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.
My first job on a national newspaper news desk was as forward planner for the Daily Mail in the late 1990s.
It was a thankless task – and I’d suggest much harder than the equivalent role now. There was no digital diary, no electronic organiser and no alerts on the mobile (I did have a mobile but it was very much a brick).
I remember doing phenomenally long hours some days. And the standard demanded was rightly high. I always remember being woken at 3am by an angry news editor calling to ask why some royal event was not on the daily news list I’d created (I had had it on there, but managed to delete it at the last minute. Doh!)
The thoroughness and attention to detail in planning that I picked up there has never left me. It makes a huge difference to everything.
And in that spirit, now we are all back to school, I wanted to highlight my idea of how the last few months of the year might look, what the events are that you can take advantage of to get coverage and how you might do it. It’s not exhaustive – but here’s seven dates to plot around.
Budget (October 28)
Obvious, but the first budget of Andy Burnham’s premiership will be a big one. By the end of October we should have more of an idea of what the Burnham administration plans to do. Will there be more of a move to nationalisation? How much emphasis will there be on transport, education and defence? And importantly, how will spending commitments be paid for? Will we see changes to council taxes, inheritance tax or will the Prime Minister feel forced to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT?
As always, if you have clients in some of the high profile areas that are likely to be the focus of attention, then promote them early. Can they do preview pieces, can you arrange for them to be available straight after the budget for reaction. Think words and videos.
And as always, mainstream media needs case studies. They don’t need to be experts – just people who will be affected by budget changes. Put forward your people and your clients - both individuals, businesses and charities. Provide good access and the chance for pictures and video footage and make sure they are available on the day of the budget. And of course the deal is you get a namecheck.
Holborn and St Pancras by-election (mid-October)
The parting gift from former PM Keir Starmer for Andy Burnham is a tricky by-election in what is traditionally a Labour stronghold but which will be a battle to keep. Starmer’s decision to quit on the day Burnham comes back to the Commons was clearly deliberate. Now the Greens are likely to push hard for the seat – with suggestions that leader Zach Polanski may stand. The by-election will be a good electoral test for the new government but will also highlight other issues. Not least, do Londoners resent Burnham’s pro-North agenda enough to not vote for Labour?
Party conference season (September 3 - October 7)
