corporate communications Archives

Getting your message heard: A guide to working with broadcast

Broadcast media has undergone a huge evolution. We’re now a long way from the days when only four channels were available to watch on our screens, and today many people receive their news from new challenger brands, streaming platforms, podcasts and social media as well as traditional broadcasting outlets.

But how much have audience expectations of broadcasters changed, what role do traditional and new outlets play in shaping the news agenda, and how can businesses support accurate and engaging storytelling?

To answer these questions, we hosted a panel discussion with leading broadcasters, including ITV’s Paul Brand, BBC Newscast’s Adam Fleming and Times Radio’s Rosie Cutler. Alongside this, our ‘Guide to working with broadcast‘ gives an overview of some of the most popular news and current affairs programmes, as well as our advice on how to engage them.

Getting your message heard: A guide to working with broadcast

Our key panel takeaways:

The role of traditional broadcast

Despite the explosion in the number of news and current affairs platforms, it is clear that traditional broadcasters still have a vital role to play in driving national narratives and covering public interest stories.

The panel noted that traditional media has retained an unrivalled ability to shape the news agenda. Every major government scandal is broken by a major broadcaster or by a print newspaper, whether it be Partygate or the Lord Alli donor story, reflecting the fact that established brands are still best placed to hold those in authority to account. Broadcast outlets still represent quality, in-depth and accurate journalism, which it why they have remained one of the most trusted news platforms.

For these reasons, the panel felt optimistic about the future of traditional broadcast, and its influence over the news cycle, with one speaker saying that they do not see a future where audiences only receive their news from social media.

Broadcast in an age of social media

However, broadcasters recognise that their social media content is an important part of engagement with audiences. Some traditional outlets are employing digital reporters who make bespoke content for online channels, and television or radio output is often repackaged up for digital platforms. Broadcast journalists have found that some stories do particularly well on online platforms, especially those with an international angle.

Social media has also provided presenters with the opportunity to increase engagement with their journalistic work, although this comes with its own challenges as they navigate the tightrope between boosting their profiles without compromising their brand’s values or their own integrity.

AI’s role in broadcast news

The improving capability of AI tools will affect broadcasters, but not necessarily to the extent that some have feared. Whilst generative AI may help some journalists to summarise information, or write news bulletins more quickly, there is a feeling that the human element will be of continued or even increased importance. The ability of journalists to discuss complex policy issues with government and outside experts will mean that their audience is more able to understand nuances than if they used an AI summary of public information, whilst there will be a need for ‘human checks’ on anything written by AI to ensure accuracy.

Engaging new audiences

In order to expand their audience reach, broadcasters have shifted to delivering content which ‘works for the consumer.’ This has included creating in-house podcasts which speak to the public’s desire for more ‘companionable’ and discursive forms of news, and making sure that these podcasts are released at the time of day that suits their subscribers, who may want listen on their way home or when they first wake up, rather than wait for the news bulletins at 6pm.

The panel particularly noted that broadcasters should make sure their content reaches and engages young audiences who are more likely to be open-minded about new perspectives and get their news from a variety of outlets than older generations.

What does this mean for businesses?

Just like print journalists, broadcasters value relationships with corporate communications advisers who are transparent and help them access expert business insights and opinions. Producers and editors work to tight deadlines and appreciate conversations which are direct and to the point. Panellists reflected that journalists have candid off-the-record conversations with politicians and their special advisers to help them better understand and report on an issue, and expressed a wish to have similar relationships with businesses.

Businesses should continue to work with these broadcast outlets- as the public are more likely to listen to what a business has to say if their messages are landed with impartial voices on trusted outlets. As part of this engagement, they should consider working with digital reporters on tailored stories for a broadcaster’s online channels.

WA Comms works closely with leading broadcast editors, presenters and producers, helping organisations navigate the media landscape and land their messages in an impactful way. You can download our new ‘Guide to working with broadcast’, or if you’d like to discuss how we can help you, please contact: Rachel Ford, Director of Corporate Communications, rachelford@wacomms.co.uk.

‘We’re getting nerdy, and our audience is coming with us’ – the shifting focus of energy reporting

This morning, WA Communications hosted a roundtable bringing together energy industry comms leads with three of the UK’s best-regarded energy correspondents: Jillian Ambrose (Guardian), Emily Beament (PA Media) and Rob Horgan (Utility Week).

The session explored the shifting media landscape, and what journalists are looking for from energy companies in the coming months – with all three journalists agreeing that readers are increasingly interested in the technical detail driving the net zero agenda and how it impacts their day-to-day lives.

A wide-ranging discussion followed – the key takeaways are outlined below:

There’s been a huge a shift in focus areas for energy journalists as they follow the interest areas of an increasingly engaged readership.

The more technical aspects of reporting – such as heat pump roll outs, or grid connection queues – have rapidly become a focus area for all energy reporting, when previously they might have been purely the remit of the trade press. These issues that previously might have only been covered by B2B trade press are generating high levels of engagement, not just in terms of clicks but with readers spending longer digesting technical and policy-driven aspects of reporting.

Holding the Government to account and demonstrating progress against stated ambitions will become increasingly important.

With a highly ambitious green agenda set out by the new Government, a key focus for energy journalists in the coming months will be to assess progress against stated targets. This won’t just be a case of asking probing questions around delivery timeframes; it will also mean scrutinising the efficiency of delivery – and any gaps. To some extent, the same will be true for businesses and how they are playing their role in contributing to the UK’s net-zero ambitions. Businesses that aren’t used to being held accountable on difficult questions can expect to face much higher levels of press scrutiny in the coming months.

