Business

Understanding the Newsroom

Past Event

Ben Griffiths has held executive roles at some of the country’s biggest-selling newspapers during almost 20 years working in the media. While leading news and features teams at The Mirror and The Sun, he has been at the centre of some of the biggest stories of the last two decades. His experience gives him a unique understanding of the media industry, the news cycle and how best to manage a story.

Alder specialist partner, Ben Griffiths, will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday 2 May, 14:00- 15:00, when he will share insights from his career in news and features at The Mirror and The Sun; advice on pitching best practice; and strategies for handling negative media coverage.

We speak with Ben ahead of the event to talk about what to expect from the upcoming webinar – Understanding the Newsroom.

Why is it important to understand how the newsroom works?

If you work in a public relations role, you will often interact with journalists, editors, and other media professionals in your daily work.

By understanding the different roles within a newsroom, you can identify the right journalists and editors to reach out to with your pitches. You can get your stories and messages in front of the right audience.

Newsrooms can be frenetic places and operate on tight deadlines, and if PR professionals understand this, they can be better prepared to provide timely and relevant information to journalists.

PR professionals who understand the newsroom and the journalists who work there can build stronger relationships with those individuals. Not only will they understand the needs and interests of journalists more but they themselves will become a reliable source of information and increase the likelihood of their pitches being accepted.

By building relationships with journalists, crafting effective pitches, and understanding the deadlines and processes of newsrooms you are more likely to gain valuable media exposure for your clients and organisation.

How can strong relationships with the media help an organisation recover from a crisis?

Strong relationships with the media can play a crucial role in helping an organisation recover from a crisis. When a crisis occurs, the media is often one of the first sources to report on it, and their coverage can have a significant impact on the organisation’s reputation and public perception. By having established relationships with journalists and media outlets, organisations can better manage their message and potentially mitigate the negative impact of the crisis.

Overall, strong relationships with the media can be vital for an organisation to recover from a crisis by ensuring that accurate information is being shared, that a trusted spokesperson is available to communicate with the media, that positive coverage is more likely, and that strategic messaging is being effectively communicated to the public.

What can we expect from the Alder Intelligence: Understanding the Newsroom webinar?

We will be peeking behind the curtain of a newsroom to understand what happens in different newsrooms across the country. We’ll look at how an editorial conference works, offer a better understanding of a day in the life of a journalist, what and who dictates the news agenda and why some stories make the cut while others don’t.

I will answer the question of what, how and when should you pitch? From my own experience, I will share good and bad examples of pitches and explain why they were or weren’t successful.

I will also offer some tips on how you can recover from negative media coverage and why having a strong relationship with the media is beneficial.

If you are preparing or recovering from a PR crisis, or you want to understand how a newsroom works, then this is the webinar for you. We will share best practice for both preparing for pitches and potential negative coverage in the media.