A bold question – but what is PR?

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Matt FosterIt is a question that is not easily defined. Even PR professionals admit that it is hard to define exactly what PR is. A lot of PRs understand what PRs do but how to sum it up in one definition is a difficult thing.

We met with Matt Foster, an Account Director at Waggener Edstrom to get this thoughts and to see if he could define the indefinable.

Matt began explaining what PR isn’t. It’s not: “all about who you know’, cheap advertising, Max Clifford, long boozy lunches with clients, or simply  writing press releases”.

PR is about third parties telling the world exactly how good you are. Matt explained explained this through analogy: “If you see an attractive person and want to ask them out – advertising suggests that you show off how interesting, attractive and fun you are, whereas PR suggests that you get your  friends to do the job for you. PR is all about third party advocacy.”

Matt also explained that the role of the PR has changed over the last 15 years. When he first started he lamented the days of being stuck in a room calling journalists in attempt to ‘sell in’. Whereas now it’s all about digital and social media, and the power is in the hands of the ordinary people.

For those in PR, content is king. Journalists want quality content and not irrelevant spiel. The utmost importance for good PR practice is to build solid working relationships with journalists. Matt stated that in the Healthcare sector for example, this doesn’t always include swanky champagne receptions, as the industry has to communicate ethically.

Matt continued to note that there is no typical week or day for a PR professional and that according to the PR business model, a consultant is remunerated according to billable/non-billable time i.e. the time it takes to do campaign planning and execution, coming up with creative, researching etc, drafting, videoing and pitching.

Matt emphasised that PR is all about sustaining relationships; the team have their own Media & Influencer Hub who build a database of contactable journalists and influencers. When approaching a journalist, the idea is not to ‘sell-in’, but rather promote an opportunity for the journalist to write the best article they can with your help. That is what he explains to juniors in the team and that fundamentally, practice makes perfect.

When a PR professional is properly prepared and has their pitch points ready, this is when journalists will buy in. He notes that you should treat the journalist as an extension of the team. They are simply the front end of the news creation whereas the PR professional is the back end.

In response to what he’d say to those interested in working in PR, Matt said that it’s an exciting time to join due to the new digital media landscape. The shift in how PRs now work means that there is more conversation and what is important nowadays is joining the conversations and creating engagement.

Furthermore he admitted that although PR is a very difficult industry to start off with at the beginning of your career due to relatively low pay and a heavy workload – it is worth sticking to as the more senior you become the better the pay becomes.

In summary, the life of a PR professional is varied and it seems that there are no two sectors the same; however it does require a lot of work. With the final message being that the key to successful PR is building great relationships and engaging in conversation.

Written by Matt Peake.

Interview with Matt Foster from Waggener Edstrom

 

Who’s watching? What is the role of online video today?

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The role of online video,  when it comes to news stories – is one which has shifted significantly over the last 5+ years. When I started out as a broadcast journalist more than 10 years ago, the so-called ‘integrated newsroom’ was still in its infancy – with the odd story being ‘put online’ (usually as an aside, or afterthought) to support what we may be broadcasting live on radio or TV.

Today, according to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News Report, consumption of video news has increased in nearly all countries questioned.

The likes of Buzzfeed of course, rely on a sociable news model, taking their news beyond the ‘online article’ model and instead offering anything from live blogs, infographics and quizzes to promote the sharing of content.

However traditional publishers (Trinity Mirror and New York Times) have grown audiences and advertising revenue through creating their own video output.

Broadcasters are also driving audiences onto their digital platforms, Al Jazeera English (an Edelman client) has seen a 33% rise in the number of people viewing its YouTube content in the last 12 months (up to nearly 16m from about 10.5m) and a massive jump in how many minutes people are watching for (up 47% from around 44m minutes to just over 82m). It says that their online editorial team is dedicated to focusing on original reporting, leveraging their sources and generating stories that offer a depth that won’t be found elsewhere.

The Reuters research shows that whilst live streams are very popular on big breaking-news stories and scheduled events, they do tend to be watched by those who are most interested in news. It is the section of the public who are less news hungry who will make snap judgements about watching a piece of online content. More than half (52%) of those questioned in the UK say that in the last month they’d watched an online video that they felt added ‘drama’ to a text story (an eyewitness account or similar), but a similar amount (48%) say they watched a video which provided context or analysis.

This is where I think PRs who work closely with clients and stay across news stories can add value. We often have access to people who are able to offer specific and detailed analysis on a story that can be easily accessed by audiences. I’m not advocating a brand video – and I think there is a fine balance – as I believe that was potentially the mistake made by some companies (and titles) when the idea of that integrated newsroom was being developed. However, content that gives a viewer something different – a new perspective on a business decision; what a particular company’s actions mean for the consumer; or a future prediction – can be valuable and most importantly, compelling.

Two other key factors came out of the study, which are also well worth considering when it comes to brands developing online video content. The first is how social networks are being used to distribute online news – globally 41% of people say they use Facebook to find, read, watch, share or comment on news each week. It means that we, as viewers, almost have an inbuilt filter in what we’re seeing on our news feeds – birds of a feather and all that. Brands using Facebook to distribute need to understand that they may resonate with existing supporters, but their content may only be viewed by a similar demographic.

The second is that whilst the UK media environment has always been a fast-paced and competitive one, 42% now say that they use their phone to access news every week – the competition for peoples’ attention has got even tougher. News outlet apps and their content are not only under pressure to engage quickly – with users viewing on their commute or similar – but are also now competing with Angry Birds and Tinder.

