goal of both is to serve the public, though in different ways.Journalists may ­ indeed, will probably ­ ask questions you really don't want to answer, or just don't think are important. Nevertheless, it's vital to respond in some way. Silence, denial or evasion won't make a dedicated reporter give up. Those only make the reporter dig harder, on the working assumption that something is being deliberately hidden.When you're dealing with journalists, it's essential to have an understanding of what they want and Jim Gaines
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