‘No Comment’ Is Morphing Into No Response

From Tom Weidlich at PRCG | Haggerty…

Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi has a piece in the Columbia Journalism Review this week highlighting the trend (he has numbers) of companies and others not even responding to reporters’ calls for comment. His examples concern crises.

Farhi did Nexis searches and found that mentions of the phrase “did not respond to a request for comment” rose from 728 stories in May 2014 to 1,590 in May 2019 to 3,616 in May 2024. That’s an eye-popping five-fold increase in a decade. (Several factors can be involved, such as an increase in online stories, but Farhi also says other journalists agree it’s happening.)

In his June 24 CJR story (“When They Won’t Even Say ‘No Comment’”), Farhi notes that the phrase shows up in stories on topics as varied as politics, business and sports and outlets as varied as newspapers, newscasts and blogs.

Examples he cites include the maker of Sriracha hot sauce not answering a request when it announced it would temporarily halt production last month due to its chiles being “too green,” the agency of a dancer accused of sexual misconduct not replying to The Hollywood Reporter and non-returned calls to two sources for a New York Times story about Republican threats of retribution after Donald Trump’s felony convictions.

Obviously, we think not responding is a mistake. Especially when in crisis, it’s important to tell your side of the story, or at least engage with the journalist. Farhi quotes CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy: “It’s the job of spokespeople to tell the best story about the companies they represent. And here they are actively laying down the sword and not engaging in the battle.”

For the rest, click here.