As we continue to be bombarded with information, the position of the online news video is integral to outlets growing their audiences. Our time remains finite and being given updates and opinion we can easily digest and share will be paramount.

Edelman is the exclusive communications partner for the annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report.

Follow Shauna on Twitter for more.

By Shauna McCarthy, Associate Director of Edelman

Pitch your way to better coverage

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Gorkana rounds up key learnings from our journalist interviews and briefings over the last six months to help you get the coverage of your dreams

Know the essentials

Being familiar with what we publish online and in print is essential, says The Telegraph’s music editor, Bernadette McNulty.

The Times’ fashion director, Anna Murphy, says PRs need to know and read her pages, so they understand her journalistic sensibilities and audience.

Lucy Rock, news editor at The Observer, believes it is a huge help to have an understanding of both The Observer and Sunday newspapers in general. There are some misconceptions about The Observer and the types of stories and issues the paper covers.

PRs who understand how The Independent on Sunday’s New Review and its regular features work, and can suggest where their idea could fit best, are invaluable, says editor Mike Higgins.

If PRs appreciate that Ars Technica UK is not just another tech site, then there’s every chance we’ll have a long, happy relationship, says senior editor Sebastian Anthony.

PRs should make sure they know why their story should be covered, says Gareth Beavis, phone and tablet editor for Future Technology brands TechRadar and T3. Look at what he covers and then come up with an angle.

It’s essential for PRs to know the site well and be aware of what it doesn’t cover before pitching, says TrustedReviews editor Evan Kypreos.

Think about the tangible benefit your story offers to the publication’s readers, says Nursing Times editor Jenni Middleton. Simply tell the team what you did and why you did it.

Get to the point

Pete Picton, editorial director for Mirror.co.uk, says the team wants the main point of the story in the subject line. They often don’t have time to read the email, so the subject line needs to engage them. If they do open an email, their attention needs to be grabbed within the first three sentences.

Sky News reporter Richard Suchet says it is harder and harder for PRs to make a story stand out as he is bombarded with emails. Sometimes less can be more when it comes to grabbing his attention.

“Unless you have a big exclusive story for me, I am afraid I probably don’t have ages and ages to talk,” says the Daily Mirror’s showbiz editor, Mark Jefferies. PRs need to be brief on the phone. If a pitch requires lots of detail, send it in an email, don’t explain it over the phone.

PRs need to get straight to the point when it comes to emails, and the subject line is crucial, says Independent on Sunday editor Lisa Markwell. The team is constantly inundated with emails trying to grab their attention, so a pitch email needs to stand out.

It’s always helpful when PRs go beyond “stage one” of pitching with a generic press release, and provide a tailored offer for Time Out, says editor-in-chief Caroline McGinn.

Nursing Times news editor Steve Ford knows that some PRs have no choice but to call him, but he’s looking for a strong angle and a PR that is armed with information.

Be ready at a moment’s notice

PRs need to be ready to offer what the team needs at a moment’s notice, says Sky News senior producer Ruth Gold. It’s all about making life easy. A PR may be representing a company CEO who is only available at a certain time, but her advice is to be more flexible or risk losing coverage.

Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re pitching to, says Mirror.co.uk’s Pete Picton. Digital moves so quickly and often someone on the team may only have 10 minutes to work on a story.

Yahoo! UK news editor Simon Garner likes the way PRs are starting to think about how newsrooms work. If a PR can stay on what’s trending and use what they’re pitching to identify what the leading stories are that particular week, they’re onto a winner.

Honesty is key

The Pool’s co-founder, Sam Baker, wants total honesty from PRs. Selling everything as if it’s the best can be a turnoff. If you have a good relationship, tell her that while what you’re pitching may not be the greatest thing ever, asking for a favour can often prove fruitful. It doesn’t always work, but it does build trust.

Everyone wants exclusive content, but if a PR approaches The New Review’s Mike Higgins honestly about where else a story is going and how it’s being covered (if they know), he’s happy to have a conversation about what angle the magazine could take.

Ars Technica UK’s Sebastian Anthony wants all the juicy details up front. Tell him straight up why you think this development should be part of the greater technological story.

Time Out’s Caroline McGinn says the magazine is honourable and will very rarely pull something if they have committed to it. She expects the same treatment from PRs. If a PR pitches an idea that they subsequently can’t deliver, it will result in a big black mark against their name and who they work for.

Cut the puff

“Obviously, we’re not interested in running pure puff pieces for brands or particular products”, says The Observer’s Lucy Rock. A story should be exclusive and relevant to the paper’s readers.

PRs shouldn’t expect the Daily Mirror’s social team to simply regurgitate content, says head of social content Alex Hudson. “If it’s puff or just wishy washy then there really isn’t any point in sending it to us.”

PRs need to remember that Time Out is independent, says Caroline McGinn. So if the team is pitched something that has a corporate spin, it’s not going to work. If a PR is pitching interview time with an artist who is linked to a corporate project, the team is unlikely to take it.

The Daily Mirror’s Mark Jefferies knows that PRs need to balance the needs of clients with the needs of journalists. If the content, story or quotes are good, their requests can normally be accommodated in print or online. The worst thing is poor press releases or quotes which are just blatant attempts at advertorial.

Online means opportunity

PRs often seem split into print and online, says The Telegraph’s Bernadette McNulty. “There is a focus on when things are running in print and less interest in what original material we can run online or how we can present the story differently.

“Increasingly, online audiences at The Telegraph have started thinking about digital formats differently and not letting print dictate commissioning. It’s good for everyone as there are more readers for any review or interview, so it would be great if PRs came with that broader view.”

Yahoo! UK’s mix of content is quite vast and often a story will be purely picture-based, says Julia White. She is constantly looking for video opportunities and for key news line and tries to lead socially when it comes to interview techniques.

Channel Mum sees its role as facilitating a big collaboration between brands, YouTube creators and audiences, says founder Siobhan Freegard. “We’re really keen to hear from PRs who are looking to deliver messaging to mums in a really friendly, authentic way. There really is a broad range of opportunities for PRs.”

If the story is good enough for the Daily Mirror’s Mark Jefferies, it doesn’t matter when you call him, he’ll get it in the paper. And if it is the middle of the night he would break it online. “These days showbiz never sleeps.”

Manners cost nothing

PRs sometimes need to take no for an answer, says The Times’ Anna Murphy. “If I say it won’t work for me, it’s because it won’t. PRs who try to persuade you they are right and you are wrong aren’t doing themselves any favours long-term. As a former magazine editor, if there is one thing I am good at it is making the correct decision for my reader.”

Future Technology’s Gareth Beavis appreciates that PRs are busy, but don’t call up and read out the press release or ask if he has received it. Try looking at what he covers and then come up with a suitable angle instead.

Time Out deputy editor Jonny Ensall says his strongest relationships come from PRs who aren’t pushy, but rather are immediately available and able to make things happen quickly – especially when he has a slot that suddenly needs to be filled. PRs who have a willingness to help and get information over quickly are invaluable.

PRs should ask, not tell, according to Nursing Times’ Jenni Middleton. She is often told in pitches that her readers will love a story – if there’s anyone who’s going to know what Nursing Times readers like and don’t like, it’s her. Equally, calling 30 seconds after sending a release is annoying – how can the team have read it yet?

Journalists hate to be badgered about something, especially when it’s not even a big story, says the Daily Mirror’s Mark Jefferies. The best thing a PR can do is make a release and quote as user friendly as possible.

Build your little black book…

The Pool’s co-founder, Lauren Laverne, says it’s about having a good experience when a PR first makes contact; and coming to her with the right brand or person that works.

The New Review’s Mike Higgins likes to meet with PRs and finds the best stories come out of face-to-face conversations. Trying to find out what drives a journalist is a big help when pitching, but if they’re trying to sell in something that bores him, it goes straight in the bin.

“Invite us out for a coffee as it’s so easy to forget an email from a person we’ve never met with a “Dear [algorithm]” top”, says the Daily Mirror’s Alex Hudson. Meet us before you pitch anything specific so we can give you a better idea of the things we’re after.

Time Out’s Caroline McGinn believes relationships work best when they are brought together by a shared passion for experiencing the best of London and showcasing the new things the capital has to offer. PRs and journalists often get into their careers for the same motivations – both are inspired by curiosity.

Sky News’ Richard Suchet has built good relationships with PRs. There are some PRs who send him emails that he will always read because he knows they are worth reading – even if he won’t be able to use the story at that time. If he knows he’s receiving something from a trusted PR, who doesn’t email that often, he is more likely to sit up and take notice.

Yahoo! UK’s Julia White is often won over by pretty images and lots of stats. Sending products to the team, rather than just a press release about it, can also draw attention. Everyone on the team is also a big fan of cake!

One of Simon Garner’s (Yahoo! UK) favourite pieces of content was a partnership with the Sony World Photography Awards after Sony approached the team and gave them exclusive access to its entire library of pictures. The team ended up running several galleries over consecutive weeks.

….because journalists can’t do without PRs

The Times’ Anna Murphy says: “There is no one better than a great PR. When I come across a PR who understands my reader and my editorial product, and can help me as much as I can help them, I am delighted.

“There are a few people I know I can call who will get me thinking, and give me ideas. And, it goes without saying, they are the people I will always be happy to talk to when they call me.”

“PRs are our life and soul,” says TrustedReviews’ gaming editor, Samantha Loveridge. “We don’t exist without them and vice versa I guess.”

Christian Guiltenane, editor of aTEEN, Attitude’s new digital magazine for young gay men, says: “For a magazine that is so new, PRs I have approached have been very helpful indeed.”

TheChicGeek’s creative director, Marcus Jaye, describes his relationship with PRs as: “ great”. “I think everybody knows me!”

“I have good relationships with a number of PRs and press officers working in a variety of fields”, says The Observer’s Lucy Rock. “I welcome approaches from any organisations with story ideas/interview opportunities which would appeal to our readership.”

The Yahoo! UK team all have great relationships with PRs and rely on them for help with content.

“I’d never realised how hard PRs work and how difficult it can be, especially in the entry positions,” says Future Publishing’s Gareth Beavis. “We work really hard to maintain friendships with PRs and try to understand what their clients want.

Gorkana meets…The Independent and Evening Standard

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Simon Neville, retail correspondent at The Independent and the Evening Standard on tackling zero-hour contracts, being naturally cynical and standing up for the little guy.

What is your remit at the paper, and what will you and won’t you cover?

I am the retail correspondent for the Evening Standard, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, i and London Live, but primarily I’m with the Evening Standard and the Independent. I will write on anything retail, which is a very broad spectrum; from results to the stockmarket, which is the bread and butter of what I do, right through to political angles, and what’s happening in employment, planning, property and business rates. It can be incredibly wide-ranging.

How is your content shared across the titles?

Typically the Standard will be responding to the results published at 7am on the stockmarket. That will be an instant reaction, interviewing a chief exec that morning and writing the stories for the same day’s newspaper. The Independent is a chance to expand on those stories or on broader themes, as well as to work on my own exclusive stories.

