3 Biggest Mistakes Family Court Victims Make When Approaching the Press
When to come forward to press and how
If you read my columns regularly then you might know that I spend a lot of time trying to help people get the media attention they want for their cases. The unfortunate reality is that there are too many victims of family court for the media to cover. If you want to get the attention of the press there are a few things you should not do:
Do not contact media if you do not know if you want to go forward with your story.
If you have not spoken to your lawyer about going public, do not reach out to the press. There is nothing more unprofessional than taking up a reporter’s time with your inquiry only to turn them down when they ask you for your evidence because you were unprepared to hear a “yes.” Don’t email the press until you are sure you want to go forward. Reporters are not people to bounce ideas off of. Save that for your friends, family, or therapist. If you want to come forward then do it. But don’t waste a professional’s time when you don’t know what it is you want.
Do not contact the press if you do not have an organized case with files organized on a shareable drive like Google with a chronological timeline linking to relevant documents.
I have written extensively about this here, here, and here. If you have not organized your paperwork, it is not okay to ask a member of the press to do it for you. If you cannot do it yourself, hire someone to do it for you, but get that done before you call or contact the press. There isn’t one reporter out there who is going to spend months organizing your paperwork and story. You must take responsibility for this aspect of your case and get it done.
Do not contact the press with a single case. Gather multiple victims
Everyone thinks their story is the worst miscarriage of justice that ever happened. But a single story of family court corruption is not nearly as compelling as many families suffering in the same county. Do some research and find other victims of the players in your case and compare notes and come up with a plan to come forward as a group. The media has a much harder time ignoring a group of victims than just one mom or dad who says they were screwed in court.
If you don’t want to be a victim then take control of your situation with these solid tips on how to get heard. It requires a substantial amount of work and dedication. If you don’t put in a basic effort to get organized and ready for the press, do not bother to approach them.