Q: We wonder about the possibility of loading our e-mail database with some off-the-wall folks who populate Web chat sites and rooms. Is there a way to screen folks in some way before you sign them up?
A: There are a handful of people who know how to reach the media, whether it’s traditional, mainstream media or citizen media. They need no encouragement. They tend to be a fraction of your audience and won’t dominate a reader e-mail network. If someone becomes a problem, simply stop sending them messages (adding a do-not-send field in the database is a good idea). It’s also possible to delete them from the database, but that leaves open the likelihood that at some point they’ll be added back to the database.
There are other people who are so eager and helpful that they respond to everything. Make sure you recognize those people, too, so that you don’t get anecdotal leads every three months featuring the same person on completely different topics.
Q: Should we view whatever is set up as a large e-mail file or more as a listserv? If it’s a listserv, the respondents will not only be encouraged to communicate with us but also with each other.
A: People want their privacy. They don’t want to be inundated with messages, either. Generally, news organizations use their e-mail databases to generate responses that are for news reporters’ eyes only. A listserv of very limited size might work, but I’d almost always counsel against it. Many news organizations have forums that kind of serve this purpose already.
Q: What kind of demographic information should I ask for those who opt in. I was thinking: Name, Address (street, city, zip code), age, occupation and race. Is that too much to ask right off the bat and is asking race going to turn people off? What do you think about including political affiliation as a field? Education level? Household income range? Married/single/kids living at home?
A: Occupation is fairly irrelevant for most stories, and may seem intrusive to ask of everyone. Keep in mind that you can ask individuals who respond to specific messages more follow-up questions, such as their occupation, if it’s necessary for a particular story. Other than basic contact information, consider age, gender and race. Beyond that, you’re getting into a format that is long, perhaps too personal, and might be seen as marketing-type questions. That will turn off readers. And if you need to find out income range on a particular story, for example, you can ask then. This is not scientific, so don’t feel like you have to build a database that is representative in all ways of your readership. Addresses (or at least zip codes) are necessary to locate people within a neighborhood. People typically are asked to give their full street addresses when they submit letters to the editors of newspapers for verification of identity, so this is not asking too much.
Q: How much work do you put into verifying the names, occupations, etc., of those who are part of the advisory group?
A: The same as for verifying letters to the editor, however you do that. I doubt that you consider occupations in your letters policy.
Q. Do reporters call everyone to verify their identities before using an e-mail quote in a story?
A: This is a good idea for a couple of reasons. You give the person a chance to contribute more interesting information and it helps them understand the process fully. It also ensures that reporters don’t confuse identities of people who might share e-mail addresses with other family members or roommates.