employment application

Not all journalists are equal

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Kaloyan Konstantinov is a Bulgarian journalist and student at King’s College London. He recently attended newsrewired and was inspired to write about his own experiences as an immigrant looking for a job and the struggles he’s faced despite his experience.

A talk at newsrewired on 19 July highlighted the Refugee Journalism Project that aims to support the re-establishment of careers for exiled journalists in the UK.

The speaker explained that the main problem facing the refugee professionals is not their lack of skills or the language barrier – but the fact that they simply do not know the right people. And while the audience, including myself, applauded the noble initiative I couldn’t help but think that such difficulties are not only limited to refugees but affect many of the foreigners in the UK educated abroad.

I arrived in England in January 2017 to study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London, starting from September. My intention was to use the time to find a job or at least manage to gain some UK-based experience in journalism. I have previously managed to balance work and study, graduating from the best university in Bulgaria and writing for one of the most prominent news outlets.

I was conducting investigations, interviewing foreign and domestic ministers, ambassadors, royals, artists and scientists, and reporting from around Europe. At the end of 2016, I received an award for journalistic excellence and became a member of the International Federation of Journalists. I have also worked as a PR for the exhibitions of Bryan Adams, Lenny Kravitz and Ulay. I did all of this before I turned 23.

Proud of my achievements, I immediately started applying for both full time and intern positions at various UK organisations, big and small. I was prepared to work for free, just to prove myself. You can probably guess that several months later there was no positive result. In fact, there was rarely a response at all.

Frustrated, I adopted a more aggressive approach by ‘headhunting’ editors and HR executives and sending them speculative applications. I lost count of the exact number of positions for which I applied, but it was more than 40. Meanwhile, some financial matters began to make my personal situation more pressing. I started applying for jobs at stores, restaurants, supermarkets and factories but I was rejected from every single one of them (again, over 40 and counting).

I was once told that my university degree is not recognisable and they couldn’t be sure whether I was telling the truth about my experience. I’m not alone, many educated and skilful foreigners struggle against such prejudice and discrimination.

I can hardly imagine how British journalism graduates, with no real experience, find a job at all.

To be honest, in the end, one place did hire me. Now I work in KFC and clean the bathrooms. I continue to apply for jobs, basically everywhere, and all the while, a nagging voice in my head insists that some people are more equal than others.

thewashingmachinepost

Blogger Spotlight: Brian Palmer, thewashingmachinepost

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Brian Palmer is the top 10 cycling blogger who writes thewashingmachinepost. Brian writes about the latest cycling goods and posts pictures of his scenic bike rides on the Isle of Islay. We caught up with Brian who told us about the joys of cycling, being friendly with PRs and the reason he doesn’t read other blogs…  

How would you describe your blog?
An overview of road bike culture.

Why did you start your blog?
To improve my writing skills.

What’s your favourite post?
The first interview I conducted with Richard Sachs.

If you were talking to a non-cyclist, how would you convince them it’s great?
Take them for a bike ride.

What’s the best cycling experience you’ve ever had?
It’s a tie between riding in Provence with Rapha and this year’s HOTCHILLEE London-Paris ride.

What’s the worst cycling experience you’ve ever had?
Probably trying to find my way round London.

What makes your blog successful?
I’m darned if I know.

What’s your favourite bike (ever)?
A Colnago C40.

How do you like to work with PRs?
In a relaxed and friendly manner.

What’s the one thing PRs should know about you?
I don’t take myself too seriously.

What are your favourite blogs to read?
Embarrassingly, I don’t read any other blogs in case they’re all better than mine.

Brian Palmer features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Poor reputation

Advertising and Reputation

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The politics of hate have once again become a burning issue on both sides of the Atlantic.

Stateside, a number of CEOs have quit advisory roles at the Whitehouse following President Trump’s position following the murder of an anti-fascist protester at a rally organised by right-wing organisations in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Speaking to journalists about his reason for resigning, Brian Krzanich, the CEO of Intel said: ‘I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence.

‘I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them. We should honour – not attack – those who have stood up for equality and other cherished American values. I hope this will change, and I remain willing to serve when it does.’

Other resignations include the CEOs of Under Armour and the Alliance for American Manufacturing who don’t want their brands associated with a Government who won’t actively challenge abhorrent views.

