‘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.