How to Pitch to a Sunday Newspaper
Sabrina Miller, whitehall correspondent at The Sunday Telegraph, reveals how the news cycle works for Sunday papers
I’m thrilled to have Sabrina Miller, whitehall correspondent at The Sunday Telegraph, in the OTR hot seat this week to take us behind the scenes of one of Britain's biggest Sunday newsrooms. She explains how her week is structured, why Tuesdays are her prime pitching day and how comms teams can dramatically improve their chances of landing a weekend splash.
Sabrina, can you talk us through the structure of your week considering you work for a weekly Sunday paper? How is that different or the same from being on a daily paper? The Sunday lobby routine is really unique. Every Tuesday afternoon I have a meeting with the editor, news editor and political editor where we discuss our themes of the week and pitch any ideas we have. It’s a really open space where we share our not yet fully-formed thoughts. The challenge is always trying to predict the future and think ahead at where the week is going and how you can contribute something original and insightful to that conversation.
But if you’re a comms person and suggest something on Tuesday morning that will hold to the end of the week and is really off-diary, then that is always massively appreciated. It means I can readily present it to the editor and get an early firm yes or no. On Tuesday’s I am also at my most receptive to new ideas and pitches especially with new contacts because I have time to check out the details and make sure I am happy with it.
On Wednesday and Thursday I essentially have free rein to pursue my own ideas and investigations and grow my network. These days vary week to week. It may mean long lunches. It could also involve attending conferences, doing door knocks, sending FOIs, reading Government documents, working on some longer term investigations, or joining politicians on the campaign trail. I have a huge amount of freedom which is something I really enjoy but there is also a lot of pressure to be productive and deliver new agenda-setting stories every week. And if you don’t deliver something interesting on Sunday it is plain for the world to see.
By Thursday afternoon and Friday I need to seriously think about filing. So I will start finishing off my copy, making sure I have sent all my right of replies and had everything legalled. As the news agenda is so fast paced at the moment it is hard to massively plan ahead especially with some of the more live stuff. You can start the week thinking the main issue of the week is a Government U-turn on welfare and end the week with Donald Trump threatening to invade Greenland. I aim to file maybe between two to four off diary stories per week. The idea is that at least one of these is good enough to be on the front.
Then Saturday is essentially a live news day. It’s typically a bit more reactive but also exciting because splashes are often finalised on a Saturday. It also involves ringing up a lot of MPs and special advisers on their weekend!
What do comms people need to keep in mind knowing the rhythm of a week is different for a weekly paper? Speak to me early in the week. I have quite a lot of availability on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to meet up and build a genuine relationship and it is something I genuinely believe is essential. But unless you’re pitching Watergate or something really live, I am not massively receptive to new ideas on a Friday and Saturday because I am already locked in.
If you’re in doubt about whether I am using your story, call me.
If a communications team wants to land a major Sunday story, what should they be thinking about? I don’t think this will massively differ from a daily newspaper. Exclusives are obviously king (especially for the Sunday paper). If there is a strong news hook that is even better. If we have a good relationship then I definitely take more time to think about how I can make the story work. I enjoy working collaboratively with good contacts and sources and speaking ideas through on the phone. Comms professionals are the experts in their field so I rely on the ones I trust for pointers and direction.
I am interested in all types of stories (everything is political) but it definitely helps if a comms team reads the news, reads The Telegraph and reads the sorts of stories I have done before too.
Have social media and 24-hour news made it harder to hold stories for Sunday publication? And then what happens if you get out-scooped during the week The Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph is an amazingly collaborative place to work. If it is a genuinely good story and I am worried about being scooped then I can get it placed in the daily. For example, after the Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated by the US and Israel I wrote an exclusive story with a colleague (which was featured I believe on a Wednesday or Thursday) about university students mourning his death.
I also went to Ukraine for an investigation featured in the daily newspaper so it’s really not territorial, which is great because I hate getting scooped more than anything.
But I do think journalists probably need to start thinking about social media more (other than X). It’s not something I am doing properly yet and that is definitely a mistake.
Quick fire…
One word to describe Westminster? Madhouse
Politician you’d most want to interview? Current politician? Probably Shabana Mahmood. I think she’s really impressive and I don’t think she’s done many sit downs…
Most overused political phrase? An anonymous Government insider said…
If you could only have access to one of these for the rest of your life, which would you choose: X, WhatsApp or email? You’re killing me! How can I choose between X and Whatsapp? Gun to my head… probably Whatsapp (as long as I can keep my disappearing messages on a la Starmer)
What topics are you most interested in right now? How can people can contact you? If you send me an email on sabrina.miller@telegraph.co.uk I can send you my number. Whatsapp is best.
Remember folks, keep this just between us! We’re off the record.
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