During our media training courses, we believe that it is important for our delegates to understand how journalists work and what they are looking for from a story, this means that they can then use the information to their advantage when engaging with the media.
So, we asked one of our journalist tutors to fill us in on the view from the newsroom; how much notice is a reporter given about a story? Where do they go to find experts and spokespeople to be interviewed on the day's news agenda?
People are often astounded when I tell them that a lot of time we get no notice at all on a story. Zero. A story breaks and off I go. Off to meet a company's spokesperson. And I'm full of dread because they know more about their company, their business, their industry and THEIR story than I do. But here's the good news . . . they don't know that I'm nervous.
Quite often I'll be handed a name and a postcode and off we go. On the journey there I'll be scrambling to get as much information as possible. On a good day it will be very straightforward. An ideal scenario involves a big name company which has been in the news a lot lately. So a quick scan of the internet will put me right.
But sometimes it's not straightforward. And I walk into a company knowing very, very little. But again . . . their spokesperson doesn't know this. If they did, they'd be a lot more confident doing the interview.
So here's the thing: nobody you meet from the media is going to know more about your company and your story than you do. Got that? It's simple really. You are the expert. That's why I've just driven to your offices. I want you to talk to me, tell me what your company has to say and in a perfect world, do it in nice bite-size chunks of gloriously quotable news.
And news happens fast. So we need to get that out of you fast and get away and get it on the airwaves and into print.
I guess people who aren't in the news business think it's all carefully planned and choreographed so it joyfully falls together in time for the 6pm news bulletins? Not true.
With the advent of Twitter and the social media explosion in recent years, there's a deadline every second of the day. And I want to be first.
Always take the chance to do an interview. Why? Because if you don't, your competitors will. And a lot of the time all we want is a nice, tasty bite-size chunk of quotable interview. It's that easy. We just want you to talk to us, decipher what's going on in your industry, your company.
Up for it? I hope you are. Because your rival is a phonecall away. And I don't take "no" twice in a row.
We would love to hear your comments on this.
If you want to grow your business, increase your brand awareness or improve your communications skills then we can design a media training course to suit your needs. Contact us here. Don't forget to subscribe to our blog.