Thread: Here's a little look behind the journalistic curtain that I think is worth sharing. I don't really do threads like this, but again, I feel like it's important.

Hope you can give this whole thing a read.

Reporting on Covid-19 in Greek Life is a unique experience. Accuracy is obviously super important, so we're being very careful with what we report and how we source it.

That means getting official comment from any fraternity/sorority we name.

When I called Mizzou's Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) chapter's official phone number, I was hung up on after identifying myself, told to stop calling, and texted a statement.

That happens, and it's their choice to do PR and handle media like that.

Last night, my phone started blowing up with calls. Some from actual numbers, some from restricted numbers, some that left voicemails.

It turns out Fiji's president sent my number to the fraternity GroupMe with the instructions to "have fun" with it, which apparently means spam calls.

I don't expect Greek Life orgs to have good or friendly PR, especially when I'm calling to ask about a difficult topic. And I don't mind immature retaliation like this — reporters face way worse, and it was more funny than harmful for me.

This is the culture in Greek Town. Keep that in mind as you read/hear things about Covid-19 going forward.

And The Maneater will continue reporting on this because that's what student media does.