It's true: Journalists always want something. Because they live and die by their ability to acquire information from other people, they specialize in leaving breathless, anxious, sometimes plaintive voice mails.

It's also true that, more often than not, it behooves restaurants and chefs to deliver that something, whether it's a photo to accompany a special event listing, a comment on how they're using the ingredient of the moment, or a full-blown interview. Getting a mention in a story is "free advertising" for your restaurant. And even if the mention is minor, or you deliver information but don't get mentioned at all, if you scratch a reporter's back, chances are she'll remember you in the future.

That said, it's OK to decline to participate in a story on occasion, or for good reason. Let's break down these last two important prepositional phrases.

On occasion: If you're the kind of stand-up guy or gal who tends to ring reporters back lickety-split and send what they request in a timely manner (read: before their stated deadline), it's OK if, from time to time, you don't provide. Of course, you still need to shoot the reporter a polite e-mail or brief voice mail to let her know you're sorry, but you can't deliver what she wants by her deadline. Bonus points for you if you pass along names and numbers of a couple of restaurateur friends who may be good leads for the story and are available. Not only will the reporter appreciate the leads, but so will your friends, who might just send a reporter or two your way in the future.

For good reason: There's actually only one truly good reason to decline, and that's if you've got nothing that responds directly to the reporter's request. From there, things get a little fuzzy.

You are the only person who can decide if you're really so strapped for time that it's out of the question to take 10-20 minutes out of your day to build your brand. I would argue that talking to that reporter is almost always time well-spent.

If you find that you're almost always too busy to field reporter requests, I would urge you to do a gut-check next time a story comes out that you should have been in. Was the story by a reporter you forgot to call back one time?  The reporter you didn't acknowledge when they visited your restaurant?  No, reporters aren't supposed to be biased, but they are people and people have feelings and looooong memories.

That said, on occasion, when the demands of running the show are just too great, it's OK to decline. Journalists will not rule you out for future interviews, provided you abide by two simple rules:

1. Let him know as soon as you can that you have to sit this one out.

2. Thank him for reaching out, and let him know you'll be available in the future. And, next time, be available.