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Q. How do you deal with angry callers?
A. Let them vent for a reasonable amount of time, then let them know you have listened, you understand the complaint, you will share it with the staff and indicate what action might be taken. Try to avoid getting into a rapid-fire exchange. When the heat starts rising, hold the phone away from your ear, lean back and let the caller have the floor. You may have to politely, but firmly, end the call. You will have to judge whether you want to get into a disagreement with a caller; it may not be worth the time. If the caller is profane or racist, warn that you will not put up with that language or you will hang up. Callers typically make broad statements. Ask for specifics that you can deal with. Or invite the reader to call back the next time an example is found. Remember that a kind voice turns away wrath. Don’t respond in kind to a sarcastic or angry reader, even if you are tempted to. First, you don’t want to give the reader ammunition against you. And you will often find that the reader’s tone changes if you maintain a polite, professional disposition. When responding to an e-mail, remember that an e-mail can be forwarded anywhere, so be careful. Ignore the anger and the sarcasm and deal with the facts.
A. Let them vent for a reasonable amount of time, then let them know you have listened, you understand the complaint, you will share it with the staff and indicate what action might be taken. Try to avoid getting into a rapid-fire exchange. When the heat starts rising, hold the phone away from your ear, lean back and let the caller have the floor. You may have to politely, but firmly, end the call. You will have to judge whether you want to get into a disagreement with a caller; it may not be worth the time. If the caller is profane or racist, warn that you will not put up with that language or you will hang up. Callers typically make broad statements. Ask for specifics that you can deal with. Or invite the reader to call back the next time an example is found. Remember that a kind voice turns away wrath. Don’t respond in kind to a sarcastic or angry reader, even if you are tempted to. First, you don’t want to give the reader ammunition against you. And you will often find that the reader’s tone changes if you maintain a polite, professional disposition. When responding to an e-mail, remember that an e-mail can be forwarded anywhere, so be careful. Ignore the anger and the sarcasm and deal with the facts.
Q. How do you deal with stress?
A. It helps to have a support system. You will be isolated from the newsroom. You need to find healthy outlets, whether exercise, meditation, volunteer activities. Be sure to take some days off, especially after a trying period of complaints. Find some time to laugh. Our family tapes comedy shows and watches them together.
A. It helps to have a support system. You will be isolated from the newsroom. You need to find healthy outlets, whether exercise, meditation, volunteer activities. Be sure to take some days off, especially after a trying period of complaints. Find some time to laugh. Our family tapes comedy shows and watches them together.
Q. I have a complaint that seems to fall outside the usual job description. How do I handle it?
A. You can handle it quietly, internally. Don’t worry about doing everything at once. If it’s symptomatic, you will hear about it again. Let’s say there are complaints about the editorial page, which is not normally in your jurisdiction. Then refer the reader to the Editorial Page editor. If the editor is non-responsive, direct the reader to write a letter to the publisher. You also will hear of Advertising and Circulation concerns. Generally, you can simply direct the reader to the most responsive staff member in those departments. If there is a serious complaint, such as an ad from a scam artist, you can make sure that an Advertising Department executive hears about it.
A. You can handle it quietly, internally. Don’t worry about doing everything at once. If it’s symptomatic, you will hear about it again. Let’s say there are complaints about the editorial page, which is not normally in your jurisdiction. Then refer the reader to the Editorial Page editor. If the editor is non-responsive, direct the reader to write a letter to the publisher. You also will hear of Advertising and Circulation concerns. Generally, you can simply direct the reader to the most responsive staff member in those departments. If there is a serious complaint, such as an ad from a scam artist, you can make sure that an Advertising Department executive hears about it.
Q. Do you answer everything?
A. Ideally, you would try to acknowledge every communication promptly. Some readers don’t appear to want an answer and just want to vent.
A. Ideally, you would try to acknowledge every communication promptly. Some readers don’t appear to want an answer and just want to vent.
Q. What are some of the options to offer readers when faced with a complaint?
- Letter to the editor. (The letter writer can put comments in his own words without a rebuttal)
- Inclusion of the complaint in an internal report to the staff. (For the writer who doesn’t want to go public, but wants management to be aware of the complaint)
- Mention of the complaint in your column. (That means the staffer will be offered a chance to respond, but offers the possibility that you will support the complaint).
- Speak privately to the staffer.
Q. What if the reader wants information from you?
A. If a request is newspaper-related and you can reasonably expect other calls, then a search is worth your time. Or tell readers how to find information themselves at the library or on the newspaper’s Web site. There is only so much a one-person department can do. You can’t be the library. For regular questions, keep standard answers in a computer file that you can cut and paste.
