The publication in The Telegraph last week, of a series of stories based on Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages, is a very addictive and divisive subject for those of us that consider ourselves journalists. On the one hand it is an enormous scoop. Whatever you think about how the information came into the public domain, […]
We are all used to politicians refusing to answer questions but it was quite shocking last Monday on Channel 4 News, to see a spokesperson for junior doctors simply parrot prepared lines without any attempts to answer a question. Why you should answer the question before using prepared lines. You retain your credibility You […]
I was rather taken aback to read an article in the FT this week about ‘voice privilege’. It really annoyed me. Read the article here but as it’s behind a paywall, here is a quick summary. The author argues that having a nice voice is a huge advantage in life, and Boris Johnson is a […]
As a media trainer, I am constantly urging people to be a little more creative or adventurous with their language…for the simple reason that it will ensure journalists report the things they say. In recent days I have been looking for some new examples to prove this point and I offer five here. I am […]
All my serious reading is organised by my son, who is way more intellectual than me. I am currently enjoying Working by Robert A. Caro and have found lessons and examples that can inform our very different work in a very different century. Caro was a journalist in the late fifties and sixties working mostly […]
Top of the list of questions that throw people in media interviews are personal questions. One example of this came on BBC Radio Four’s PM programme. The interviewee is Phil Harding, a resident of Saltford, a village near Bath, and active on the Parish Council and the Saltford Environment Group. He feels housing developments are […]
My short answer to this is: rarely I had a furious row with a neighbour over New Year because he believed categorically that the United Nations is a waste of space and it has achieved very little in the last 40 years. Having worked extensively with the UN this makes me really mad. The world […]
Reporters ask stupid questions all the time. Sometimes they have to ask stupid questions because either their boss has told them to and sometimes it’s because they feel it is the question that their readership or viewership will be asking. Stupid or offensive questions are a challenge to the interviewee: an overreaction loses public sympathy […]
There are a number of well-known logical fallacies, tricks or devices used by journalists to get a better story, or a more interesting interview. If you are going to be a media spokesperson and haven’t heard the term ‘logical fallacy’ it’s worth getting to grips with its meaning. A fallacy in this context is the […]
Anyone who thinks learning to manage a media interview is a rather self-indulgent and unnecessary skill should pause and consider the pressure on Jeremy Hunt in the last couple of days. On Friday, he was apparently resigned to a quiet life on the back benches: on Saturday he was doing live TV interviews, knowing that […]
