Trying to get your research into the national media? Don’t call.
It’s the week of the CASE Conference and we’re reminded of the electric session we hosted virtually last year. We interviewed Emma Bridge, associate director of communications at the University of Leicester and Hannah Fearn, social affairs journalist, columnist and feature writer for the Independent, who also job swapped into a university’s communications team for a week while working at Times Higher Education!
There are two aspects to thinking like a journalist we covered:
1. how you can think like a journalist to maximise the coverage of your institution and get your fantastic research stories to a wider audience.
2. how you can get your comms, marketing and social teams to think and work like journalists to unlock more value from your content and make the most of some of the amazing stories you have to tell.
Hannah and Emma helped us unpick both and shared their views, advice and top tips.
Let’s start with you, Hannah, can you tell us about a university story that most stood out to you over the last couple of years?
“There was a huge Imperial (College London) study informing government during the pandemic which springs to mind. It really shows the kind of position universities are in to influence news reportage or coverage when they’re being listened to. The UCL coverage on mental health, I’ve also been following.”
Hannah goes on to highlight the difficulty you have as communication teams: “Often journalists in mainstream news, day to day news desks are going to be tracking those key stories based on the existing news agenda. To get beyond that is a challenge.”
Emma shared her highlights: “The coverage of the whole pandemic has amazed me. The reporting of stories that ordinarily wouldn’t have made the news. The University of Leicester partnered with Formula 1 to create new devices to help doctors and nurses communicate clearly while wearing PPE. The speed at which the researchers worked during the pandemic was incredible.”
Let's tackle getting your stories into the media, Hannah. From your perspective as a commissioner of news stories, what are your top tips for university comms teams to get their content seen and covered?
“Having worked as commissioning editor in comment (opinion pieces) for seven years I began to see mistakes I made previously as a freelancer - and not just the ones that PR and comms people make - everyone makes the same mistakes when they’re pitching to be heard in the clamour of the newsroom.
“A lot of it is just about style. It’s also about how and when you approach it and the timing of that. It’s not actually about content. Some of it is absolutely fascinating and deserves an audience but the way and when you approach journalists is the barrier.”
Hannah says, “Here are some key messages to pass on in this session:
Choose your outlet based on the content you’ve got.
Think about the relationships you have with journalists.
If you’re still sending out emails with press releases on a batch mail out - you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be deleted.
When I sit down at 7am, there could be 560 emails in my inbox. The first thing I would do is look for the name of someone I could trust, the second thing I would do is look at the subject line - if it’s really compelling then I might give it a quick whirl. Two seconds of my time. That’s it.
You’ve got to build those relationships. It’s easier now than ever to be 121 with a journo because of social media.” She trusts them and crucially they trust her with their story: “I want to break great stories.”
Emma jumps in, ‘It’s all about the relationships, we’ve always got a journalist in mind.”
But how do you get those relationships going and build them around the publication for your stories?
Emma says, “When we’ve got a story and we’re going to pitch it, we always think about where we want it to go, which journalist it will go to, what does that journalist like and how can we get it to them.”
Understanding how and when to pitch to a journalist is key. Emma in your experience how do you know when you’ve got a story to share?
Emma explains: “Stories can range from small to big and we don't always realise at the start whether it’s going to be a big one - it’s all about the planning. We meet frequently as a team and with academics to horizon scan and give people the opportunity to call someone like Hannah to say ‘we’ve got this, it’s coming soon’, and then we find out what would be of interest to the journo.
“Regular meetings with academics are crucial to tease out those stories.”
Hannah adds, “and don’t go to the same journalist every time! Tap into existing networks already working around subject areas you’re really good on and try to sell exclusives don’t give the same story to everyone every time as no-one will run it at all.”
Thank you both, can we round-up with your best advice for university communication teams?
How it looks and when and where you deliver it matters
Do pitch by email
Don’t telephone. No-one uses it in a newsroom unless chasing hard. It’s dead
Follow up on social media. Can text if got number/whatsapp but don’t call
Make sure the subject line is a brilliant headline for how you imagine the piece might be sold
Think about the audience, not just your audience but the journalist’s audience - who’s their readership?
How might the reader want to see this story or issue covered when finally gets to print (by which we mean printed online of course!)
Finally, don't be afraid to chase hard. The most persistent people get the most coverage.
Hannah finishes by saying: “It’s actually very difficult to become deeply annoying”.
Learn exactly how to get your research in the nationals with stori’s ‘pitch and publish’ workshop for communications and PR teams led by Hannah Fearn. Get in touch to get booked in.