Towards the end of the week I’ll be working on pitch stories for the Independent on Sunday. There will be one reporter in on Sunday who will be asking for stories for the Monday edition. It’s a given that if you help them out, they will help you out when it comes to your Sunday shift, which is once every six weeks or so.

Why did you follow the path into retail journalism?

I got onto the retail route because there was an opportunity to cover a maternity leave at the Guardian. I think it’s one of the most interesting sectors there is on the business desk. Everyone knows about it, everyone has an experience with retail – everyone eats, everyone buys clothes. Whenever you are writing for a newspaper, I think you need to write for people who don’t necessarily know about these areas, and you are trying to get them interested. Retail has that ability because everyone knows about shops and the high street.

How do you strike a balance in writing for consumers and for industry stakeholders?

I have to write in a manner that everyone will understand, whether that’s the industry or not. I write the same, whether it’s for a businessman or someone on the high street. What is the point of writing in a jargon-heavy manner?

What makes an ideal story for you?

The soap opera in the boardroom is always the most interesting. The recent Tesco stories were fascinating – the accountancy scandal, the boardroom bust-ups, people leaving. All the colour behind it.

What are your relationships like with PRs?

They are mixed. At the moment, my landline voicemail says not to leave me a message, and instead send me an email. Email is the best way to get me, although I am inundated with them. Sometimes I will miss stuff, and if I do, I only have myself to blame.

PRs just need to target their audience. They need to have an idea of what I’ve written. I still get phone calls for James Thompson, my predecessor who left over 19 months ago.

What do you and don’t you want from PRs?

I personally don’t like surveys, and they always state the obvious. Ask yourself, is it newsworthy? Some things like that might make it into a trade publication, but not into a newspaper. The Independent only has five business pages – if HSBC is imploding, are we going to find space to include a survey?

I get a lot of pitches around point of sale products, so the companies that run the card machines or process transactions online for retailers; that doesn’t interest people on the street. They just want to know their money is getting taken and they are not getting screwed. PRs have to think, if they tried to explain it to the man in the pub, would it hold their attention?

If you are giving me an opinion on something, it needs to have an extra stat or an extra figure. For example, business rates are a really big thing at the moment. I have lots of PRs with comments from their clients, but there is no extra detail. If a PR says that their client has done some of their own research and has found, for example, that because of business rates, retailers are set to lose x million pounds, that’s an extra line of information that would go into a story.

How can they get your attention?

It’s in the subject and first two lines of the email. I will scan every email I get, at least the first couple of lines, and if it catches me, then I’ll be interested. It’s quality over quantity. You need to come up with an idea for a story and know the difference between an advert and a story. Don’t put your subject in capital letters, which is quite a common thing now.

You can call me, but I will make a decision quickly whether it interests me or not. Expect me to ask you questions not in your press release. Have a firm grasp of what you are talking about, because far too often I will ask questions about the release that people don’t have answers. Know the sector you are pitching about. I write a story every couple of weeks about people using their mobile phones to shop – I am told by chiefs execs how big that is. Your company writing a report on something that is already out there is not new.

How do you like to use social media?

I am on twitter all day. I scour it for stories. It’s the modern-day newswire, and is really useful. It still breaks stories half-an-hour before other outlets, and that is a key thing for my job when showing to my bosses that I’m on top of everything. However, I am not massively keen on people pitching to me via twitter.

I also know now that PRs follow things I say on twitter and get email alerts for it. It is interesting to know that Tesco gets an email whenever I say something about it on twitter, because I usually get a telephone call telling me off!

How important is it to hold the government and retailers to account, as you did with your zero-hours campaign?

Hugely important. It’s my job to ask questions of CEOs that no-one may ask. I have the power to do so without any strings attached, without the danger of losing my job. It is interesting in watching the difference between chief execs, when some know I’m just doing my job, and others take it personally. Journalists are going to be naturally cynical, and we will always ask difficult questions, and that involves holding someone to account.

The zero-hours campaign came about because Sports Direct announced they were doing a bonus scheme and they were going to give their staff huge amounts of money. I read that, and decided Mike Ashley can’t be that generous – that’s not his style. It’s then that I started looking into it, and found out that the vast majority of their staff were on zero-hour contracts. It came about from there.

It seemed to capture the mood of the public, and then we had hundreds of people writing in saying that it had happened to them. It built incredible momentum.

Do you think people are now more aware of ill-practices amongst retailers?

I think the supply side has gathered a huge amount of coverage recently, alongside business rates, employment rights, zero hour contracts…it has become one of the biggest issues for retailers. I’m not sure whether the public are as interested though.

I think it works when you say a big company is screwing over a small supplier, but people are less bothered when an unknown company is affected. With all the newspapers I’ve worked for, you are there to stand up for the little guy. I have worked for the Daily Mail and The Guardian, which are polar opposites, but if you read their coverage it’s all about protecting that little guy. They want to protect them, because their readers think how that could happen to them.

Ex-Brunswick exec launches advisory agency

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David Yelland, a former partner at Brunswick and ex-editor of The Sun, has launched Kitchen Table Partners, an individual-focused advisory firm.

David launched KTP on Friday last week. The aim of the agency is to work with high profile individuals, assisted by a network of people that David has built up over a career in communications.

It’s expected that the majority of the firm’s work will involve reputation and crisis management.

David’s experience includes spending nine years working at partner-level at Brunswick. Prior to that, he was senior vice chairman at Weber Shandwick.

He edited red top The Sun between 1998 to 2003, a role which he took on at the age of 35. He has a combined journalistic career of 18 years.

David can be reached at [email protected]

 

Gorkana meets…Financial Times

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Kiran Stacey, political correspondent at the Financial Times, on the decline of spinning, the myth that British politicians are boring and getting robust polling data from PRs

Tell us a bit about your role and your remit.

I’m political correspondent. There are four of us who work in the lobby for the FT. We all have our own patches within that. I cover the Lib Dems, UKIP, the Foreign Office and the MoD as well. It’s quite varied.

During this election period, how can PRs help the team?

I think it’ll be quite tough. There will be a lot of material coming out of the campaigns and part of what we do is to cut through that. So if PRs get stats and good information, it just helps us cut through all the masses of material coming through the campaign trail. If you pick something really interesting that might not have been well covered it can really give you a glimpse of something that people might not have realised. So that would be really good.

I think PRs also need to understand that we’re all going to be hugely busy and might not get back to people instantly and if we don’t reply to e-mails, don’t then call two or three times to check if we got the e-mail. We’ve got quite a lot on at the moment. If something’s really good we will see it.

There’s going to be a lot of polling around. If you have a poll or survey story it better be pretty robust, particularly for the FT, as there’s going to be so much out there that yours has to be quite good. You can’t just a phone poll of 20 people and expect us to cover that. Likewise, you can’t pick up on facebook or Twitter data and tell us that is what the British public is thinking. Stories like that are really useful but have to be really robust.

How do you think comms around politics have changed since the last election?

A lot more of it is done online. Each of the parties has a massive Twitter presence, which they didn’t really have the last time around. That makes it easier for them – they can get their instant rebuttals in quite quick. I think things will move incredibly fast. The cycle seems to get shorter and shorter with each election.

I also think people are learning when to leave things alone, because they’re going to have died within a few hours. In the days of Alastair Campbell for example, you’d have spinners all over you for every story, desperately trying to put out fires. That doesn’t happen quite as much now. People seem to be willing to let things go a little bit more because there’s so much more out there. Generally, within the Government the level of comms has been pretty good.

Do you think the main parties have become more transparent in their communications?

To a certain extent. They can get away with less, as there’s enough people out there willing to pick them up on stuff and there’s enough data out there that you can do that. There are certain departments which are still very untransparent – the Cabinet office being an example of that. It can be very untransparent with how it deals with the FOI etc. I think it’s got better but half way through parliament it was dreadful with the information it was putting out.

The parties themselves are pretty open and approachable. I don’t find them spinning too heavily compared to what it might have been like in the past. If someone tries, there’s so many ways to pick them up on it.

Do you think social media is an effective way for politicians to engage or just another block for them to stumble over?

I think it’s incredibly effective. It depends on how you do it. It is obviously a risk, but if you can do it with some wit and some intelligence you can get a message out there, which you wouldn’t necessarily get out there otherwise. If you look at people like Stella Creasy, who’s got a huge profile from the back of her own Twitter feed, people like Jamie Reed, and for better or worse, Michael Fabricant – these people have personal brands and followings, which they wouldn’t otherwise have. I think it’s definitely worth doing. For instance the Lib Dems comms team have become quite good at Twitter and BuzzFeed-style graphics. If you can do this stuff with a light touch and understand the media, you get through in a way you wouldn’t otherwise in such a crowded market place of political comment.

The other thing to remember is journalists can have very tight deadlines. Actually, sometimes, just tweeting out a quote can be a very useful way of getting something out there, because it’s quicker for us to take it off there. It’s essentially a newswire. It can be more useful than putting something on the PA because we’ll all see it, it will get retweeted a lot and we can get it from there instead of chasing around to find who’s commented on something.

With voter engagement amongst younger people on the decline, is it part of a journalist’s responsibility to increase that interaction?

I don’t think for younger people especially. A journalist’s job is to make people interested in what they’re writing about, so to that extent, yes. But we don’t think “how can we make young people engaged and get out and vote?” Our job is to make people engaged with what otherwise sometimes feels like a dry subject. So hopefully if we’re doing our job right, people will feel more engaged naturally.

Is there a danger that increased personal media scrutiny on politicians dehumanises them and homogenises the political message?

Yes, that is definitely true, that is a risk. You see certain people are not like that at all and certain people won’t be homogenised. I think one of the difficult things is, because there’s so much out there, so much material and media you can comment on, so many issues people can be asked about, people sometimes return to their comfort zones if they’re a bit unsure, so they’ll just say something bland because they don’t want to trip up. That’s a shame and proper reporting shouldn’t be trying to catch people out for the sake of it on something they may not be particularly clued up on.

You can see there are plenty of quirky politicians. I think it’s a myth that our politicians are bland and all the same. We’ve got three leaders of three main parties who look and sound quite similar and have relatively similar backgrounds, but there are still plenty of characters out there, so I don’t think it completely homogenises people.

And finally, what do you think compels a story to do well on social media?

On Twitter, it’s mainly good graphics and if you can find something that suddenly just strikes a chord with people. It’s the same with pieces to be honest. I remember there was a piece a little while ago, done by Chris Hope at The Telegraph, where he’d spotted a leaf picker, picking the leaves off trees in the square just outside Parliament and he tweeted a photo of this happening and got such an incredible and immediate response, he realised he just hit on something.

What it seemed to be is that people felt this was another sign that MPs were all featherbedded and living it up on the taxpayer’s expense, so when he wrote a story about it, it generated huge interest. Sometimes you don’t know what’s going to go viral – just plug into what people are thinking and talking about. If you can find it, it can be very powerful.

Kiran was speaking to Gorkana’s Dejla Kadhim

Gorkana meets…Guido Fawkes

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Guido Fawkes’ editor Paul Staines, political correspondent Alex Wickham and tech reporter Jeremy Wilson on the launch of Techno Guido, running a million miles from anything po-faced and why politicians should be held to higher standards.

Where would you position Guido in 2015?

Alex (pictured left): We’re a news website, really. We have branched out into so many different strands, but we’ve still kept that old fashioned blog style, running news stories as they come in, one-by-one down the side. That’s our heritage.

But there’s a lot of content now, and coming up to the election, we’re breaking news and doing 15+ stories a day across different fields.

Paul (pictured second left): The difference between now and five/ten years ago is that we’re not doing straight politics. We’ve had to go into these vertical niches. When Alan Rusbridger resigned, that was big news, but half of our readers wouldn’t care. So we put that aside and physically separated it. For the people just interested in the Westminster gossip, they’re not going to have to read about changes at the Guardian or in the media.

Can you talk us through the launch of Techno Guido?

Jeremy (pictured right): The general quality of tech reporting is low. A lot of people that write about tech at the moment don’t understand what they’re writing about, and it’s probably not their first choice of job, to be honest. I love technology, and there are just so many interesting things at the intersection of technology, like society and politics. No-one has really touched on these intersections before.

Paul: It’s a huge growth part of the economy. Lots of tech companies have got big operations in Washington – such as Facebook. Over here, you have the EU having a go at Google, you have the question of taxing Amazon…

There are a huge number of PR clients in the field, and we are happy to get new gadgets from them! PRs can be an information source and help us with getting hold of people, rather than pulling the wool over our eyes. The good ones know that. The worst thing they can do is lie.

What kind of content will you be running closer to Election day?

Paul: We’ll be doing more video. To differentiate ourselves, whilst everyone has cameras pointed towards the stage, we’ll be pointing the cameras the other way. Our readers would love to see Nick Robinson scratching his arse, for example. We are about Westminster Village, so that kind of niche take appeals to our readers.

How can you spot a Guido reader in 2015?

Paul: There’s a hell of a lot of them nowadays. Any one day, 100,000 is the typical readership. Some people will just come onto the site when we send out our summary email on Thursday, and some people are on it all day, every day. Over the month, we have around half a million devices. Our readership will probably double during the Election.

The readership is two thirds male, affluent, older and politically more to the Right. The people in the comments don’t represent our readership. Two years ago we looked at the comments in detail, and there are half a million comments in a year; 250,000 of those were done by 50 people.

There’s also the Westminster/Whitehall crowd. There’s the special adviser class and politicians who read it. As David Cameron said at our tenth anniversary, he’s a daily reader. Harriet Harman might deny it, but I can tell you she knows what’s going on with the site. That’s why we can charge the premium advertising rates we do because they want to be close to that crowd.

According to research done by Ipsos Mori in 2014, 65% of politicians read Guido.

Why is there a hesitancy to joke about politics in the mainstream media?

Alex: That’s why Guido was so successful at the start because everything else was so dry and worthy; people would write 1000 word analyses of things even if it was quite a light-hearted event. There is so much in politics that is entertaining. When Natalie Bennett has a car crash interview on the radio, people just want to watch/listen to it and read two lines explaining what it is. We can do that in a way that newspaper websites can’t do.

Paul: We’re in the infotainment business. Politics is showbusiness for ugly people. We don’t write about the geopolitical strategy for dealing with ISIS. I’m not interested in a 23-year olds’ opinion about Iran. I want hard news, and gossip is tomorrow’s news.

Do you think it’s the media’s responsibility to get voters more engaged with politics?

Paul: I don’t think so. Most British journalists would be very sceptical about having that role. I know that TV broadcasters have a public service responsibility but British journalists won’t stand up when the Prime Minister comes in, unlike in the States or the rest of the world. We run a million miles away from anything po-faced.

Does increased personal scrutiny on politicians dehumanise them and homogenise the political message?

Alex: That is the whole point. The essential role of what we do is to hold politicians to account and shine a light on them. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Paul: You have to hold them to higher standards. They are law makers, and therefore can’t break the law. We have to trust them. If you are the kind of person who will lie to your wife, you will definitely lie to voters. It’s a very common overlap between the kind of people who have personal and professional failings. Leadership is about character.

Alex: Some people get po-faced about scrutiny of politicians’ sex-lives, saying that it’s none of our business, but it is. There is a massive public interest if a politician is cheating on his wife.

Has comms improved since the last Election?

Paul: We have relationships with the teams from all of the parties. The Tories have more press officers than you can count, half a dozen of which seem to cover us.

It’s neck and neck between UKIP and the Lib Dems as to whose comms teams are the worst. To be fair to them, UKIP spend most of their time firefighting and they should be more proactive. They don’t have a strategic view. The Lib Dems don’t really understand the media. Clegg’s people are all civil servants.

We have a business relationship with the senior communications people in the Labour party. I think it’s partly because the younger press officers are a bit nervous about dealing with us.

It’s clear where we come from politically. They tend to give us other stories about the other parties. They know not to ask us for a positive story, but if they have dirt, we’re happy to recycle that.

Do you think broadcasters in this country should be able to nail their colours to the mast, as in the US?

Paul: Definitely. No one can be impartial. The public know that – they’re not stupid. Why do people buy papers? It’s to confirm their prejudices.

What is the most important medium during this election campaign?

