There are quite a few things to get your head around if you want or need to become a talking head for your company or your cause. Our broadcast media training is designed to help people understand how to prepare ahead of an interview and how to behave during an interview. But in this post, I am just concentrating on a list of common mistakes. The first group of mistakes will ensure you won’t get invited back. The second group of mistakes will likely provoke more negative or even aggressive questioning.
Avoid this list of don’ts if you want to be invited back:
Don’t use jargon and technical language – we’ve blogged about this elsewhere. It is difficult but crucial to change hats before you go on air. Speak in words a 14-year-old would understand.
Don’t constantly plug your company or your product. In fact, we usually advise steering clear of anything that sounds like promotion. Talk about issues. Broadcasters do not want to be seen to allow you to advertise on air.
Don’t offer opinions without evidence. A crucial difference in serious media is between someone who has opinions and someone who has opinions backed by proof points, either facts and numbers, or examples. Preferably both. If you can’t back up your argument, you probably won’t be invited back.
Don’t speak too fast or too slowly. Broadcasters care about their audience and interviewees must be both interesting and easy to understand.
Don’t speak for more than 40-50 seconds in any one answer. In most cases, you will get interrupted if you go beyond this. But next time they may choose someone who is less long-winded. Similarly, don’t answer too short. An interview should sound like an interesting conversation, if you don’t talk they’ll assume you don’t want to be there.
The second list of don’ts is all about avoiding behaviour that will provoke negative questions or aggression.
Don’t be overly positive – no one will believe you and you will sound like a salesperson, this will prompt much tougher questions. Most broadcast journalists want serious debate, not hype. If you sound too positive the presenter will feel duty-bound to ask negative questions.
Don’t ‘open a negative ‘ by which I mean, unnecessarily remind the audience of some previous misdemeanour or some hole in your argument. It is surprisingly common for people to refer to problems or issues that loomed large internally but have either long been forgotten externally, or were never widely reported. Don’t assume the journalist has remembered the slump in profits two years ago or the high-profile departure of a member of the senior leadership team. Have a line ready if it is mentioned, but steer clear of reminding the journalist of a negative. If you do mention it, the journalist will be duty to bound to ask you more about it.
Don’t get personal with a journalist, even if they are being aggressive in their questioning. The broadcast journalist sees themselves as representing the audience…plus they enjoy the theatre of a bust-up on air. If you start saying ‘where did you get that information from’ or ‘the trouble with the BBC is it’s full pinko leftist dreamers’ you will ensure the questions get tougher and more pointed.
RMT leader Mick Lynch is known for having a go at journalists. He is perhaps more comfortable than most people with the aggression that inevitably follows.
Finally, don’t completely ignore questions. Nothing is more annoying to an audience and journalists cannot afford to let it slide. If you are not clear how to both answer questions and get your messages heard, read this previous post from us.
If you would like to be media trained, or want help preparing for a television or radio interview just get in touch: either +44 (0)20 7099 2212 or enquiries@themediacoach.co.uk
Images:
Photo Credit: BBC
Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) Flickr
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Feature.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-03-20 10:00:102023-03-21 09:49:05Most Common Mistakes in Broadcast Interviews
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, the content is dynamite for people who lost loved ones during the pandemic, or had to say goodbye to mothers, fathers, brothers, etc. on Facetime. Or indeed, for people who were running care homes in impossible circumstances, or those that worked in care homes without PPE, because none was available.
On the other hand, journalists feel disgusted by the idea that one of their own, Isabel Oakeshott, has broken an NDA and not only failed to protect her source but turned on him and generally behaved in a way that appears unethical and self-serving.
Perhaps if, instead of sitting smugly at home for months on end enjoying their freshly baked sourdough while the country’s finances, physical and mental health were all systematically destroyed, those journalists had done their job properly, then Isabel Oakeshott wouldn’t have to do it for them now.
For me, as an interviewee, Oakeshott is impressive. Her arguments are incredibly consistent. Her prepared lines on why she did what she did, on the financial incentive, on the betrayal of News International (for whom she worked but gave the scoop to The Telegraph) are all logical and well-constructed.
What’s more, she is prepared to take the flak
Asked if she broke a legal agreement to respect confidentiality which she signed … her answer was ‘yes’.
Asked why, she says because ‘it is in the public interest’.
