Media Training Update w/c 22nd September

Edition 508

Good morning, it’s Monday 22nd September.

(Stop suing newspapers you great pudding. You’re the President of the United States.)

Kicking off this week with the next 7 days of news:

The Week Ahead:

Monday: Several countries expected to recognise Palestinian statehood at UNGA summit on a two-state solution.

Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Tuesday: Ed Davey speech to Liberal Democrat conference.

Wednesday: Antonio Guterres hosts high-level Climate Summit.

Jaguar Land Rover production facilities may reopen after cyber attack.

Thursday: High Court hearing in Home Office challenge to Palestine Action appeal.

Friday: Keir Starmer and Benjamin Netanyahu speak at UNGA.

Ryder Cup begins.

Saturday: Women’s Rugby World Cup Final.

Sunday: Labour Party conference opens with protests planned by Farmers To Action and Defend Our Juries.

Peaking Too Soon?

The pros and cons of undertaking a mock interview before going on air…

The Jimmy Kimmel situation in the States is terrifying. ABC pulled his show following these comments made by broadcast regulator boss Brendan Carr:

“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

It’s the sheer hypocrisy that is bugging most people. Not just from Trump, but Brendan Carr himself, who is also on record as saying the following:

“Should the government censor speech it doesn’t like? Of course not. The FCC does not have a roving mandate to police speech in the name of the ‘public interest.’” 2019. 

“A newsroom’s decision about what stories to cover and how to frame them should be beyond the reach of any government official …” 2021

And my particular favourite:

“Political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech. It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people in to the discussion” 2022


Source: The Poynter Report

This NYT timeline is interesting and not (atow) behind the paywall:
READ MORE

A Royal Cleaner Spills… 


Former royal cleaner Anne Simmons is everywhere at the moment. You might have read her tips and revelations in The Times. Or The Sun. Or the Daily Mail. Or the Daily Mirror. Or the New York Post…

Good on Anne. Everyone needs to make a living. There’s just one problem. Buck Palace has zero record of Simmons ever working there. And Press Gazette – a dog with a bone on this stuff – can find no trace of her actually existing.

To quote Press Gazette directly:

“These appear to be yet more examples of dubious PR content being published by journalists and editors who don’t have the time or the inclination to check whether it is fact or fiction.”

And if you’re thinking, who cares whether the “10 minute trick on polishing the royal taps” is fact or fiction, you’d be right. Except…if our Anne is being quoted unchecked and unverified, who and what else is?

Newslines that caught my eye last week:

Substack is having a moment. Monthly visits grew 49% to 123.8 million visits in August compared to a year before. And people are spending longer on the site too. More on this in future weeks.

BBC’s Reform Balancing Act

Results of last week’s poll asking whether the BBC has got its coverage of Reform right, given the party had 4 MPs (now 5) but a consistent 30% slice of the opinion polls.

262 of you voted. Thanks.

Too prominent: 59%

Not prominent enough: 19%
About right: 13%
I embraced news avoidance some time ago so have no useful opinion: 9%

The Liftable Quote Club

The Aftercare App

All the familiar media training aftercare features are now in one place, alongside masses of new resources.

You can use the App on your phone, or simply log in via desktop.

Footnotes:

On this day: Britain’s first independent television station went on air, bringing advertisements to the airwaves for the first time, on this day in 1955.

Mutts: The hairies on a walk last week. 
(Stanmer Park, for anyone who knows Brighton…)

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done, please let us know.

Back next Monday. Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge