There is no way I would do what you suggest. We are told on the pre-line brief that the policy is to tell journalists to call media relations. That's all. That's the company policy and so that's what I would do.
If that's the policy for your job role then I cannot disagree with it.
Anything more and I could lose my job. Why should I go to the trouble of ringing anyone back and doing all the legwork as you suggest? That's ridiculous. I would never, in a million years, speak to a journalist regarding aviation in any sense.
But someone needs to actively deal with that call.
Letting the
PR team / management spokespersons do this is best - and a good career move! (We
PR people are after all expendable if we say the wrong thing - even when that "wrong thing" was agreed in advance with management!)
However I would urge you to call the
PR team, even if the manual does not demand it - perhaps it should - as you could provide useful info to them on the journalist's approach to the story - even if it is just a "heads up" that extra 5 minutes can make for a smoother response and a better result for your employer.
My point was that companies need to be prepared to deal with media enquiries - not automatically clam up. Some of the worst
PR received by major companies has been the direct result of refusing to talk to the press, being evasive or dishonest.
It's the nature of the press that bad news always lives longer than good, if you make the press drag it out it can become a zombie...