Asked why she wrote the book with Hancock – Pandemic Diaries: The Inside Story of Britain’s Battle Against Covid – which appears to exonerate Hancock – and then a few months later work with The Telegraph to deliver a completely different story … she says she did not have time to read all the WhatsApp messages before the publication date. And the book was based on Hancock’s diaries and his version of events. It was only later that she realised that the WhatsApp messages told a very different story.
Oakeshott has repeatedly refused to speak excessively against Matt Hancock, saying the issue is bigger than just his actions.
She also repeatedly says that if we rely on the public enquiry …the best way to look at these things…we will wait a decade or more, and there could be another pandemic tomorrow.
So, the messaging is good, and her consistent toughness is remarkable
But she behaved in a very bitchy way on Times Radio in an interview with Cathy Newman and then terminated the call… And she was clearly rattled and not at her best in an interview with Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4‘s Today Programme.
Initially, I was disgusted by Oakeshott, my prejudice is you should never break an NDA because there are times when people need to speak freely, explore different ideas, etc. She looked like a self-publicist, someone on the make.
But having listened to ten-plus interviews on the WhatsApp messages I feel differently.
I have a grudging respect for a woman prepared to walk into the lion’s den of a divisive political issue, with a clear argument, some clear red lines and the guts to face down the critics.
The Media Coach provides media and presentation training sessions and can also help with messaging, podcasting training and speechwriting. Get in touch via enquires@themediacoach.co,uk. More information on our website: themediacoach.co.uk
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/isabel_oakeshott-feature.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-03-06 11:08:132023-03-06 12:52:24Isabel Oakeshott, a Divisive but Impressive Interviewee
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 do not give the journalist the incentive to be aggressive
You do not look as if you have something to hide
Media trainers always get blamed for this sort of interview but very few media trainers train people to completely ignore the questions.
We believe a spokesperson should have a prepared argument for an interview.
We believe that argument should be in normal English, not policy or specialist language, and sometimes that takes some preparation to get right.
We believe it should include some hard evidence (think numbers) and some soft evidence (think people’s experience).
But we also think a spokesperson should answer questions first, and then introduce information that has been pre-planned.
This performance from the deputy co-chair of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee is shocking. She is clear, she is articulate, she explains her case very well and she has her facts and numbers to hand, but she totally ignores almost every question and makes a prepared statement to each one without even pretending to engage.
She is very lucky that Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy took pity on her and decided not to get tough.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rsz_feature2.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-02-27 10:11:062023-03-01 21:45:04Please Do Answer the Question in a Media Interview
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 prime example of someone who has been successful because of his voice. Janan Ganesh writes:
His voice is beautiful. I don’t mean his accent. I don’t mean his choice of words or his arrangement of them: what is called “eloquence”. I mean his voice. Deep and textured, raspy without crossing into sibilance, I can see (or hear) why people want to be around it. And why those cursed with a squeak or a murmur go through life hamstrung?
Why is this annoying? Because, as is so often the case, there is an element of truth in this, but it is grossly exaggerated.
And as a presentation trainer, worrying about the beauty of someone’s voice is not top of my list of things to work on.
Some people, it is true, naturally have lovely voices. For a variety of reasons that boil down to luck: social class, school, parents, ethnicity, etc. And as you would expect, some have voices that lack authority, are too squeaky, or too quiet to be instantly attractive.
But this is true surely about everything in life. Some have lovely hair, some bad teeth, some are born into money while others have a natural ability to connect with people. All of us have a share of both positive and negative.
As someone who coaches public speakers, I would say, use what you are lucky to have and work to improve that which you don’t like. But don’t get too hung up on it because, actually your audience will judge you on many things, not just something as superficial as your voice.
As humans, we do make snap judgements and have unconscious biases as Ganesh argues, but we also do a very good job at overcoming those biases, once we have more exposure to someone or their ideas.
There isn’t one hidden trait that will make you a great speaker against all the odds just as there isn’t one advantage in life that will ensure you get to the top, whatever that means.
The biggest handicap you can have in this area is to think nothing can be changed. If you believe that you are the way you are and that’s your lot, you will probably be proved right.
In my experience as a professional coach, most of us underestimate our ability to adapt and change. Neural plasticity is the scientific term. We all have the ability to adapt and modify our voice, amongst all the other things we can modify if we decide to.
And as presentation coaches (as well as media trainers) we see this every day. Coaching helps a client to focus on what matters to them. Working with a video camera, recording and playing back presentations or interviews, we can make people aware of the unconscious behaviours that can then be tackled. People can lower their voices, they can slow down, they can become more animated, they can learn to articulate more clearly.
