‘Original data is so crucial to what we do’: Media interview with Jack Simpson, money reporter at The Times

The announcement of the Budget is always an important date in the diary for anybody working in media and communications, especially with a Chancellor that is under increasing pressure and a Labour Government that continues to struggle in the polls.

But what is the day like to cover as a journalist? We caught up with The Times’ money reporter Jack Simpson to talk about exactly that, as well as how PRs can help most effectively on the day, and what else can be done to make the relationship between the two smoother in the future.

What’s it like to cover the Budget announcement as a money reporter?

It’s quite interesting, because ahead of the day there’s so much planning and organisation that goes into it. Weeks out, reporters are being asked to try and find budget case studies that you can line up, get people pictured and have ready to go. On the day of the budget, you have people at your fingertips who can speak on different issues and respond to it, which is something people might not know. The day itself is also why you’re in journalism and is really exhilarating because you’re responding to all the announcements.

This year there was a lot of policy kite-flying from the Government, so we knew a lot of the policies that were coming in advance. We also got the OBR report before the budget was actually released, which helped in terms of lining stories up. But the hard work starts after the speech takes place. You write the quick, snap news stories, but then you’re looking at angles to take stories on. So, on the Thursday, for example, I was tasked with trying to find a case study of someone who was hit by the mansion tax, who had bought their property for a really low price many decades ago, but now it’s worth well over two million. That involved me trudging around Notting Hill, knocking on doors and trying to find someone, and I found this lovely 88-year-old woman called Eimear Murphy, who bought a house in 1970 for £4,000, and now it’s worth around £4 million. She’d be hit by it, but she didn’t have much income. That hopefully shows what it’s like.

Did anything come up in the Budget that you weren’t expecting and then had to report on?

I was focusing mainly on mansion tax but I suppose that inheritance tax for the infected blood scandal, we weren’t expecting and it came out. Also there was an increase in income tax on profits made by landlords of 2%. We’d heard that there might be something with landlords, but that it would more relate to the National Insurance contribution. That was a little bit of a surprise, but on Budget day, you’ve got your role and you’re almost blinkered to that. It’s not until later in the day, when you kind of take it all in, that you kind of see the other things that have been announced, and pick the details out of that.

When covering major stories like the Budget or the cost-of-living crisis, what is the most helpful information from PRs during this time?

I think data is so important in personal finance journalism. If you can come up with an interesting angle, or be able to crunch the numbers to show that the impact of X policy will be this on a certain demographic or person, that sort of thing is what we’re really looking for. In the fallout from the Budget, we want to know how much this tax will cost, for example, a mid-earner over the next three years. That sort of data and original data is so crucial to what we do.

The other thing that I see journalists post about on social media is getting 600 emails on Budget day and getting loads of the same quotes. PRs have these experts at their fingertips, and I think it’s worth speaking to them and trying to find novel and interesting new angles from them, because that’s what the journalists want. After the initial wave of writing the pieces about the Budget, they’re looking for the next angle on what has been announced or an interesting new angle or outcome of certain policy. So I’d always recommend a chat with your experts and seeing if there’s new things that you can come up with, because that’s what really grabs our attention.

You’ve previously covered business and transport at The Guardian and The Telegraph respectively – what do PRs need to know about the work of a reporter with a specific patch to cover?

The best PRs are the ones I can speak to openly and honestly about what I need. I know I can pick up the phone and they will tell me straight away that they can either provide me with what I want or that they can’t. A lot of PRs just pitch blindly and send press releases and that’s not helpful to me.

Quality definitely overtakes quantity in terms of what you’re sending through to a journalist. I would say really think about that journalist, who they are, who they’re working for, what kind of stories they’ve covered before, and then really try and tailor stuff to them. Too often you get absolutely swamped with information and therefore it’s much more effective if you tailor the email. Then once you get one successful interaction, you start building that relationship and then more stories will come from it.

What would make the PR/journalists relationships smoother and more beneficial for both sides, in your opinion?

I’ve always thought that an open and honest relationship with PRs makes it really worthwhile. Nothing’s ever personal – if you write a bad story about a company or a negative story, it’s usually based on facts. I think that they’re the most helpful and beneficial relationships when you can just be open and honest with the PR and I think that works both ways. Other than that, from the point of view of the PR, it’s just taking a bit more time to think about who you’re aiming your pitches at and whether they will land, and maybe take a bit more time to think about it.

For extra help with your pitching to the media, check out the Vuelio Media Database. and ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.