Created By Constance Thomas
“Give me access, I give you press,” states Leslie Griffin, freelance writer of Detroit, MI. Griffin has been writing for over seven years. Her focus has been in the entertainment industry. Today she was kind enough to share her process of getting public access to events. She states that at the beginning of her career it was difficult because she wasn’t known in the community, “I didn’t know what I was doing”.
On the site Electronic Frontier Foundation: Defending Your Rights In The Digital World they have a guide for bloggers on media access. They help answer some questions as simple as, “Does the First Amendment provide a right to gather news”? Their answer was Yes. Because the right to publish news necessarily depends on the ability to gather information, restrictions on your right to gather news raise First Amendment concerns.
Since she wasn’t known she made sure she got with someone who has done this before. Being able to have someone guide you and take you by the hand is the only way. You have to know the ropes on what you’re doing, Griffin says.
Being able to have access and interview a such as the likes of singer Lala Hathaway, the daughter of famed deceased signer Donny Hathaway’s daughter took dedication and hard work on Griffin’s behalf. Stating that if she couldn’t get in touch with their PR person, she would tweet the celebrity. By doing this step, sometimes there may not be a response depending on their huge following.
Having access requires laws and procedures. Every state is different and in order to know the laws on how to have access or public records, you have to go through the right channels. The site Citizen Media Law Project is a great tool to have and utilize when trying to attain public records. For Griffin’s case, she begins a partnership with a venue. Her collaboration works more as a trade off. The venue wants publicity; she wants the opportunity to interview the talent. No matter what she has to produce a story. If she’s at the Fox Theater for free, she’s written a story. It’s not a cakewalk; she interjects.
Griffin’s humbleness keeps her grounded. She stated that “one can’t become the celebrity; you interact with them, you interview them.” The evening we spoke, Griffin was on her way to Motor City Casino’s Sound Board stage to interview the comedian Eddie Griffin.
Leslie Griffin’s sample of work can be found in the Michigan Chronicle/Front Page at http://www.michronicleonline.com. If you would like to contact her she can be reach at igetitwrite@yahoo.com .