On this side of the pond, The Sun is facing possible investigation over columnist Trevor Kavanagh’s article in which he asks: ‘What will we do about The Muslim Problem then?’ This question has been likened to Nazi propaganda by Jewish and Islamic groups.

Highlighting the problem with such language, Richard Wilson, director of the campaigning group Stop Funding Hate wrote in the Guardian: ‘One of the hallmarks of extremism is a tendency to project guilt onto a whole community for the crimes of individuals within that group. Calling an entire section of our society a “problem” is not just divisive, it risks legitimising hatred towards anyone who happens to be a member of that community.’

Wilson’s suggested response to articles of this nature is to put pressure on the companies who fund the tabloid press through advertising.

Wilson continued: ‘The Sun – for understandable reasons – likes to characterise any challenge to its commercial interests as a threat to freedom of expression. But Evelyn Beatrice Hall never wrote: “I’ll defend to the death your right to get advertising revenue”. Trevor Kavanagh’s freedom to speak his mind does not oblige the rest of us to subsidise his opinions.’

The question is: how many brand owners see a direct connection to the media they advertise in to their reputation?

In an age where traditional press advertising yields a much reduced influence over purchasing decisions, you have to wonder when reputation will become a more important issue.

Blogger Spotlight: Victoria Bowskill, Vamper.cc

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Vamper.cc is the Top 10 Cycling Blog from Victoria and Matt. Covering the full range of cycling content, Vamper.cc also specializes in women in cycling – from suitable fitness clothing to encouraging more engagement. We spoke to Victoria Bowskill about the pair’s favourite bikes, worst experiences and how they work collaboratively with brands.

How would you describe your blog?
Vamper.cc is a cycling blog dedicated to seeking out style and performance on two wheels. We deliver product reviews, cycling tips and write-ups of our experiences on bikes in – we hope! – an approachable, personal way. We share everything that we find seductive about cycling, from the coolest kit we’ve spotted on our travels to amazing cycling routes. We regularly feature reviews of cycling kit – and they are unbiased and unpaid. Brands don’t pay us to feature their products, which makes us wholly impartial.

Victoria and MattWhy did you start your blog?
Vamper.cc was conceived to provide a platform for review and opinion on cycling fashion, trends, accessories, bikes and technology in a slightly different voice from mainstream cycling media.

While there are a number of popular news and review sites and cycling blogs, we believe their angle and bias can sometimes alienate riders who are perhaps new to the sport or who appreciate a more balanced outlook.

When we founded Vamper.cc two years ago, we also felt strongly that the representation and tailoring of content towards women’s cycling left a great deal to be desired. That is beginning to change, but we are still keen to further the reputation of women’s cycling and to raise the standard and quality of women’s cycling clothing and kit.

What’s your favourite post?
It’s a fairly old post now, but this one remains a favourite and has proved very popular – it seems to resonate with a lot of female cyclists.

If you were talking to a non-cyclist, how would you convince them it’s great?
For people who don’t cycle, it might seem incomprehensible that our best weekends involve stupidly early morning bike rides. But the greatest joy we’ve experienced on two wheels always comes from getting out at the crack of dawn while the roads are empty, and fitting in 30, 40, 50 miles before most people have picked up the Sunday paper! It’s the peace and tranquility of early morning rides, the flush on our faces after hours of exercising, and the exhilaration of fast hill descents that makes it such a fantastic activity. Even the challenge of hill climbing comes with rewards; it might hurt at the time, but the satisfaction of conquering a hill on your bike, the view from the top, and the speedy descent make it all worthwhile!

What’s the best cycling experience you’ve ever had?
We’ve had quite a few great experiences and it’s hard to narrow them down! The weekend where we completed the Huntingdon Steeplechase Sportive on the Saturday, followed by the PlanetX Oulton Park 100-mile challenge on the Sunday stands out as one of the most exhausting but also one of the most fun.

The Prudential RideLondon 100 never fails to bring a smile to our faces – the turnout of supporters along the route is a joy to behold.

And we had a fabulous outing with Yorkshire Velo Tours in the Yorkshire Dales – it was utterly beautiful, not to mention gruelling!

What’s the worst cycling experience you’ve ever had?
For Matt it has to be getting cramp at mile 67 of the Tour of Cambridgeshire. He had decided to ride the 84-mile sportive without taking a break in 28-degree heat, rode himself into the ground, and developed excruciating cramp which left him barely able to pedal. That wasn’t a good one!

