Every couple of days I get an e-mail message or a news tip submitted through our website asking me why we aren't reporting on a specific story, or a certain company or a particular event.
That's a valid question, which I'd like to address.
It's not as though we are on the payroll of certain companies (as one guy suggested today).
It's not as though we are protecting our advertisers (as another suggested last week).
It's not as though we shy away from controversy.
It's likely because we don't know about the story or the issue.
Although I personally scour the news sites of nearly two dozen publications every day, and have access to a vast wire service of news stories from all over the world, there are times that we miss something. It's not often, but it happens.
I would say that if a story has appeared in print, appears in a blog, or has been made part of a TV or radio broadcast, I usually find out about it within a few hours. And, we pride ourselves on posting just about everything RV-related we can find -- even if it's a story about a beaver falling a tree onto RVs parked at a dealership. I feel there is no need for gatekeepers in the electronic information age. RV Industry News serves the RV industry best by being the one-stop shop for RV-related information.
We must be doing a good job. Through today, we had posted 2,194 stories this year compared to 998 for RV Trade Digest and 1,337 for RV Business. In fact, a recent survey shows that 68 percent of RV industry professionals consider RV Industry News to be their No. 1 choice for news and information. Thank you! That's an amazing accomplishment for a company less than one year old.
It's the behind-the-scenes stories that often cause people to wonder why we don't post anything about the topic or issue. And the answers for that vary, too.
It is very likely that we don't know about it. Despite having my fingers on the pulse of the industry -- and having people acting as my eyes and ears in the field -- I don't see, hear and sense everything.
I have good relationships with some companies that are upfront and honest about what goes on regarding issues that are both good and bad. We frequently get press releases from those firms and we are often invited to their dealer events, where we can forge good relationships with key executives and their dealers. The companies also provide a central point of contact who is diligent about responding to calls and messages.
Other companies prefer to keep to themselves. They don't submit press releases, even when they launch new products. They don't invite us to their displays at Louisville and, when we finally do show up on Day Three, the executives are usually gone. We don't have a specific contact person to go to and our calls to the switchboard are generally punted into someone's voice mail.
Often, people will submit a news tip suggesting that we look into something, but they fail to provide an e-mail address or phone number so that I can follow-up to get more information. I tend to get further in investigating what's going on if I can contact XYZ Company and ask, "I hear your company laid off 60 people Thursday. Is that true?" As opposed to, "Someone sent me a news tip that suggested I look into what happened at your company last Thursday. So, what happened?" It's like poker. It's hard for someone to bluff their way out of a hand when they suspect you have an ace-high flush.
Perhaps the biggest reason stories go unreported is that they turn out to be false. We'll get a news tip, call the company in question and they'll deny the rumor. There had been one circulating for weeks about a wealthy billionaire about to buy up a major player in the industry. Everyone at the company in question scoffed at the idea. Now that it turned out to be true, I'll be driving down to toilet paper the trees at their corporate office.
But, if a company denies that something took place or is about to happen, it pretty much remains a rumor. And we don't like to report rumors if we can help it.
Occasionally, we'll get a rumor about a business shutting down. If we can't get in touch with anyone at the company -- and the local mayor's office, chamber of commerce and newspaper doesn't know anything about it, and neighboring businesses don't know if the company is still operating -- we may report it anyway so other people and companies can protect their assets or investments.
The bottom line to this rambling message is that we love to post stories. If you don't see a story posted, send me an e-mail or submit a news tip through our website. I can assure people they will remain completely anonymous. A good journalist always protects his sources. But, it is helpful if details can be provided or if the tipster provides a way for us to contact him to get more information. That way, we can follow-up when we get the official explanation so the source knows what's really going on -- or he can confirm that the "official" explanation is bunk.
Thank you for your support during our premier year!