The second handicap is to believe your fellow human beings, your audience, will never be able to see past your less-than-perfect pitch. They won’t make allowances for your nerves, they won’t take you seriously because you are short, or bald or overweight or you have a light voice. But it is just not true.
If you have interesting things to say, and you care about communicating them clearly, audiences will listen. It just takes a bit of effort.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Feature-1.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-02-20 11:00:592023-02-21 09:40:28Is There Such a Thing as Voice Privilege?
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 deliberately looking in the serious media and trade press because so many believe being quotable is only relevant for the red-tops (popular press).
So, I start in Japan where the appointment of an unexpected candidate as Governor of the Bank of Japan has made headlines in the business news. A political advisor, asked to comment on the race before the result, urged people not to jump to conclusions and said ‘there is still the possibility of a dark-horse candidate’. The use of the English idiom was repeated in a subsequent headline in the FT. We will never know but perhaps the advisor would not have made it into the piece if had been more cautious in his use of language. If he was a named independent consultant the quote in the FT would have been good for business.
In politics coming up with a good metaphor cannot just get you the quote but hi-jack the public debate, or as PR people like to say ‘change the conversation’. One labour commentator talking about the recent reshuffle said Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Grove had ‘had his piggy bank stolen’: just a more interesting way of saying ‘lost control of his budget’. But such interesting phrases are currency in public debate. And they make quotes and headlines.
A couple of weeks ago our own Central Bank Governor Andrew Bailey wanted to announce some cautious good news on the economy. My guess is he wanted to make sure people got the message but he did not want to be too optimistic. Picking the right phrase was crucial. He said ‘the corner has been turned on inflation’. As you’d expect, this phrase has been repeated many times by journalists and pundits since then. Job done.
In motortrader.com, a trade news website, Matthew Davock, director of Manheim Commercial Vehicles, Cox Automotive stepped out behind is metaphorical desk when he said to a reporter: “The wholesale LCV market is off to a flying start at Manheim…” It was enough to ensure he was quoted, and his company’s success was a headline.
Mark Caddle, partner and trademark attorney at IP firm Withers & Rogers promoted himself and his work in Grocer magazine, whilst commenting on an important High Court ruling on ‘copycatting’…where cheaper brands deliberately make a product look like a more expensive competitor.
His quote as reported was:
“With the memory of the battle of Colin and Cuthbert the caterpillar cakes still fresh, this should send a warning that a line in the sand is forming”. And the headline:
Day in, day out, we spot these examples. Some are pedestrian ‘storms approaching’, ‘gamechanger’, ‘out of the woods’ for example and some are fun and creative and memorable such as Boris’ ‘I’d rather be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit’.
There may well be push back from colleagues worried about ‘tone of voice’ but they should be reminded of the clear benefit of using interesting language, the currency of the scribbling classes.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rsz_1feature.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-02-14 10:52:062023-02-14 12:50:20Learn to be Quotable and You Will Control the Headlines
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 in regional media but with a six year spell as an investigative journalist on Newsday (Long Island and New York). However, he is best known for his exhaustive biographies of two men: Robert Moses, an American urban planner who shaped New York and Lyndon B Johnson. These have won him many awards and considerable fame in political circles. (My son is reading the LBJ biographies, but he rightly judged these are likely too weighty for me.) The awards include winning the Pulitzer Price for Biography twice. Caro is now 87 and is still working on the fifth and final volume of the LBJ biography. The existing four volumes took him 40 years.
There is much to say about Caro’s short book about his work, and the insight it gives into investigative journalism before the internet. Working describes the hours, days, the years, of going through the papers generated by these two men and the people they worked or butted heads with. Endless writing and rewriting: starting a manuscript longhand, and then typing it on a typewriter. This is not the sort of journalism I was ever involved with, and may no longer exist. And while Caro learnt his craft in a newsroom, he is really a writer and a biographer rather than being a journalist in the modern sense of the word.
Working tells the story of one man’s obsession with getting to the bottom of things and understanding how political power really works in a democracy. It is also about the thought process behind incisive, factual but beautiful writing.
I am going to pull out just one example from this little book that made me want to sing and laugh out loud.