For Victoria, it was riding her new bike with deep rims in Yorkshire on a particularly windy day. Utterly terrifying, she was certain she was going to be blown into the path of an oncoming lorry and had to get off and push.

What makes your blog successful?
Firstly, the two voices; we have a uniquely male/female perspective at Vamper.cc which makes the blog appealing to both male and female cyclists. Brands seem to really value the emphasis that we place on coverage of women’s cycling.

Secondly, the tone of voice; we have a conversational style that readers seem to find they can identify with. We don’t pretend to be better cyclists than we are; we don’t pretend that we don’t suffer on our bikes. We’re approachable (in life and on screen!)

Matt VamperWhat’s your favourite bike (ever)?
For Victoria, it has to be the Canyon//SRAM Ultimate CF SLX – utterly gorgeous.

For Matt, it’s the Dassi Interceptor, the world’s first (and only) graphene bike. We saw it at Rouleur Classic and we were blown away by it. A thing of beauty, with incredible, cutting edge technology. Wow.

How do you like to work with PRs?
We’ve worked with some fabulous PRs who are really proactive and passionate. We like to foster a close relationship with PRs to help to us to better understand what will bring the most value to their clients. Truly innovative PR campaigns come from a marriage of ideas and we like to think we can bring something different to the table.

We invite all pitches and approaches and we are always happy to look at any review request, trip or opinion piece to see what Vamper spin we might be able to put on it!

What’s the one thing PRs should know about you?
We have high standards. We won’t regurgitate poor press releases, and we won’t praise terrible products. If a poor product is sent to us to review, we’ll gladly pass our (constructive) criticism on via the PR so that the issue can hopefully be addressed rather than slating something online, but we won’t wax lyrical if we don’t like it.

What are your favourite blogs to read (outside of your own!)?
We’re big foodies, so we read a lot of food blogs – particularly Cookie & Kate, which is probably our current favourite.

In terms of cycling, we like the Australian blog Cyclingtips.com – it’s good for reading about cycling from a different perspective.

Victoria Bowskill and Vamper.cc features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Daily Mail online TV

The Mail Online – Coming to a TV Screen Near You

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The Mail Online is set to expand on its success in the US market, where it has already achieved the status of the most popular English-language news site, with the launch of a new hour-long television show which will be syndicated across the nation via a number of terrestrial TV channels.

According to a report on the Mail Online, DailyMailTV will launch Monday, 18 September and has been cleared by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, Gray Television, Inc., Cox Television and Nexstar Media Group to run in 96% of the United States.

It is also believed that the show will be available for sale to international broadcasters.

The Mail Online has secured the services of former American Football star, Jess Palmer, to host the show which will be filmed in New York. Palmer has previously worked as a football analyst for ESPN and for ABC News where he was a contributor to Good Morning America.

Speaking to journalists about the show, Palmer said: ‘I’m honored to be joining DailyMailTV. I’ve always been a huge fan of DailyMail.com, so to bring the world’s most read English language newspaper website to television for the first time is an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.

‘I love telling stories that engage and excite Americans and to be able to do this five days a week on DailyMailTV is a dream come true.’

In a press release announcing the launch of the show, a spokesperson for the Mail Online said: ‘From exclusive stories to breaking news, showbiz, politics, crime, health and science and technology, DailyMailTV will be must-watch television.

‘Sharing captivating stories from across the United States and around the globe, viewers will become addicted to DailyMailTV, just as they have to DailyMail.com.’

The Mail Online currently employs 260 staff in the United States and claims to publish some 1,600 articles every day.

Is PR social enough?

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Social media has democratized influence and media owners are no longer the keepers of the conversations. Content marketing evangelist Jaime Pham wrote for #FuturePRoof on the need for PR’s involvement in corporate social communications.

Social media’s role in conversations and relationships

Social media is really just a relatively new tool for executing the core competency of great PR teams: building and maintaining relationships with key audiences. What is the one thing that all healthy and sustainable relationships require?

Trust.

Trust requires consistency over time. Content marketing requires consistency over time. Hence why PR firms were among the prime movers in the rise of content marketing. Today, that continuing rise is being driven on social media: a natural platform for regular communication through content.

Trust also requires transparency. Effective participation in social media demands that companies communicate regularly and honestly. However, there is a flipside: honesty and transparency require vulnerability, and this is where traditional communications organisations often fall short. Communications and PR teams have historically been trained to control the flow of information, where now they must monitor and harness it in order to guide it.