Paul: It’s TV. It’s not a Twitter or Facebook election. The only thing that has changed in political reporting is that Twitter is the immediate echo-chamber.

Alex: You can shape the narrative on Twitter. The Emily Thornberry story is an example; no broadcast journalist was particularly bothered by that tweet, but that story gathered pace online, and by the end of the day she had been sacked. That is a Shadow Cabinet resignation that would not have happened without Twitter. But you can’t beat television. You can’t tweet about something quicker than it can be said on the television.

Paul: I think people on Twitter who are interested in politics have made up their minds. Most people on Twitter just want to tweet about football or Coronation Street or those kind of things. If someone says something on Twitter, it won’t be deep analysis in 140 characters.

I’m sceptical of social media’s influence, because we heard all this in 2010. But if there is going to be a Twitter screw-up, I hope we’re there at the centre of it!

What outcome will we wake up to on 8 May?

Paul: It’s too close to call. I’ve bet on every election in my adult life the right way, and I’m not betting on this one.

Behind the Headlines with Alex Clough

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Alex Clough, social media director at Splendid Communications, on using his Nan as a success barometer, why the industry needs to desperately improve on measurement and giving his 10-year-old self a dose of reality.

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…

Checked BBC News, Twitter and Imgur on the way in, before picking up a coffee from Ozone on Leonard Street – my favourite coffee shop in town. Great breakfast too.

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.

Content. Splendid’s, other agencies’, the general public’s, old, new, good, bad – everything can inspire. Digital trends and news review round-ups make their way to my inbox every morning – it’s one of the first things I look at to help inform and inspire reactive content. We are a very content-hungry team, and like to keep ours insight-driven, real and agile.

I know I’ve had a good day if…

We’ve been truly nimble, creative, busy and tried something new. When we’re at full tilt the office is always buzzing, the music is always loud and all creative expertise across Splendid is called upon to do something amazing and in the moment.

My first job was…

In a local pub in Ryde, Isle of Wight, where I grew up. It was sorting green, clear and brown bottles for recycling – bit of money in my pocket, a lot of beer on my clothes. Things haven’t changed much since then.

But my first “real” job in the industry was as a graduate junior account executive for LEWIS PR. Its graduate scheme should be recognised – it’s produced some brilliant people. Suzy Ferguson was a brilliant woman.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…

My Nan texts me to say she likes it. Or hates it. Either way, I know it’s working if she comments on it.

More seriously though, the best way to tell if a campaign has been successful is quite simple – if it has started real world conversations. This is at the core of everything Splendid does.

I eat….when nobody is watching.

Things with hash browns in them. Don’t tell anyone.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…

Before specialising in digital and social in 2009, I was part of the media relations team at LEWIS, so I have a lot of pitching under my belt. My first pitch was to a B2B technology title and they were very kind, positive and receptive. However, shortly afterwards I picked up the phone to a very busy news desk.

I can look back now and laugh…just.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…

I moved to Manchester after graduation to get started in the creative and media industry without crippling cost of living. During this time there was one phrase that I heard over and over again that came to haunt my dreams…

“We think you’re great and you’d fit in with the culture here, but unfortunately you don’t have enough experience for the junior/graduate/assistant position.”

The sad thing is, I don’t believe it has changed much. I am extremely proud to work at Splendid, where the Splendid Futures intern programme is hands down the most open, inclusive and successful I’ve come across. We took on interns throughout last year and a staggering 50% of them were hired into permanent roles. The way we find and grow our own is remarkable.

The last book I read was…

Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

I’ve never really understood why…

Measurement in the PR industry has not really evolved significantly since I started in 2007. It is something I had an issue with then and still have now. The industry desperately needs to improve on measurement and reporting, and is a priority for Splendid this year.

The volume of content being published online, combined with how people discover it, share it and navigate online news media means OTS/unique users alone is almost completely meaningless as a measure of online editorial impact. Social and digital is light years ahead and PR needs to catch up.

If I could go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d say…

“Your band won’t be signed, no matter how much you believe it, so concentrate a bit harder on your AS Levels. You also won’t be an actor. Sorry to shatter your misplaced dreams dude. So learn a bit of code and go travelling when you’re 21. Apart from that – crack on as you are. Your life will be wonderful.”

This time next year, I’ll be…
In my work, I’ll have a bigger digital team, a more diverse set of clients, and hopefully a few juicy awards to our name. In my life, I’ll be healthier, kinder, wiser and no longer in my 20s. On the whole, that’ll all do very nicely indeed.

Lidl hires PR manager

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Lidl has appointed Green Row’s Maya Orr as its new PR manager.

Maya joins a five-strong PR team, led by Lidl’s acting head of PR, Georgina O’Donnell. She will work alongside PR manager Laura Hamlin to focus on strengthening the supermarket’s PR and press office functions.

Maya spent three years at Green Row and has worked with brands including itsu grocery, Red Tractor and Jarlsberg. She was also part of the team that launched Lidl’s French wine promotion.

Georgina said: “We’re thrilled to have Maya on board having worked with her closely during her time at Green Row and been so impressed with what she delivered for us on wine. Maya brings with her a wealth of consumer PR experience and will be a fantastic addition to our growing UK team.”

Maya said: “I have always been a fan of Lidl, and my admiration for the brand has only increased as I’ve watched in awe the way that Lidl has been able to change consumers’ perceptions via having great quality products at unbeatable prices.

“It’s a great time to join the team and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into some very exciting projects that are on the horizon.”
Lidl’s first brand campaign, #LidlSurprises, which launched in September, is widely credited with driving sales and helping change perceptions about the supermarket.