A. If a request is newspaper-related and you can reasonably expect other calls, then a search is worth your time. Or tell readers how to find information themselves at the library or on the newspaper’s Web site. There is only so much a one-person department can do. You can’t be the library. For regular questions, keep standard answers in a computer file that you can cut and paste.
Q. How do you avoid the impression that you are a lackey of the newspaper?
A. You can’t force it. Over time, you will build a reputation. Presumably, there will be complaints made against the paper that deserve public response. The typical format for a column is to present a complaint by a reader, offer a response by the staff and conclude with your comments, providing context and background. Some would like you to be a “critic,” but intellectual honesty requires you to call ‘em like you see ‘em.
A. You can’t force it. Over time, you will build a reputation. Presumably, there will be complaints made against the paper that deserve public response. The typical format for a column is to present a complaint by a reader, offer a response by the staff and conclude with your comments, providing context and background. Some would like you to be a “critic,” but intellectual honesty requires you to call ‘em like you see ‘em.
Q. How do you avoid the impression that you are a scold of the newspaper?
A. Even if you support the paper, it may be seen as airing dirty laundry by some in the newsroom. In my weekly internal report, I have a separate category for compliments. On occasion, you should recognize extraordinary work by the staff, especially when it draws comments from the readers. When the staff makes changes suggested by readers or with the readers in mind, you should applaud them. Let the staff know that you can be an effective advocate for dispelling myths and misinformation about the paper. Your independence carries weight. You can be a liaison and a resource for the staff. Help them avoid complaints. Here are some ideas:
A. Even if you support the paper, it may be seen as airing dirty laundry by some in the newsroom. In my weekly internal report, I have a separate category for compliments. On occasion, you should recognize extraordinary work by the staff, especially when it draws comments from the readers. When the staff makes changes suggested by readers or with the readers in mind, you should applaud them. Let the staff know that you can be an effective advocate for dispelling myths and misinformation about the paper. Your independence carries weight. You can be a liaison and a resource for the staff. Help them avoid complaints. Here are some ideas:
- Arrange visits of readers to the newsroom.
- Arrange meetings by editors in the community.
- Arrange reader forums.
- Circulate questions to a panel of readers on your e-mail list.
- Ask readers their opinions of a proposed change by the newspaper before it is set in stone. That could be a redesign, a new comic strip, a policy change.
Q. How do you communicate?
- You may write a daily note or a weekly report, shared on the staff’s computer message board or distributed in print to other newspaper management.
- You may attend news meetings and report reader reaction.
- A weekly column
Q. What are arguments against ombudsmen?
A. You will hear of variety of them. Here is a sampling of the most common.
A. You will hear of variety of them. Here is a sampling of the most common.
- It’s a luxury. Response: Newspapers have complaint departments, customer service departments and internal auditors. They’re considered essential. Why not include elements of all three functions in one newsroom position? The budget explanation doesn’t wash for newsrooms with large staffs. Let’s say that once a newsroom passes 100 employees, devoting one employee to this critical job is no luxury.
- An ombudsman is a cop-out. Staff should handle complaints. Response: Most staffers do not have the time to handle the volume of complaints that ombudsmen receive, nor do most have the disposition or training to deal effectively with angry readers. Ombudsmen do not prevent staffers from communicating directly with the public. In fact, they often facilitate communication by organizing forums and e-mail interaction. There is no accountability in the suggestion that the everyone in the newsroom should respond to readers. The reality is that nobody wants to do that dirty work. Add up all the devices newsrooms use to get close to readers – forums, public meetings, editor’s columns – and they don’t match the work of a single ombudsman. Plus, these devices tend to be occasional.
- It’s difficult to find good ones. Response: Yes, and it’s difficult to find good editors, but when an editor doesn’t work out, you don’t eliminate the position.
- They’re too kind. Response: Some would like ombudsmen to be full-time critics. Therefore, their role is viewed as more like public relations when they explain how decisions are made or take the newspaper’s side in a controversy. But ombudsmen, like other journalists, value their independence and resist being forced into any single position. By handling complaints promptly and professionally, there is certainly a benefit to the newspaper.
- They’re too mean. Response: Some in the industry think ombudsmen cause morale problems by displaying criticism in public. Under that theory, corrections should not be run, either. And it supposes that journalists are too sensitive to take criticism.
- Ombudsmen have conflicts. How can they be paid by the people they are hired to criticize? Response: The same way as internal auditors or customer service representatives are paid to deal with criticism. Some newspapers have tried contracts for ombudsmen, and that provides an extra level of independence. But if a publisher is supportive, a contract is not necessary. If a publisher is not supportive, a contract will only be temporary.
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