Daily I harangue corporate spokespeople to use stories and examples. To illustrate their ideas with human experience, not just conceptual language. Built into my Message House formula, as all my students will know, is space for the story or anecdote or example. I want to force speakers to find the story that will make it all real. I all too often fail. I worry that I do not really communicate the power of this element of messaging. And then in this little book from a writer dealing with a former age, I find the perfect example. Storytelling that burns an idea into your subconscious.
Caro heard from a former colleague of LBJ that when first in Washington, the future president walked to work from his rather shabby digs to the House Office Building on the other side of Capitol Hill. But he always arrived breathless and could often be seen running the last stretch. A young, driven, hugely determined man who was newly in Washington after growing up in rural poverty in the Hill Country of Texas, he still got up with the sun. Apparently every morning, he would start running at a certain point on the journey to work, and sprint towards the office. Researching these early years, Caro many times retraced the steps of that walk. He wanted to know why the young Johnson broke into a run. Finally, he decided to do that walk at 5.30am as Johnson would have done. And suddenly, he understood.
“Veering along a path to the left he (LBJ) would come up Capitol Hill and around the corner of the Capitol, and the marble of the eastern façade, already caught by the early morning sun would be a gleaming brilliant almost dazzling white. A new line of columns – towering columns, marble for magnificent and Corinthian for grace, stretch ahead of him…. And columns loomed not just before him but above him – columns atop columns ….and the huge dome that rose above the capital was circled by columns.”
And he would run.
“Well of course he was running”, writes Caro in Working: “from the land of dog-run cabins to this. Everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever hoped for was there. And that gigantic stage lit up by the brilliant sun, that façade of the Capitol – that place – showed him that. Showed him that, and if I could write it right, (I) would show the reader as well.”
It took Caro weeks if not months to get that story, to find the right imagery. But once he got it, he wrote it and brought to life the raw determination of LBJ to move away from poverty and towards power and majesty. How the morning light on the marble columns made him sprint towards his future.
Since I have read those words, I have pictured that run again and again. I even dreamt about it. I have never seen the Capitol building except on TV. But the power of that story, the image of the sun on the marble, the desperation to escape poverty, is likely to be the most insightful thing I will ever know about LBJ.
Understanding the power of a story, one that you can picture, is essential to influence. I have been at his game over 20 years now and I hope that there are today people out there who say, “I had a great media/presentation trainer, she taught me to tell stories”.
Other blogs I have written on the power of stories.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Feature.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-02-07 11:13:212023-02-07 11:19:57Robert Caro: 20th Century Journalism and How to Tell a Story
As I’ve discussed before (Why There’s No Such Thing as ‘Only Local’ Media), we believe interviewees should treat all media appearances – regardless of whether they are local, regional, national or international – equally seriously.
However, there is something special about local media outlets – and this includes regional television and newspapers – which offers the canny interviewee a unique opportunity.
Because localness is the reason why these outlets exist. For them, localness is not just an occasional ‘nice-to-have’ accessory or randomly added embellishment; it’s their very raison d’être.
Like it or not, it drives everything they do. Small local stories will often beat bigger national ones purely because they’re local; local ‘angles’ will be sought on national news stories (even if they’re not immediately apparent); stories from just outside the area (in some cases, even by less than a mile) may be ignored completely.
With that in mind, how can a local interviewee use this knowledge to their advantage? There are three main approaches:
Personal reference. If you were born locally, went to school in the area, perhaps lived there once or live there now, or had family from the district, etc. For example: “I’ve always loved it in (name of county) – I lived around here for years, and it’s great to come back…” or “My dad was born just down the road and he always said…” etc.
Genuine examples. Citing people, organisations, companies from the region. For example: “I was speaking to an employee of (name of business) in (name of local town) only the other day…” or “(name of local football club) understand this – they’ve been doing it for ages…” or “This is a bit like travelling on the (name of major local road) on a Monday morning…” etc.
Obviously fictional examples. Using a local placename or reference to illustrate a wider point. For example: “So, if Mrs Miggins from (local placename) was trying to get to work, she’d have to …” or “So, Bloggs Shoes wanting to send their products from (local place name) to (local place name) would have to…” etc.
You’ll notice that organisations staging awards often exploit this built-in predisposition for localness ruthlessly. First, they hold ‘local’ rounds, complete with ‘winners’ and ‘runners-up’, which can then be offered to local media for interviews and photo opportunities. The ‘winners’ then go through to the ‘regional’ rounds for another batch of the same, and once those ‘finalists’ have been whittled down, they can be offered up to the nationals. One idea, three bites of the cherry: clever!
