I received an invitation for a “chat” from a reporter with a major media company for a story he is currently working on about my current employer.
Per company policy I forwarded the inquiry to our PR (public relation) partner, who told me that the reporter is indeed legit but tends to try to “catch” employees unawares to speak to them on the side without PR.
On one hand I am all for the freedom of press and I have enjoyed their reportings, but on the other hand trying to trip employees up is probably not the most ethical way to obtain information.
So I just ignored the reporter and let the PR handle the situation.