LBC news presenter and reporter Charlotte Lynch knows what it takes to get a story on air… and she’s sharing some of those secrets today!
She tells us exactly what makes her think “I need to get this person on the radio” as well as one phrase that makes her immediately delete a pitch. Charlotte does also give the phrase that makes her open a pitch immediately too!
Before we get into this week’s edition… there are a final few tickets left to our second Off the Record live event THIS THURSDAY in London! We have a stellar line up to talk about all things Budget - as well as how to secure political coverage. Discounted tickets are now available for the event here.
We’ll be bringing together senior political journalists and Westminster insiders to talk pitching, building relationships, the Budget and how “the lobby” works… followed by drinks, nibbles and networking. Right, back to business!
Charlotte, you’re a news presenter and a reporter. Can you talk us through what your week looks like and how you balance both? In what way do they demand different things from you? I present a daily three-hour long rolling news radio show, where I “drive the desk” myself. This basically means keeping the radio station on air and playing all of the production and clips by myself! Because it’s rolling news I have to be constantly on alert for breaking stories, and there’s been loads of times where I’ve had to drop everything and roll on one story, even if we don’t have any audio. Reporting and presenting definitely demand different things, but I’ve found my seven years as a reporter has actually given me loads of confidence and skills in my presenting.
Reporting has given me the ability to freestyle live on air whilst making sure I’m hitting the key points and staying on track, and react quickly to breaking stories. After sevem years with Global and LBC they offered me the chance to present on LBC News full time, which was amazing! I was very keen to learn a new skill, and doing all the tech myself has definitely been a learning curve. I did want to hold on to reporting, so I still get the chance to go on what we call OB’s (outside broadcasts) on big political days like the Budget. I also have time to work on my own original stories when I’m not on air, so even though my show is only three hours long, I’m usually in the office several hours beforehand.
What makes you think: “I need to get this person on air”? Anyone who has done something or uncovered something major. I LOVE to hear about people achieving amazing things, like a medical breakthrough, a great investigation or a massive personal challenge, and hear from them how they did it. I also want to hear from people who explain things in a down-to-earth manner with no jargon. It can be hard to find someone who’s able to explain a complicated piece of research in a clear, non-patronising way - it’s a real skill.
When something big breaks, what are you looking for in the first five minutes? First hour? Second day? First five minutes - who, what, when, where, why? First hour - AUDIO. Police, a reporter, an expert, anyone to bring it to life quickly. Second day - People affected by whatever has happened if they’re ready to start speaking out.
What is one thing comms pros obsess over that you think journalists don’t care about? Conversely, what is something journalists care enormously about that PRs often overlook? I don’t like being asked for the questions in advance - we’re usually not organising a massively controversial interview with a PR and we’ve often already received a press release and quote from them. Unless it’s a big name guest like the Prime Minister, I don’t usually prepare questions in advance (or have time!) and prefer to treat it as a natural conversation.
However, Journalists care enormously about the top line - and you’d be surprised how many press releases we get which are actually an advert with no realistic news line!
Quick fire time…
One phrase that makes you immediately delete a pitch? - a new study... (from a private company no one has heard of).
One phrase that makes you immediately open one? Expert available today on a major breaking story.
One thing journalists could learn from PRs? How to pitch! PRs pitch every day and have a really difficult job getting through to journalists. It takes a truly brilliant pitch to get a journalist to make space for a story and PRs know better than anyone how to put a solid one together. Journalists pitching an original story to their editor (or as I’ve had to do before - directly to presenter Nick Ferrari) could learn a thing or two from PRs.
One thing PRs could learn from journalists? understanding the audience when deciding whether the story is right for your platform. What works for one channel doesn’t always work for another.
You can find Charlotte on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Remember folks, keep this just between us! We’re off the record.
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