However, an interviewee should always make use of local references with care. My main words of caution are as follows:
Don’t fake it. Never lie, exaggerate or twist the truth to fit. The dangers of being found out are simply not worth it. And if you’re fibbing about localness, what else might you not be telling the truth about?
Don’t overdo it. Prefer one solid reference to several weaker ones. And limit yourself to one (or perhaps a couple, if they’re both equally good) per interview.
Don’t get it wrong. There’s nothing more embarrassing than someone trying to use a local reference but failing to get it right. If you mispronounce a nearby placename (which local listeners will spot immediately, of course), your levels of authority will nosedive. And if you mention a location you believe is in the local media’s coverage area but is actually outside it (a Yorkshire village on Radio Lancashire, for example), you’re wasting your time and theirs.
It’s also worth considering that whilst such references can be like gold dust to a local outlet, they are actually less likely to be used elsewhere. Knowing this, a wise interviewee will provide some local detail, then in another part of the conversation, land a more general truth, stripped of any regional references, which could travel further afield without difficulty.
By the way, the same techniques – and the same warnings – also apply to stage presenters wanting to add a touch of localness to their presentation. (Which live band doesn’t secure an easy cheer from their audience by going on stage and shouting “Good evening (name of area in which venue is situated)!” It’s low-hanging fruit – and why not?)
Tips like this are something we offer in our media and presentation training sessions.
What’s more, we’re happy to travel to your local area to carry them out!
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. Available here for a while.
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 going up inappropriately in his area. A few minutes into the interview (at 25 minutes past 5pm if you want to listen), presenter Evan Davis, asks Mr Harding:
‘Tell me about your home, what sort of house do you live in?’
Mr Harding appears taken aback by the line of questioning but answers factually that he lives in a four-bedroomed house. It soon becomes apparent that there are now only two people living in the property as his children have left. Evan Davis makes the obvious point that objecting to housing developments is all very well for those that have generous homes with spare bedrooms, but there is an acute housing shortage and there are thousands of people in the UK desperate to buy or rent homes.
Although Mr Harding dealt with the personal questions in a straight forward manner, he appears taken aback by the line of questioning, and in becoming defensive loses sight of the bigger argument. But in fact, it was a perfectly predictable question. Journalists always have the option of questioning people’s reasons for their views. And in some cases, challenging hypocrisy.
Another more high-profile example came a couple of weeks ago. When talking about the crisis in the NHS, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked whether he used private, paid for, health care.
As is clear from the clip, Sunak refused to answer one way or the other. A few days later, he was forced to admit he did use private health care.
Why do journalists chase these personal angles? Sometimes because they suspect foul play as we have seen in the Nadhim Zahawi story. Sometimes because they doubt the authenticity of those telling the rest of us how to live, and sometimes because there is a high chance they will uncover hypocrisy or self-interest driving policy decisions.
It should not be a surprise to any interviewee that this might happen.
By the way, journalists are certainly not immune from hypocrisy and while certain members of the fourth estate are quick to report outrage (or fake outrage), no one has the job of questioning their private lives!
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FEATURE-resize.png210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-01-23 12:00:112023-01-24 11:55:43Why Journalists ask Personal Questions
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 is far from perfect and solving a vast array of global problems – via cooperation – from climate change, to clean water, from the provision of education to devastating food crises, is phenomenally complicated. But the truth is, huge progress has been made over the last 40 years, and the UN is at the heart of that progress.
So why is this not widely recognised? There is plenty to discuss here but my prejudice is the UN is particularly guilty of hiring only ex-journalists for their press offices and as their spokespeople. Journalists are trained to concentrate on the negative. Tell them about a success and they will consider it their duty to say ‘Yes, but…’. As spokespeople, they will spend hours planning how to answer the inevitable tough ’you failed’ and ‘you compromised ‘ questions. What they always seem reluctant to do is tell the good news story.
So really, I am not surprised that my neighbour and many others, have such a misguided view of the reality of the huge progress in development across the globe, led by the UN.
[Bill Gates, while not necessarily promoting the UN, also became aware that good news on development was not getting out and for a while had a project to address the damaging misconceptions. And we should never forget the wonderful work of the late Professor Hans Rosling.]
The reluctance to embrace and tell the positive stories of the UN is just one of many similar examples I have seen in 20 years of Media Training. And that is just one of several issues.
