8 Ways PRs Can Still Get Coverage During Silly Season
It's the dog days of summer and it's quiet on the news front. But silly season gives comms experts opportunities they might not get the rest of the year
The media landscape is changing at pace – and keeping up with the latest developments and moves will give every comms expert an advantage over their rivals. Every week take a look at the media business from mainstream and ‘legacy’ media to cutting edge tech and the latest trends and developments – and how you can use that know-how.
There is no doubt, we are in the long grass of silly season.
The courts have wound down, politicians are on holiday, half the country is away with the family and the other half is struggling with yet another heatwave.
Basically, not much is going on so journalists dub it silly season – when stories, often lighter and a bit dafter, that might not normally see the light of day, make the papers and the websites.
I always remember my first summer at the Daily Mail in 1998 and thinking how quiet it was apart from the 1998 World Cup. “What would we put on these pages if it wasn’t for David Beckham?” I remember asking. To be honest it seems like a struggle every year.
So, while the media does carry on churning, I’d suggest the bar for what gets published is lower than at any other time of the year.
And the other effect is that stories that might in the other 11 months of the year make a page in a paper, or a couple of hits online, suddenly become spreads and are deemed worth coverage for days on end.
Let me give you a small sample. And I’m not saying any of these stories are without merit, just not worth the endless coverage they have received.
Exhibit A – Westminster Council might ban stand up drinking in pubs in Soho. A claim that Westminster denies and says has been deliberately twisted but one Andy Burnham as a good northerner who likes a pint has taken up the cudgels over.
Exhibit B - The Jason Arday row. Professor at Cambridge may have “sexed up” his portfolio and exaggerated his life story. And I know there’s a bigger issue around diversity and equality here. But even so, the wall-to-wall coverage I’m suspecting is going largely unread.
Exhibit C – The weather. Just the weather. And I know us Brits are obsessed but the same pictures of frazzled grass and youngsters jumping into fountains. And it’s not like anything new is happening – it’s just staying hot. (And I know lots of you will be keenly involved in climate and environmental issues. But I suspect the coverage is not addressing your concerns).
Maybe it is the heat that’s making me a bit angsty.
Anyhow, for those still working in August, a few thoughts on what you can do the next few weeks
If you can’t beat them, join them. The stories that get inflated coverage are probably going to stick around. If you can find that new angle or provide that new analysis, then you have a better than normal chance to hit the mark.
In the absence of some of the heavier news, including politics, don’t be afraid of a bit of lightness. The bar is lower and news desks are more accepting of the fluffier news stories. If you have a bit of consumer data or similar in the bottom drawer, it’s a good time to brush it off and get it published.
