Edition 536

Good morning. It’s Monday 1st June.

I bumped into a reporter friend over the weekend who had spent the previous week covering the record-breaking May temperatures. She described the dilemma facing journalists. How do you tell a story that contains three very different truths at the same time?


1) the impact of climate change

2) the immediate threat to, or loss of life 

3) for great swathes of the population it was just a joyous day at the beach, paddling pool, or barbecue.

Results in a fortnight.

The Top Line from a Cardiff University report into coverage of the May Elections: 


Broadcasters prioritised balance over genuine scrutiny. 

More than 70% of politicians’ claims on TV news received either limited scrutiny or none at all.

The report also criticises the over-use of vox pops (regular readers will know this is a pet hate of mine) arguing they replaced deeper analysis of policy and competing claims.

Read the executive summary or the full report.

Newsgathering Diary
Stories to look out for over the next seven days…

Monday: Met Office publishes climate stats for May after record-breaking temperatures


Tuesday: Strikes by London Underground staff in the RMT union


Wednesday: Bank of England launches public vote on wildlife images for next banknotes


Thursday: England v New Zealand test series begins


Friday: Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman gives evidence at Nottingham attacks inquiry


Saturday: Women’s singles final at Roland Garros

Pope Leo begins visit to Spain.


Sunday: Peru presidential runoff election

“Don’t treat media work as an add-on. If you see engaging with the media as a troublesome extra, something that takes you away from your proper job, then that is exactly what it will become. Instead, see it as an integral part of what you do: you research something, and you tell the world about it.”

I regularly return to Professor Phil Cowley’s article on why academics should engage with the media…

“Doing media work of whatever sort is wonderful training in communicating clearly and with brevity. For academics for whom 1000 words is merely the throat clearing at the beginning of the introduction, being asked to cover a whole topic in 300 can seem a challenge.”

I’ll quote more over the next couple of weeks but you can read the full article here.

Every so often an exec uses language so staggeringly inappropriate it makes you wonder how they could possibly have risen to such lofty heights in the first place.

(Then you remember this is a surprisingly crowded field.)


Anyway. Take a bow Bill Winters…

Much more on language in the next edition. Mr Winters will feature.

Footnotes:

On This Day: Rhodesia formally ended nearly 90 years of white minority rule and declared it will now be known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia on this day in 1979. 

Our Week: Derby, London and Brighton for us this week.

The Mutt Photo:

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.

We’re going to skip a week if that’s ok, and will return in a fortnight.



All at Inside Edge

Edition 535

Q1 radio listening figures were released last week. Top Lines:

Radio reach is up again: 87% of the population. Extraordinary figure. (Though we listen for slightly less time than we used to.)

LBC is now firmly ahead of the newer speech challengers with 2.87m listeners. GB News Radio has 676k listeners, Times Radio has 604k, and Talk has 561k.


BBC Local Radio in England is up quarter on quarter, from 4.62m listeners to 4.76m. (Particularly strong performers: London, Leicester and Three Counties)

Source: Matt Deegan

Good morning. It’s Monday 18th May. Let’s go back to basics this week…

5 questions you must ask ahead of any interview:

1) Is the interview live or pre-recorded? 

An important question to ask, but treat both the same. Your energy levels shouldn’t be any different for a pre-record. Additionally assume the producer will forget to edit your interview before broadcast. (I can speak from personal experience that this happens all the time…)


2) Am I the only guest being interviewed? 

Your worst case scenario is to be ushered into a studio full of people ready to debate with you – and for you have no earthly clue who any of them are. Check at every stage of the production process about the nature of the interview. If other guests are expected, it is entirely legitimate to find out who they are. Then make a judgment call as to whether this is the sort of environment you want to be in.


3) How long is the interview expected to last? 

This gives you a sense of the on air experience you are about to have and a chance to plan accordingly. Don’t expect the producers to stick to what they tell you however, particularly if you are part of a live sequence.


4) What is the subject matter for the interview? 

This is crucial, and fairly obvious. However don’t confuse this with, “what will the questions be?” You’re unlikely to be told anyway, and even if you are, what you are promised is often very different to what you get. Good interview preparation is thorough but flexible, not a rigid script.


5) Who is the presenter? 

Always worth asking. Every presenter has a style, and it’s worth finding out as much as you can about the person who will be asking you the questions. Pop their name into youtube and do a bit of intelligence gathering on the person sitting across from you in the studio.


Monday: First meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party since election losses and Wes Streeting’s resignation.

Andy Burnham addresses Great North Investment Summit.


Tuesday: 24-hour strike by London Underground staff.


Wednesday: UK inflation data.


Europa League final: Aston Villa v Freiburg.


Thursday: UK immigration data.


Friday: Thomas Tuchel names final England men’s World Cup squad.


CBS News Radio service ends. 


Saturday: Women’s Champions League final: Lyon v Barcelona.

Barbara Streisand honoured with Palme d’Or at Cannes.


Sunday: French Open begins.

“The interview was so ludicrous that I wanted to preserve it here and subject it to some analysis.” 

Regular readers will know I quote from Mic Wright’s Substack regularly in the Briefing. His post-mortem of Darren Jones’ interview with Nick Robinson as the pressure mounted on the PM is great (and entertaining) analysis.

Footnotes:

“I think Ofcom has failed in its duty as the regulator … It seems to me that there have been clear violations of the due impartiality rules consistently from GB News.”

Sky News veteran Adam Boulton on the failings of the regulator.

“I have covered some brutal wars during my three decades at the Guardian, but journalists are now actively targeted in a way I have never seen.”

Guardian veteran Julian Borger on the growing threat to journalists.