For organisations, there are hidden pitfalls in hiring journalists as PRs. First and foremost, PR is a profession in its own right, although barely recognised as such. Professional PRs have knowledge of how things play out, how to balance an organisations’ objective with the news agenda. They know how to manage upwards (not something that is likely to come naturally to a star reporter), they have experience of dealing with internal executives who are all stakeholders (as opposed to the newsroom mantra of ‘no editorial interference’). PRs understand the timelines and the processes of being ready for news coverage: that might be getting the photos, pulling together the facts, finding the examples and of course, ensuring spokespeople are safe and trained. Journalists prefer the adrenalin rush of a breaking story.
And if there are problems for organisations, there are also challenges for the individual. It is extremely hard for most journalists to switch to PR. Getting the job is the easy bit, doing it is much more challenging.
There will always be journalists who decide to give up the daily grind, earn a lot more money and move across to PR. A journalist’s CV is a huge selling point when they are looking for a PR job. Specialist journalists stuck in trade press roles can easily be tempted by better paying PR jobs in their target sectors. A journalist with TV facetime, or a familiar radio voice will similarly command a premium in the market. They are likely to go in at a senior level with a much bigger salary, often with a team of PR people reporting to them. And yet it is a job they are not at all trained or suitable for.
Working journalists often believe they are the truth tellers, they have integrity, (as captured in the phrase ‘publish and be damned’). But PR can be all about project planning (an anathema to a journalist), about stakeholder management (ditto) as competing concerns within organisations try to influence press releases and messaging. It’s about compromise and sometimes it’s absolutely not about telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
But, in PR several less well qualified people than you will check and ‘improve’ your carefully crafted press release. They will take out all the interesting bits, rewrite any quotes to make them much more boring, and even more annoyingly will hold the whole process up so that sometimes the relevance is lost.
Of course, I generalise, but PR moves more slowly and is way more controlled than most journalism.
Many journalists have successfully make the switch, eventually. Many continue as square pegs in round holes and others give up and go back to freelancing.
You have been warned.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/rsz_un_image.jpg210300Lindsay Williamshttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngLindsay Williams2023-01-16 10:35:382023-01-17 09:39:36Do Journalists Make Good Press Officers?
“Such as what?”: The plea from presenters and journalists to their guests, which often goes unanswered…
When interviewees are searching for evidence to help prove that what they are saying is true, they tend to reach for facts and statistics.
This is understandable – after all, this type of evidence does a lot of ‘heavy lifting’ when presenting an idea, thought or theory, convincing the audience of its validity in the moment.
However, the downside is that facts and statistics are frequently quickly forgotten. So, it’s useful also to have some memorable illustration of what you are saying, to linger in the audience’s mind for longer – which is where stories, anecdotes and examples come in.
But after more than thirty years of helping people to communicate effectively on radio and TV, I’ve discovered it’s clear that most interviewees are rather reluctant to offer up this sort of ‘soft’ evidence – perhaps fearing that it’s ‘merely anecdotal’ (whereas in fact that’s the point; that’s what makes it so effective), or because they have failed to identify in advance which illustrations to use that will help them support their line of argument most powerfully.
Robert Uhlig
An unusual but glaring illustration of this was broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme over the weekend (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001gws3– from 44’05” in). Unusual, because the interviewee is something of a professional. He’s Robert Uhlig – an award-winning journalist since 1986 and a best-selling author since 1997. He’s collaborated with the best – Billy Connolly, James Dyson, Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and David Attenborough to name but a few. He’s an esteemed wordsmith and I’m a fan.
Robert is also now the founder and programme director of the Bude Climate Partnership – set up to consider environmental challenges in the Cornish town, which the Environment Agency has judged to be particularly highly sensitive to sea level rises. The area has recently been awarded £2m by the National Lottery, to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Uhlig had already explained on-air that even if all emissions stopped tomorrow, a foot or more of sea level rises are still expected over the coming decades, because the effects of climate change were “baked in” (a decent metaphor). Consequently, the kind of flooding that now happens every 100-200 years is expected to become an annual event (a powerful statistic). So, he was asked by presenter Simon Jack to go into detail about the partnership’s plans – not surprising when there’s £2m of lottery players’ money at stake:
SJ: OK, £2m – what are you actually going to spend that on, and over what time frame?
