Security Reported as Helping People

[1stWatch]

Reno, NV:
A Wackenhut security guard was portrayed in an article as a kind and attentive ambassador at the county welfare office. The article describes the officer's professional and military background as well as his reasoning and motivation to do the job.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...90330/1071/BIZ

[EH126]

Wow...

... Good on him and kudos to the local news for a positive image of us security officers.

[Mr. Security]

We need more articles like that. For you officers in management, consider contacting a local newspaper if you have an outstanding s/o in your charge. They might do a story about it.

[1stWatch]

It would be great if companies would do press releases for jobs well done. The problem is most security companies are afraid of the media like the plague.

[N. A. Corbier]

It would be great if companies would do press releases for jobs well done. The problem is most security companies are afraid of the media like the plague.

Of course. No news is good news. Maybe they're afraid of the press twisting their words?

[1stWatch]

Of course. No news is good news. Maybe they're afraid of the press twisting their words?

That is exactly true. One of the tv news stations here does a story on one of the mall security departments every December and while they do present the security in a really positive light, the reporter always makes inaccurate statements. The last time I saw it, the reporter stated on camera that the mall had tripled its force of guards and had added more parking lot patrols in order to deal with the issue of terrorism. I can attest that was completely untrue and we were actually hurting for employees and the "genius" of a director at the time had actually reduced staff and there was only one parking lot patrol at the time, one dispatcher, and one guard in the mall. This was the meddling media's attempt at creating a public image of a link between national security and private security. People's disappointment in us increased as their expectations increased.

This is why I believe security should create its own news media: its own publications, its own news industry, and its own video footage to show what really goes on and how the job is really done. Without it, security companies are less viable even to the point of being placed out of business as a result of their obscurity and people who I like to refer to as "public predators" will be able to paint whatever image they want of our business, usually in a negative sense.

[Mr. Security]

But how would you get the GP to read it? Most find that subject boring until something bad happens near them.

[1stWatch]

But how would you get the GP to read it? Most find that subject boring until something bad happens near them.

The visual media would only be interesting to them if it involved success stories in clearing up bad things that do happen around them, making a "real difference".

[N. A. Corbier]

That is exactly true. One of the tv news stations here does a story on one of the mall security departments every December and while they do present the security in a really positive light, the reporter always makes inaccurate statements. The last time I saw it, the reporter stated on camera that the mall had tripled its force of guards and had added more parking lot patrols in order to deal with the issue of terrorism. I can attest that was completely untrue and we were actually hurting for employees and the "genius" of a director at the time had actually reduced staff and there was only one parking lot patrol at the time, one dispatcher, and one guard in the mall. This was the meddling media's attempt at creating a public image of a link between national security and private security. People's disappointment in us increased as their expectations increased.

This is why I believe security should create its own news media: its own publications, its own news industry, and its own video footage to show what really goes on and how the job is really done. Without it, security companies are less viable even to the point of being placed out of business as a result of their obscurity and people who I like to refer to as "public predators" will be able to paint whatever image they want of our business, usually in a negative sense.

Technically, we're on the forums of a security news publication. The problem, of course, is that with most security news publications (as well as law enforcement and EMS news publications), the general media does not pull stories from it, and the general public has no perception of it.

I subscribe to Security Dealer. This month, there's a PR piece on Initial Security. This will never make the mainstream, and most likely won't make Fortune, even though Initial is a Fortune 500 company.