I do a lot of media training, often with people dealing with controversial issues and, at times, a hostile press. A consistent theme is one of control – how much control do I have over what a reporter writes or a producer edits?

Can I request to see the story before it goes to print? Can I require that my responses in a taped television segment be used in full, without editing? These are typical questions I am asked.

Generally, my response goes, is that you can only really control how well you present your message and, like a pitcher must trust his “stuff� when he’s on the mound, you have to trust your “stuff� when you are giving an interview.

Howard Kurtz had an interesting article on the same theme in yesterday’s Washington Post. “The humble interview,� he writes, “the linchpin of journalism for centuries, is under assault…. [I]n the digital age, some executives and commentators are saying they will respond only by e-mail…� He bemoans the fact that more and more print interviews are being conducted via e-mail, noting that what’s lost is the discussion, the interplay between reporter and interviewee.

I’m not a fan of putting reporters at arm’s length, unless there is a good reason to do so. Just like I tell clients there needs to be a strategic reason not to do an interview, there needs to be a strategic reason to do an interview via e-mail. And there are good strategic reasons, of course. But I think they are relatively few and far between.

I am much more interested in shaping my message. And I’m much better able to ensure my message is being understood by the gatekeeper – i.e. the reporter – if we are able to play off of each other in a discussion. Plus, there’s the relationship factor. Unless I decide it’s necessary, I don’t want to start an interview with the unsaid but clearly communicated statement that, “I don’t trust you.�

Look, I tell every client that they must carry a healthy dose of paranoia into every interview. I just think that, in most cases, saying that you will only do an interview via e-mail is too large a dose to be healthy.

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