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When it was announced last year that Sarah Palin was a the Republican nominee for Vice President, the Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska, became a hub for reporters. At the time, Pastor Larry Kroon, wasn’t sure how to handle the swarm. Journalists camped out at the church and pestered members as they were coming to worship all for a change to find out some dirt on Palin.

After the journalists moved on, Kroon hired a company to consult with him on how the church should have handled the situation. In an interview with religion reporter Terry Mattingly, Kroon give out some tips he learned from the experience. You can read then all at Get Religion.org. but here are a few examples.

• Never accept an interview without confirming a reporter’s identity and his or her current employer. Just because someone has written for the Associated Press doesn’t mean that he isn’t currently a blogger for PalinIsAWitch.org or something like that.
• Help reporters understand that private communications between clergy and the faithful are, in fact, privileged and guarded by the same kinds of laws that shield reporters and their sources.
• Understand that a two-hour interview may be reduced to 20 seconds and that the journalist decides what goes in that soundbite. So avoid lectures and focus on the key points that you need to make to explain your congregation’s point of view. It’s also important to remember that silence is the reporter’s problem, not your problem.

As a former journalist who used to be the one doing the swarming, I can say the complete list of tips is pretty good. There is one suggesting that you, as the person being interviewed, should record the conversation as well. I probably wouldn’t have been opposed to it, but I know reporters who would have been.

In the article is says Kroon learned there are good, educated reporters who will ask you tough questions and others who aren’t as good who thrive on controversy. The key is to try and sort it out. But in the end I always think it’s better to do an interview than remain completely silent. As a reporter, I always assumed, rightfully or wrongly, that silence meant there was something to hide.

(Thanks Church Marketing Sucks for first showing us the link to the article!)