How the story of a ‘rewiggled’ river grabbed media attention

The RSPB achieved this as print and broadcast outlets latched on to a story about Swindale Beck, a Cumbrian river now transformed.

How 'rewiggling' Swindale Beck brought its fish back BBC News

Salmon breed again in ‘rewiggled’ Cumbrian river The Times

How 'rewiggling' Swindale Beck brought its fish back https://t.co/a8kLR7EArD

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 25, 2023

Knowingly, or otherwise, it tapped into crucial elements of newsworthiness to add impact and value to its story. 

This is something we explore during our media training courses with the TRUTH acronym.

It stands for:

Topical or Timely

Relevant

Unusual

Trouble or Tension

Human Interest

So, how does the “rewiggling” of this river pass the test?

In the distant past, the communities of the Lake District had straightened a stretch of the river to reclaim farmland. The river flow gained speed – too fast for salmon and trout to spawn.

Fast forward to the 21st Century, and the bends and curves on that stretch are back. And so are the fish. This made the story Topical or timely.

Our surroundings, the environment, and issues around climate have never been more Relevant. We’re interested.

And the “rewiggling” of half a mile of river was an Unusual, if not a unique, move. Slowing the flow has been brilliant for plant and animal life.

One of RSPB’s partners at Swindale Beck was United Utilities, the water supplier.

Positive publicity has been in short supply for water companies in recent months amid a flood of stories about our rivers and seas being pumped with sewage.

And United Utilities has been at the heart of that scandal. Recently released Environment Agency figures reveal it was the company that released sewage most often in 2022. It spilt sewage for nearly half a million hours.

Yet in this story, the Trouble element was found by the company contributing positively and helping provide a solution to a problem.

And perhaps ironically, given that sewage backdrop, the river’s meandering route means it now effectively cleans itself.

Another element of Trouble is provided by Alice Groom, the RSPB's head of sustainable land use policy, calling for more Government funding to prevent the decline of nature in the country.

Those involved with the project, those who live or visit the Lake District or anyone with an interest in the environment add human interest.

It is a fascinating, inspiring and heartening story. And it offers hope amid what can often feel like a deluge of bad news.

But it is also one that could easily have gone largely untold.

This project could have been buried in tedious text outlining the Government’s Landscape Recovery Scheme. It is one of numerous projects.

By setting out a colourful, visual case study – and using ‘rewiggling’ to describe something pretty complex, the tale of Swindale Beck has us hooked – just like the fish. 

And some of the credit for that should also go to RSPB spokesperson Lee Schofield.

How about this for a quote?

“Nature needs chaos, it needs randomness.”

Delegates often ask questions during our media training courses about what makes a spokesperson quotable.

You want something that sounds human, avoids jargon, doesn’t feel scripted, adds to the story and is memorable.

Lee’s quote fits that criteria – it is punchy, lively and helps bring the story to life.

The BBC liked it so much it used it as the introduction to its story.

And he produced another great quote later in the article.

"It's like a living thing moving through the valley now, while the old, straightened river was just like a sad canal."

So, when it comes to generating great media coverage, maybe you need to do a bit of rewiggling.

Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers. 

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