Liberty has the privilege of understanding what it’s like to work at the heart of the media and we would like to share a few of the day-to-day procedures that have been highlighted by some of the UK’s leading business journalists.
The undoubtably coffee-infused early mornings are centred around reviewing the regulatory news service (RNS) coverage and filtering through and creating news lists of the top stories.
Key areas of interest for business journalists include consumer business stories, (cars, retail, banking, pensions, mortgages, travel, food and drink), economics, investment, technology, consumer trends, markets and well-known profiles such as CEOs. The Financial Times has also stated that sustainability is of upmost importance in today’s economic climate.
Once the news list is created, a conference meeting is held, whereby it is checked and finalised. The print pages and layout are then solidified and the deadline for these to be filed is usually in the late afternoon or early evening.
The deadline for the digital copy often varies for most papers; for example, whereas The Guardian has a digital first policy, the Daily Mail’s online team work separately to get the digital version online after the print version.
A few additional insights we have picked up are as follows:
- Exclusives will generate more interest, hold more sway with editor and be more likely to make it into weekend editions
- Weekend editions have much higher reader numbers
- Surveys carry less weight and research is more promising as long as it is data based
- More news driven and less focused on trends
- Quotes are better snappy and short
- Visuals and photos are helpful to secure coverage
- Quality over quantity
Either way, teamwork is most definitely what makes the dream work when it comes to business journalism, and a knack for early mornings and late nights doesn’t hurt!
Annie Paul joined Liberty through our Liberty Academy programme, established in 2013 to help students and recent graduates learn more about the PR industry and what an entry level role working in PR is like.
