Reporting and Writing I

Reporting and Writing I Churnalismand PR

Today Looking at relationship between PR and journalists Dealing with press releases Churnalism: Convenience, control and distortion Three scenarios • Get into three groups • Read through the scenario • Answer the questions PR and journalists

PA puts out a news story about a man who is insured against “trauma” if England lose in the World Cup. He stands to gain £1,000,000 if he can prove psychological damage was caused. Scenario 1

Reported in May 2006 by the BBC, The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, the Guardian online, The Times Online, The Western Mail, The Newcastle Evening Chronicle, The Hull Daily Mail and the Liverpool Echo. Plus the Sydney Morning Herald, the Washington Post, the Malaysia Star, the Sunday Times of Zambia, the Financial Mail in South Africa… Convenience

Nick Davies unmasked Hucker as a PR agent who was employed by insurance firms to generate publicity. He found this out by Googling his name. No journalist working on the story had even done this. It wasn’t true. The same story had run in 2002, before the World Cup in Japan / South Korea. Hucker has also featured in stories about unemployment insurance and mortgage cover. Convenience

August 2011 A press release put out by Canadian firm AptiQuant says users of Internet Explorer have lower IQs than users of Safari, Firefox and Chrome. It said the average IQ of IE users was 80. It was reported by the BBC, CNN, the Metro and others. Not only was the research false, the company didn’t even exist. Its website was a photoshopped copy of a real French company’s site. Basic checks

Time pressure Fewer reporters writing more stories. Gap filled by PR producing “oven ready” copy. In 2008 Britain had: 47,800 PR workers and 45,000 journalists. (Nick Davies) Journalism crisis • Motors, homes and jobs adverts • Cuts to reporting staff (not commercial) • Rising cover price • Fear of thin papers being bad value Why?

You are a journalist attending the Games Media Awards. There is a competition running for journalists. If you write a Tweet that includes “#gmadefiance” you could win a PS3 Do you enter? Scenario 2

This is a tame example. But it illustrates how PR wants to seize the perceived legitimacy of journalists, and use it to produce more effective advertising. Games Media Awards 2012 • The competition was held, and was entered by journalists. • A blogger spilled the beans • It ended with defamation claims and a debate about ethics in consumer-based journalism • Running too close to the circus Control

Pre-1980s Post 1980s • In 1979 only 14 out of the UK’s top 50 companies employed PR agencies. • Journalists had direct access to sources of information. • E.g. Police • View evidence logs • Talk to investigating officers • Seeing suspects arrive • By 1984, 45 out of the top 50 companies used PR agencies to deal with the media • Erosion of access – everything goes through intermediary • Sanitise release of information • Spin or block bad stories • Statements, not interviews Rise of PR

Not always a sinister conspiracy Can often seem benign But PR’s role in stories always has significance. Press releases News is selected and packaged by PR. Is it the full story? What is the real angle? Press conferences Convenient – but access is controlled. Not as good as one-to-one interview. Just because a press conference is called it does not mean it has news value. Photo calls Again, these are staged. They have less news value than a candid photo. They can deceive the reader. In practice…

This is the worst type of staged picture. It will be suggested to you multiple times per week by PR people. It has no value for readers. Photo calls

Leveson evidence Proportion of stories published with celebrity consent. 70% Hello! 80% Ok! Rosie Nixon, editor of Hello! • Work "directly" with stars "every step of the way" and would not run a story if the celebrity told them not to. • "It's a really honest, trusting sort of relationship, we ultimately wouldn't do anything to upset anyone,. If somebody doesn't want us to run something we don't run it. We wouldn't get access to a big event in their lives in the future if we have done something to upset them." “Candid” camera

What it is Sets the earliest time that a story can be published Allows journalists to see long government reports or scientific findings in advance, so that coverage is better informed. Other uses Reviews can be embargoed to suit the marketing timetable of a product, film, game, or album. If poor reviews are expected, embargoes are used to minimise impact on sales Breaches Embargoes are a gentleman’s agreement Breaking them is not illegal But it can damage your relationship with the company involved Embargoes

Perks Press trips / travel writing Car test drives Movie premieres Awards ceremonies Launch parties Taking the coin

You are covering a climate change protest Protestors tell you the police are being heavy handed Cops tell you there have been 50 arrests, and 70 officers injured What’s the story? Scenario 3

August 2008 Climate camp at Kingsnorth Stop and Search powers used by Kent Police Activists said it was heavy handed The Home Office said 70 officers were injured Distortion

The Home Office lied. Under Freedom of Information, the real number of injuries was revealed to be 12. They included toothache, wasp stings, heat exhaustion and one nasty case of diarrhoea. None were caused by protestors. Distortion

Distortion also results from the selective nature of PR. Only some stories are released to the press. But what about the others? Nigel Green, freelance reporter FOI results in Northumberland 5,083 incidents attended by police in one weekend in June 2006 Those not worthy of release to the press: Man who went missing from a hospital and was found dead in the sea. A 74-year-old man beaten by a group of youths. A young girl who died after falling from a tower block. Distortion

Distortion is not necessarily deliberate. An information market run by PR is inescapably elitist. Charities, companies and organisations with large bodies can saturate the media with professional PR material. Smaller bodies with fewer funds struggle to get heard. Distortion

Fully check Never take anyone’s word for anything – every detail in your stories needs to be checked. Sources Is the information from a reliable source? Who can confirm it? Two sources for any story. Interviews Never settle for supplied information – good angles come out of talking to people. Balance Don’t let powerful PR dominate the angle. Who else has a view? What are the alternatives? Due skepticism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Despite the flaws, PR is something you will have to deal with Every office receives a flood of press releases by post and email Most ends up in a tray in the corner of the office, fed to junior reporters and work experience students… Press release

Options: Bin it Just write it (not likely) Look for picture opportunities Use it to inspire a story on an issue, by finding more facts and opinions. Be original • Press releases are sent out to all media in large batches. • Stories based closely on press releases have a high risk of appearing, in almost identical form, in a rival publication. • Always look for a new angle or approach to make your story stand out. • It’s a good habit to get into for portfolio stories, too. Press releases

A typical bit of fluff – British Airways puts out a release about new wines it will serve in first class. The grapes are grown in Marden, near Maidstone. We can turn it into a story about success for a local business – and take pictures of a fresh batch being uncorked. Examples

Wetherspoons announced it was banning swearing in its pubs – and put out a press release for some free publicity. I went to the local one and listened in to conversations, and wrote a first-person piece to go along with a story on the ban. It made the story more relevant and fun. Examples

This came from a survey about “tough audiences” for comedians. Maidstone came third. I interviewed a pub owner who hosts comedy to find the worst gig he’d held I tried to talk to comedians with local connections And I interviewed the local theatre manager about whether she was concerned, and why we ranked so low. Examples

Stay in your three teams from earlier. You each have a nib tray to go through. Read the stories Are they news worthy? What would you do to turn the press releases into fresh, engaging and lively news stories that stand out from your rivals? Your turn

Reporting and Writing I