Rotarians advised to avoid red-tapism in dealing with journalists

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A live webinar of Rotary International, held on August 22, highlighted the role of journalists in publicizing the various events and one of the speakers advised the fellow Rotarians to avoid red-tapism in dealing with professional newsmen if the idea was to get mileage for the various events and projects of their organization.

“It’s my personal request to the Rotary leaders of our district in particular to be polite and humble when dealing with journalists. Cultivating relationship is not a bad idea. But please don’t be rude or engage them in red-tapism, which is also against the spirit of Rotary,” Syed Khalid Mahmood, himself an eminent media professional besides being an active Rotarian, observed in his speech during the webinar titled ‘Promoting, Building and Enhancing the Image of Rotary’ and organized by Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan. 

“There’s absolutely no doubt about it that we need to build powerful campaigns from time to time to show and tell the masses what Rotary really is. We have to keep reminding them that we are a group of people that unites to work for good and actually rolls up our sleeves and do meaningful projects to help our communities,” he added. 

“Being a part and parcel of the editorial team at the largest media group of Pakistan for decades, I know exactly how challenging and demanding it is for the various organizations and institutions of different sizes and statures to be in the news on a regular basis,” Khalid Mahmood opined. 

“Those with greater public relation acumen or transparent track record manage to get their news in more frequently than others while in some cases haughty, arrogant or rude attitude of some individuals result in the killing of the otherwise newsworthy events which is surely a setback to the organization they lead or represent,” he reckoned. 

“At the outset it must be kept in our mind that the newspaper or the media organization is under no compulsion to publish any particular news item. Just as the visa officer at any embassy or high commission has the authority to reject or accept applications, similarly the working journalists also have a discretionary power what to cover and what not to cover on a given day, depending on their priorities,” he explained. 

“You have the example of a couple of Past District Governors of our District in whose tenure Rotary was in the news most often. And they appear in headline news even today whenever they get involved in any activity, Rotary or otherwise,” he pointed out. 

“The District leaders as well as the Club leaders should not forget the fact that the mileage given to their events through the courtesy of journalists bring multiple benefits to Rotary. You should make greater efforts to have your activities reported by newspapers and news channels as often as possible because the memory of public is short. We need to keep reminding them about our presence,” Khalid Mahmood emphasized. 

“Last but not the least, please don’t live under the illusion that your job is finished by posting your club activities on Facebook page or simply by updating your WhatsApp status with a picture of Rotary event. I am afraid, you will have to come out of your comfort zone to achieve the cherished goals,” he concluded.