On This Day: Britain’s first astronaut, 27-year-old Helen Sharman blasted into orbit on this day in 1991.

Our Week: Norwich and Brighton for us this week.

The Mutt Photo:

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.

I gather it’s another Bank Holiday next week so we’ll return in a fortnight. Go well.



All at Inside Edge

Edition 534

Good morning. It’s Monday 11th May.

Who doesn’t relish a few pithy social media stats to kick off the working week?

Uncertain, given the febrile state of UK politics, but currently scheduled for the week ahead…

Monday: Starmer’s “re-set speech”.

Yvette Cooper attends meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Tuesday: Cannes Film Festival opens with honorary Palme d’Or awarded to director Peter Jackson.

Wednesday: King’s Speech sets out legislative priorities at the State Opening of Parliament.

Thursday: Donald Trump begins two-day visit to China.

Friday: Man in court over Golders Green attack.

Saturday: FA Cup final: Chelsea v Manchester City.

Eurovision grand final.

Sunday: Final week of the Women’s Six Nations.

Lunchtime reading….

The Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in journalism, and the new set of winners was announced last week. Among the work honoured: coverage of US immigration, the war in Gaza, Epstein, the harms of social media to children, a school shooting and how Trump has used his position for personal financial gain and to exact vengeance on his perceived enemies.

Pointer has a summary and links to all the winners. I’d recommend taking 10 minutes out of your day, pick one at random and have a read.

I clicked on Aaron Parsley’s personal account of survival and loss, written days after the Texas floods. 


It’s super writing.

…how to plug a book on air 

Working with an author last week reminded me again that effectively promoting a book on air is a constant balancing act. Provide enough content but don’t give away the shop. Plug the book but don’t sound like a salesman…

1) Let your personality come through in the interview.

However good your content is, if I don’t warm to you it’s unlikely I’ll part with £12.99.

2) Be introduced in exactly the way you want.

Do everything in your power to ensure the presenter name-checks the book so you don’t have to.

3) Don’t shoehorn in awkward references.

“I pondered the answer to this very question while writing my new book…”

4) Do shoehorn in natural references.

“I worked out I’d travelled over 12 thousand miles in the course of researching this book and what I noticed time after time was…”

5) Go on air when there’s a news agenda you can tap into.

Channel 4 News won’t dream of booking you unless there’s a news peg to justify the interview.

Footnotes:

You The Editor

A fortnight ago we asked if editors were getting it right on Trump. The result: 38% of you said yes – the 3am newslines on Truth Social shouldn’t be ignored. 62% of you voted no – his dominance of the news cycle with words rather than actions is wrong.

Thanks to all those who took the time to vote.

“The Mouth From The South” 

 Ted Turner, who started CNN and changed TV forever, died last week aged 87.

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognise him and his impact on our lives and the world.” CNN Chairman Mark Thompson 

I’d recommend this article from Lisa Napoli who has (literally) written the book on Turner.

On This Day: The Daily Sketch newspaper – founded in 1909 – was published for the last time on this day in 1971.

Our Week: Jodrell Bank, London and Brighton for us this week.

The Mutt Photo:

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 super week,



All at Inside Edge

Edition 533

Enjoyed Esther Addley’s article on people deploying their dogs as props to manage a media crisis. But I can’t help thinking it relies on well-behaved pets. I’m not sure Leo hurtling after a fox and Stan planting his back legs into the ground in order to sniff every lamp post is conducive to successfully “flooding the channel”.

Morning, it’s Monday 27th April.

“So what do you do for work?”

A drink with a friend prompted an interesting discussion about how bashful and/or muddled we can sound when asked what we do for a living. The advice my friend was given is to imagine you are describing someone else’s job rather than your own. (I tried it the other day and it worked a treat.) 

The reason I mention this…last week an academic was struggling to give their research sufficient currency and heft in the interviews we were recording. (Making yourself and your work important on air isn’t bragging, it’s a pre-requisite.) I switched off the cameras, stole the tactic and challenged them to talk to me about their research as if it was someone else’s. The impact was game-changing, and remained so when the cameras were switched back on. 

Thought it was worth mentioning. Could the tactic work for you?

You The Editor

If it can be consistently demonstrated that the words (and sometimes threats) posted by Donald Trump on Truth Social do not translate into tangible actions, should they be allowed to dominate the news cycle of a particular story in the way they currently do? 

It’s a brave (and some would say foolish) editor who chooses to downplay a newsline directly from the frenzied fingers of the President of the United States, but there’s never been a communication style remotely like this from any other incumbent of the Oval Office. 

There’s a genuine tension in some (not all) newsrooms about what approach to take. If you were in charge, what would you do? 

I’ll post some of your responses in future weeks but for now…

Monday: King Charles and Queen Camilla begin visit to the United States.

Tuesday: Foreign Affairs Committee questions Morgan McSweeney on Peter Mandelson appointment.

Wednesday: Federal Reserve interest rate decision and Jay Powell’s final press conference.

Thursday: Bank of England interest rate decision and monetary policy report.

Friday: Ban on no-fault evictions takes effect under Renters’ Rights Act.

Saturday: Royal visit concludes with final events in Bermuda.

Sunday: Eight OPEC+ countries meet. 

Footnotes:

Sky News is launching its first paywalled app. (As Comcast is only committed to continue funding Sky News until 2028 expect a lot more of these announcements over the next couple of years.)

On This Day: The House of Commons elected a woman to the post of Speaker for the first time in its 700-year history on this day in 1992. Betty Boothroyd stayed in the post until 2000.

Our Week: Terrifying, frankly. London, Geneva, Brighton and Sheffield.

The Mutt Photo:

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 in a fortnight. Go well.



All at Inside Edge