Gorkana meets…LBC

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In the first of our Election 2015 special interviews, we speak to Iain Dale, the Drivetime show presenter on LBC Radio, on the importance of broadcast during the campaign, the dangers of ad hominem attacks on politicians and why PRs should avoid a scattergun approach when pitching to the station.

By way of background, tell us about your role at LBC and the remit of your show.

I have been presenting LBC’s Drivetime show for two years now. It’s a four hour show from 4-8pm every weekday. Our remit is to cover the big news stories of the day, and take phone calls from listeners on those stories. We interrogate those in power, and like to think we make the news as well as report it.

Is there anything you can tell us about the kind of content you will be running over the course of the General Election campaign?

I can’t reveal too much at the moment, but LBC has made its name on its political coverage in the last two years so you can be sure that we will be at the very centre of the election campaign. We also have very big plans for election night itself and will give the BBC a run for their money!

How can PRs be of help during this time?

We’ll always be looking for something different, that no one else will be covering. Don’t scattergun us with releases. Respect our format and respect the fact that although we are a newstalk station all the daytime shows have their clear differences.

We are told that the electorate is more disengaged than ever, and yet LBC – with a very political slant – has made a big impact since becoming a national broadcaster in January 2014. What do you put this down to?

It is true that voters seem to be disengaged from party politics, but not politics in general. They relate to issues rather than parties. They are fed up with the way party politicians present themselves and their beliefs. They see them as all the same, even if that accusation is rather unfair. Politicians seem remote from people’s daily lives, but our phone-ins give people the opportunity to give their views and put politicians on the spot.

How have communications around politics changed since the last General Election?

Social media is far more important than in 2010. Twitter will matter in a way it didn’t in 2010. This won’t be the ‘internet’ election – TV will still be far more important, but the internet will help UKIP and the Greens in a way that it won’t the other parties.

In the age of social media, what kind of role can radio broadcasting play in a General Election campaign?

People turn to the radio for breaking news. But our role goes far wider than that. We’re best equipped to do the reaction to the debates. We can be far more nimble than TV and especially on LBC we’re quite willing to throw out plans and start again if the need demands it. Radio is a far more intimate medium and politicians can easily be lulled into a false sense of security. They have longer to explain themselves, especially on LBC and that can lead to the unexpected happening.

What do you see as being the defining issues during the upcoming campaign?

Elections usually come down to the economy, but I think in this election Labour will try to make the future of the NHS the centrepiece of its campaign. I think general dissatisfaction with politicians and the political process will come to the fore during the campaign and any party leader who manages to tap into that is likely to be successful.

How prominent and effective do you think negative campaigning will be?

I think this will be the dirtiest campaign in living memory between the main two parties. Subtle negative campaigning can work but the voter has to buy into it. The Tory Demon Eyes campaign didn’t work in 1997 because no one really saw Blair as the devil. The Tories will portray Miliband as Neil Kinnock reincarnated and Labour will concentrate on a class based campaign. The electorate will be appalled and that’s where the three other parties may well gain support as the campaign progresses.

Is there a danger that increased and ad hominem media scrutiny on politicians dehumanises them and homogenises the political message?

The media really needs to examine its own role in the continuing decline of respect for politicians. Clearly it is the politicians who are mostly to blame but interviewers who go into interviews with the attitude of “why is this bastard lying to me” do themselves and the whole body politic a real disservice. Scrutiny is important but good manners cost nothing in an interviewer.

There’s every likelihood that should there be a decisive winner at the election, they will have in and around 35% of the total vote. Is it time to change the voting system to better reflect our splintered politics?

I think the result of the election will indeed lead to calls for electoral reform, but the trouble is no one has yet come up with a system of PR that really maintains the same kind of constituency relationship MPs and their constituents currently have. But if Labour and the LibDems form a coalition, that may be the LibDem price.

Will fixed-term parliaments remain? Are you in favour of them?

I used to run the Campaign for Fixed Term Parliaments so in principle, yes. However, I think they should be for 4, not 5 years. I don’t think it is democratic for a Prime Minister to call an election at a time of his own choosing, which inevitably means at the point he is most likely to win.

Do you think broadcasters should be able to nail their colours to the mast – as in US – or is it important during an election campaign to be balanced?

I think balance in public service broadcasters is important, but I see no problem at all with commercial broadcasters taking an editorial line, just as newspapers do. However, current Ofcom rules prevent this, so you’ll find LBC adhering strictly to a non partisan stance!

What outcome do you think the country will wake-up to on May 8?

It’s incredibly difficult to predict, but I’ll put my neck on the line and predict that neither of the two largest parties will be able to form a coalition unless they can persuade two other parties to take part. Labour’s biggest nightmare is losing a shed load of seats to the SNP in Scotland and the Tories nightmare is that UKIP hold the balance of power with 5-10 seats. At the moment I think Labour and the Tories will both be on around 280-290 seats, with the LibDems on 20-25. Polls predict the SNP may have up to 45 seats (up from 6!) but I would treat these predictions with extreme caution.

Looking ahead, who are your MPs to watch for the 2020 General Election?

My five Labour stars of the next five years are Chuka Umunna, Stella Creasey, Liz Kendall, Lucy Powell and Owen Smith. On the Tory side I’d pick Nicky Morgan, Sajid Javid, Esther McVey (if she holds on to her seat), Zac Goldsmith and Claire Perry. On the LibDem side, well it depends how many of them are left, but expect Norman Lamb and Julian Huppert to be key players.

Iain was speaking to Gorkana’s Ronan George