The Prophetic Wisdom Of I.F. Stone

(This entry is adapted from a longer guest commentary published in The Day of New London on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.)

Getting through the Trump PR clutter

At the dawn of the Donald Trump presidency, I remember the advice of the late journalist I.F. Stone: The best news comes from the bureaucrats nobody wants you to talk to.

I.F. Stone died in 1989, and with his “I.F. Stone’s Weekly” he was considered one of the great investigative journalists of all time.

Here are a few PR lessons Stone could teach today’s journalists from new and old media covering the Trump administration:

1. As Stone used to say, there’s not much news at a news conference. At these gab fests, you’re only hearing what the president, governor, mayor or tribal council chair wants you to hear.
2. Cultivate better sources. Those bureaucrats Stone talked about are out there. You might have to quote them anonymously, but verify and quote.
3. Behind the rhetoric, watch how governments work. Remember how a bill becomes law, with behind-the-scenes deals, often but not always with compromise from all sides.

When he shut down his weekly, Stone retired to a hideaway office in American University in Washington, D.C., writing about classical cultures. He called his wife and said he had a great morning: He wrote one-and-a-half pages. Happiness was good, he said, because then he could go dancing.

He recommended dancing, and maybe we’ll see more of it in the coming years. Journalists, and public relations professionals, will have to dance through a lot of media clutter.