Ignorance isn’t a crime.  By definition, ignorance means an “absence of knowledge.” But there are two general types of ignorance.  One is involuntary, and the other is voluntary. If someone’s ignorance about a subject is caused by a lack of desire or motivation to know the truth; that is voluntary ignorance.  Voluntary ignorance may not be a crime, but it may reflect apathy, bias, prejudice or worse.  If you’ve been in the manufactured housing industry for more than a few months, odds are you have already experienced media ignorance or actual bias against manufactured housing.

This ignorance or bias against manufactured housing often manifests itself around ‘tornado season,’ but certainly isn’t limited to those destructive events.  An industry buddy of mine has said he sometimes wonders where the greater wind exists:

• among biased/ignorant media figures bemoaning manufactured housing’s ‘endangered’ residents,
• or a tornado’s winds itself.

My retort is that while some in the media are indeed ignorant or negatively biased against manufactured homes, my own experience is that an editor or reporter who is respectfully approached is typically open to reason.  Most in the media want to ‘get the story right.’

So over the years, I’ve had a number of occasions where I have contacted a local news reporter or editor, and discussed a topic that I thought was improperly handled by their news outlet.  The vast majority of the time, these editors and journalists responded in kind, listened to the facts as I presented them, and thanked me.  Most mainstream media pros typically approach the end of the call or conversation by asking, ‘okay, what would you like to see us do?’ My standard reply to that welcome question is two fold:

• ‘Please consider me a resource‘ on any news story that involves manufactured or factory built housing.  Then, I make sure that they have my contact information, especially my phone numbers.
• In the case of print journalists, I ask them to let me do a guest editorial column to share the other perspective. These ‘Op-Ed’ columns are much nicer than a ‘letter to the editor.’  The Op-Ed or Guest Editorials typically give you more ink, more prominent placement, sometimes a photo and even contact or at company information.

All that is background to a project we are starting: to initiate the process to clear up media ignorance, effective immediately!

I asked our new MHMSM.com Industry In Focus Reporter, Eric Miller to do a follow up on the Dwight, IL tornado story.

As you may recall, on June 5, a tornado hit that small town in IL and ‘destroyed’ a 34 unit mobile home park.  As is often the case, the mainstream media news coverage focused on overturned mobile homes, the understandably devastated owners of the park and the residents of those homes.  Catching people in the wake of a storm isn’t always easy, especially when the post storm clean up is still underway.  But Eric was diligent, talked to a number of sources and filed his story with me this past Friday.

Based on past experience, I felt confident that the damage to conventional property was at least as great as to those ‘mobile homes.’  Eric’s research on this story bears that out!  Please see the link to Eric’s Industry In Focus Report follow up story here.

Now why is this important to you?  I think you’ll already have that answer, but in case you still need more coffee, energy drink or caffeinated soda, please let me spell it out!  Getting the facts right can help your firm’s sales!  Because it is ignorance that often costs our Industry the business our quality, appealing and durable modern manufactured homes deserve.

Anyone who is in the sales side of the manufactured housing world KNOWS that one of the ‘big’ arguments ‘against’ manufactured housing are ‘tornadoes.’  I’ve seen sales written up, only to later cancel or slip away, because some well meaning – but ignorant – family or friend talked that person out of it due to the ‘danger’ of living in a tr__l_r house’ or a ‘mobile home.’ It has been 34 years since the HUD Code has gone into effect and we are still dealing with that type of bias?

Sadly, yes.  Public ignorance on such nuanced details as the difference between mobile homes and manufactured housing can be as widespread as among many in the media; and are and due in part to that slanted media reporting!

Isn’t it obvious?  If we as industry pros don’t form a new habit of taking that ignorance on – repeatedly, every time it rears its ugly head – it will only continue!  We will lend a hand in that process of clearing up the facts, starting with Eric Miller’s Industry In Focus Report story!

So with your help, we are going to start an initiative to deal with that tragic Dwight IL disaster and similar stories that will inevitably come head on!  Any time you have ignorant or biased media coverage dealing with a tornado or some other topic relating to mobile or manufactured housing in your area, please send us an email with the link to the story and some context.

We at MHMSM.com in turn – as time permits – will dig into these stories, and do some research.  Once completed, we will publish the correct story, complete with facts that the media reports either missed or glossed over.  That done, you can then contact those local media representatives, give them the link and ask them to do a correction!

Done often enough, over time, this process will make a difference.  Over time, this will mean more sales for those who do it routinely!  Americans are hungry for quality affordable homes, and today’s modern manufactured home can and should be a key and growing part of the U.S. housing landscape.

Correcting ignorance in the media is part of how that needs to be accomplished.

We have decades of ignorance to deal with.  It won’t change overnight.  But every time a news ‘story’ like this one in Dwight, IL comes up, if you and others like you step up to the plate, working together, we can over time make a difference!  State and national associations would be very welcome in this media educating process.

Thanks to MHMSM.com reporter Eric Miller for his research, interviews getting the images used for his report.  Thank as well to our associate editor Catherine Frenzel and Bob Stovall’s IT efforts for their respective work on this important project.

Big things can come in small packages.  The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Take that step with us every day, as we move to a brighter future for manufactured, prefab and modular housing here at MHMarketingSalesManagement.com.  Please do pass the link on to your associates!

Working together, we can make a difference. ##