Advisers can make financial news more accurate

InvestmentNews reporters and editors often are called on by a variety of other media to address the economic situation and the problems that investors face.

InvestmentNews reporters and editors often are called on by a variety of other media to address the economic situation and the problems that investors face. The focus, of course, is mainly on what advisers are doing to help clients better manage money during these tough times.

It seems, however, that with all the news surrounding Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford and various other schemers, the mainstream media are now focusing on how advisers can keep investors’ trust, which seems to be in short supply these days.

To that point, I was asked to be a guest on a radio segment. The show’s producers asked that I discuss the steps a person can take to find an honest financial adviser during these uncertain times and how to know whether an adviser is actually earning his or her pay.

Of course, I had to do all that with grace and charm in less than three minutes, which is considered a lifetime in radio.

That’s the game in radio and TV: The sound bite rules — even if the talking head generating the sound bite often doesn’t exactly know what he’s talking about.

The general consensus from the advisers I speak with is that newspaper and magazine reporters in the mass media write about the financial services industry without a clear understanding of the business.

But rather than lament the media’s shortcomings, use them to your advantage.

Especially in these frightening economic times, it’s imperative that advisers and financial planners find ways to work with the mainstream media.

Believe me, it can be done.

Contact local newspapers, TV stations and radio outlets, and offer your services as an expert in financial planning and investment advice. All the media operate with limited staff, and most welcome outside experts.

A guest column in a newspaper, for instance, has the potential to reach a wide and loyal readership and is a solid way to deliver a message to readers on issues of financial concern.

In order to deliver quality news, reporters are always looking for experts to provide them with solid, accurate content.

Journalists need to obtain reliable information continually from principals in the industry they are covering.

Along those lines, key to working with the media is to become a reliable — and readily available — source for reporters, who usually work under extreme deadline pressure and often quote the first good source who returns their call.

If you aren’t accessible, a reporter may simply forget about you and find another source for information.

Still another way to get your point across about a key issue in your world is simply by sending a letter to the editor.

Keep in mind that a carefully crafted and restrained letter to the editor can bring issues to the forefront and rebut inaccurate information that may have appeared in the publication.

It makes sense to keep the letter brief, clarify what information was inaccurate and give examples of accurate data.

The worst thing a financial adviser or planner can do is sit on the sidelines and complain that the media are reporting inaccurate information.

Handled correctly, media relations can be a solid way for advisers to counter what they deem inaccurate reporting of industry information.

What’s more, it’s a great way to strengthen credibility with current and prospective clients, and build one’s business.

Jim Pavia is the editor of InvestmentNews.