Data remains king for energy reporters

With more technically-minded reporting lines, journalists are looking to businesses to provide data and insight they might not otherwise have access to. It’s no longer enough to put out a bold, inflammatory comment and hope it’s enough to inform what are inevitably complex and highly politicised conversations. Businesses need to be truly leading and informing these debates with real insight – and direct access to CEOs or members of staff that can speak to the data in a lot of detail will inevitably jump to the front of the queue.

There are topics flying under the radar that could heat up in the coming months as they start to impact readers’ day-to-day lives.

As the reality of net zero delivery and what it means for consumers starts to become more understood, further thorny issues will inevitably start to surface. We’re starting to see this with pylons being built across East Anglia which, over the past few months, has rapidly become a national topic of conversation. We can expect the elevation of ‘local’ issues to continue to snowball as consumers – many of them ardent net-zero supporters – are faced with the reality of what reaching this target means for them. Gas decommissioning was highlighted as another “elephant trap” that is currently yet to surface to the mainstream press.

For further information and data-driven insights, you can download our full report here.

WA Comms works closely with leading generators, global power management companies, clean tech start-ups and EV disruptors to secure impactful media coverage that supports commercial outcomes.

If you would like to discuss how we can help you, please contact:

Rachel Ford, Director, rachelford@wacomms.co.uk.

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How not to do crisis comms: a Beeb masterclass

‘No-one mishandles a crisis quite like the BBC’ – so said one anonymous source in yesterday’s Sunday Times. This comes as a Tweet from the W1’s best-paid presenter, denouncing Government immigration policy, left the Corporation floundering amid its biggest communications crisis of the year so far.

The BBC has been suffering from a well-documented ‘brain drain’ for several months, losing top billers Emily Maitliss, Jon Sopel and Louise Minchin to private rivals – leaving an unsettled company culture it its wake. This perhaps explains why a scandal of this magnitude was a long time coming, playing as it did, into both the culture wars, and the BBC’s own wavering sense of identity.

The first mistake made by the corporation was to overlook the core pillar of any crisis communication plan – preparation. The BBC Comms team should have recognised that with an employee base made up of high-profile, prolific Twitter users, a social media storm was always at the top of the risk register. As Lineker’s Tweet started to send shockwaves through the media, a pre-agreed protocol and dedicated crisis team should have leapt into action, rolling-out a well-rehearsed damage limitation exercise. As it happened, the BBC’s response was both agonisingly slow, and lacking any real clarity. With the Tweet published on Tuesday afternoon, it took until Friday for an official BBC decision on Lineker’s position to be communicated. At this point the statement released was that Lineker had ‘decided he would step back,’ teeing up the inevitable: Lineker himself making it clear the decision was not mutual.

Far from defusing the situation, this confused response further exacerbated it, detonating the long-ticking time bomb of dissatisfaction at Broadcasting House.

If the BBC’s failure to act quickly and decisively was its first failing, its second was underestimating the mutiny brewing amid its own staff. As Lineker’s colleagues fell behind him, refusing to appear on-air out of solidarity with the former striker, the story inevitably snowballed – rapidly becoming an internal comms issue as much as an external one. An apologetic email to staff from Director General Tim Davie seemed to do little to extinguish the revolutionary flames, with ‘senior reporters’ briefing against the Corporation and staff chats leaked to the Sunday papers.

All of this points to the importance of including internal comms as well as external in any crisis plan. The two are often inextricably intertwined, and disgruntled employees – if not effectively communicated with – can quickly become the story more than the original incident.

The mishandling throughout the week resulted in the inevitable – a painful climbdown from the BBC after days of standoff. Lineker is back on air and the BBC is attempting to maintain a ‘business as usual’ façade – but the damage has been done. In the end, with the BBC long hailed as a bastion of British journalism, the surprise was not the crisis itself, but its handling, given the 2,000 professional communicators in its ranks. In an organisation brimming with journalistic talent, a single Tweet was enough to bring it to its knees.

To find out more about how WA can help advise in a crisis, contact RachelFord@Wacomms.co.uk

You can find out more about the services we provide here.

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WA Communications bolsters corporate comms function with new hire

WA Communications has hired seasoned government communicator Rachel Ford as an Associate Director in their Strategic Communications practice.

Rachel is a media relations specialist with extensive experience working at the heart of government to promote policy, manage reputation and influence public opinion.

She joins WA after over seven years working on some of the most sensitive and high-profile issues in Whitehall, most recently running the press office at the Ministry of Defence. Rachel also spent several years at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and before joining government worked in PR where she brought health, charity and travel campaigns to life.

Rachel will now bring her in-depth knowledge of policy development, crisis comms and reputation management to bolster the corporate comms function within WA’s Strategic Communications team, which continues to go from strength to strength, with WA having seen 45% year on year growth across the agency.

Lee Findell, Partner and Head of Corporate Communications, WA Communications, said:

“Rachel brings a wealth of government, policy and media relations experience to WA and is a fantastic addition to our Strategic Communications team as we continue to grow our integrated, insight-led comms offer.
“Rachel will be invaluable in helping clients navigate the political and media landscape to make sure their messages are heard by the right people, at the right time.”

Rachel Ford, Associate Director, Strategic Communications, said:

“From energy and the housing market to health and the cost of living, WA helps clients navigate some of the biggest issues facing businesses and society today.
“I look forward to working with clients on these knotty issues to make sure messaging is relevant, targeted and can bring about real and lasting change.”

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Posts Tagged ‘corporate communications’

Getting your message heard: A guide to working with broadcast

‘We’re getting nerdy, and our audience is coming with us’ – the shifting focus of energy reporting

How not to do crisis comms: a Beeb masterclass

WA Communications bolsters corporate comms function with new hire

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