RU: Well, the first thing to say is that we’re incredibly grateful for the money – it came from the lottery and ultimately from lottery players. So, we’re going to spend it on six different projects, the biggest one of which is a sustainable tourist project, where we’ll bring together businesses and the community and visitors to build resilience so that, you know, we know that if there are impacts of climate change which are inevitably coming in the next five, ten years’ time, that we are prepared for them and we have plans…
The trouble with this response is that it’s so vague. There’s mention of a “sustainable tourist project” (whatever that may be), the intention to “bring together businesses” (sounds sensible) and the claim “we have plans” (like what?). There’s nothing concrete; nothing you can put your finger on – which prompts Simon Jack’s next question:
SJ: What do you mean by bringing together businesses? To do what? Talking about sustainability… all use, you know, get rid of plastic forks or build a wall around the city…
RU: No, it needs… it needs… it needs a little bit more than… than – hah – you know, a little bit more… er… recycling’s not going to cut the mustard, is it?
So, we’ve discovered what’s not going to happen, but are still no wiser as to what is. So – perfectly reasonably – Jack tries again:
SJ: What is – I don’t quite understand – what are you going to do with this group of businesses?
RU: Right, well, OK, so… what we will do… you know, there are already businesses that are doing amazing things in this area. But most businesses look at climate change now, and they’re very concerned about it, but they don’t know where to begin. So, it’s about getting these businesses collaborating. We’ll be looking at all sorts of things, you know, that we could possibly do here…
What stands out a mile from these responses is the abstract nature of what’s being promised: “businesses that are doing amazing things… getting these businesses collaborating… we’ll be looking at all sorts of things…”. You can hear the exasperation in Jack’s voice as he presses his guest further:
SJ: Such as what? I’m just trying… this is meant to mitigate the impacts of climate change. What’s going to come out of this meeting of businesses that will do that? I just… if you can be a bit more specific…
RU: That… that… that we will build the resilience. I mean, we can’t… if you want physical… so there’s various different things… one of the things that this community needs to think about is what the effects of sea level rise is going to be. That… if nothing is done, then we will have flooding, and, you know, our community assets will be destroyed.
Still no clarity. Just a reference to “various different things” again. But such as what? An example or two would do the trick beautifully here. But none was forthcoming:
SJ: But isn’t… isn’t that precisely the point… this £2m is to try and mitigate the impact of it… you know, having the Bude Chambers of Commerce to think more about sustainability is not going to hold back the waters…
RU: It’s not going to hold back the waters – that’s why we have to adapt. I mean, you know, we can’t… we can’t beat nature. We need to think of ways in which we can be more resilient [pause]. You know, so that when… when the impacts come, we can deal with them.
Unfortunately, time was now up. There had been several opportunities to illustrate what was being considered, but not one of them was seized – leaving Jack to end the conversation, clearly frustrated:
SJ: OK. Alright, Robert, we’ll have to leave it there. Robert Uhlig, founder and programme director of the Bude Climate Partnership.
What this interaction serves to prove is how often interviewees – however experienced – often fail to provide a simple story, anecdote or example to help illustrate what they are trying to say.
I’m not sure why Uhlig seemed so reluctant to flesh out his argument in this way – unless he felt that offering examples might define and delimit the sort of conversation that might take place amongst the businesses of Bude. But would that have been so very bad? It would, perhaps, have got discussion between them off to a start…
For what it’s worth, it seems that from what Robert is saying, future climate disasters are “inevitable” in the area – after all, as he clearly states, they have been “baked in” – so it’s not about preventing them, but coping when they happen.
And if this is about business resilience, there are surely plenty of potential examples to offer here. Perhaps an agreement between local businesses to share computer systems if one of them gets flooded? Or an early warning alarm system that high water was on its way? Or providing a single office building out of town and on high ground which local businesses can decamp to when their premises are flooded? Or constructing future buildings on stilts, well away from the waves?
It might be about any of these. Or all of them. Or a mixture of some of them but not others. Or something else entirely. The truth is, even now – and despite a cool two million pounds of lottery players’ cash being tied up in this project – I don’t know.
Most importantly of all, even with a primetime interview on Radio 4 (and not for the want of trying), no listener is any the wiser either.
You can read more Media Coach blog posts on similar topics here and here.
https://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Feature.png210300Eric Dixonhttps://themediacoach.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/the-media-coach-logo-300x137.pngEric Dixon2023-01-09 16:49:522023-01-10 09:36:30Such As What? The Journalists’ Question that Must be Answered
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