Social media and the opportunity for PR

Encouraging greater transparency is where the real opportunity lies for the PR industry. Tapping that opportunity involves overcoming three barriers to change:

  1. Social media channels have been taken over by marketing teams and ‘influencer agencies’ that have little-to-no connection to what corporate communications and PRs are working on. Closer collaboration is needed in almost every organisation I have worked with.
  2. Social media marketing teams tend to focus on the ‘media’ part of the title, treating it like another megaphone. PR has an opportunity to focus on the ‘social’ part of the channel, unlocking its true value: the ability to make and maintain connections.
  3. PR as an industry has not been quick enough to empower employees and other advocates to participate in the storytelling process. When was the last time your executive team took a look at the company’s social media policy? When was the last time the policy was updated, or circulated within the company?

Building greater collaboration with social media marketing teams is an essential starting point for PR to make the contribution to social that it should. However, the biggest gains can be unlocked when the industry addresses the third point – and starts building momentum for employee advocacy.

People trust people more than logos. The Edelman Trust Barometer report illustrates this beautifully, through the fact that people trust employees at their own level more than they trust CEOs.

Edelmen Trust Barometer

 

LinkedIn’s audience research also confirms that content coming from peers and colleagues is more influential than content coming from brands.

LinkedIn research

This reflects LinkedIn’s evolution to a content and learning platform, where shared content is an essential currency in conversations and interactions, and over 150,000 articles are published every week. This is the democratization of influence at scale. It should inform how PR engages in the space – and there’s great opportunity when it does.

In January 2017, nearly 25% of the top posts on LinkedIn were about companies and the policies and issues they stand behind. However, less than 10% of the top posts actually came from leaders or employees themselves. These companies were happy to allow others to craft their reputations. They weren’t participating and they weren’t being seen to participate by their audiences.

When leaders are participating, the best of them do so in their own voice. They write their own messages, passing them through communications teams only for a speedy review, and for as little editing as possible. When business leaders communicate directly, it feels forthright and relatable – and earned media often follows.

PR practitioners – help your organisations empower employees to create their own content and share their own stories. Your core competency of building and maintaining relationships is as important as ever. However, you now have a lot more partners to work with on making it happen.

 

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Chequebook

Norwegian Billionaire Buys Stake in Johnston Press

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Christian Ager-Hanssen, the London-based Norwegian billionaire-owner of the Swedish version of the Metro has bought a 5% share in British regional publisher Johnston Press.

Shares in the company, which has been struggling with massive debt repayments, soared by nearly 20% following the news.

Johnston Press must pay off a bond of £220 million, used to fund a significant acquisition of titles in the 1990s, by 2019.

Ager-Hanssen believes he is in a position to help the company with the problem of the bond repayments and has lined up a number of investors who may be able to take on the debt.

Speaking to the press, Ager-Hanssen said: ‘I believe in the company and I think that they will be able to sort out the bond issue and that we can help them do that.

‘I think we need to move quite quickly. This is something that will happen over the next six months.’

Despite owning the Swedish edition of the Metro, Ager-Hanssen does not see any strategic synergies between the two brands. Instead he hopes to increase his investment in the publisher and use it as a springboard to launch new companies in the UK.

Ager-Hanssen said: ‘Where we are focused is actually building audience and we want to invest heavily into UK media. And we will do that. We will increase our stake in Johnston.

‘You can take Johnston’s audience, which is 32m, or 34m, and kick-start new companies like we did in Sweden.’

Johnston Press has welcomed the investment but is also keeping its cards very close to its chest regarding future plans, with a spokesperson for the publisher stating: ‘As a major new shareholder, and with his experience, we of course welcome a conversation with Christen and a meeting has been set up.’

Kirstie Pelling Stuart Pelling

Blogger Spotlight: Kirstie Pelling, The Family Adventure Project

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Kirstie Pelling is the Top 10 Family Travel Blogger, who along with husband Stuart, runs The Family Adventure Project. With content advocating being active and outdoors with your family, the blog’s ethos is always the spirit of adventure. Kirstie took some time to tell us about the magic of Iceland, loving cake and working creatively with PRs.

How would you describe your blog?
The Family Adventure Project is a magazine-style site that publishes feature style content about travel, adventure and outdoor activities. The site aims to share ideas, inspiration and practical advice to help people get out, get active, and explore and adventure together, whether for a day out on their doorstep or on a year-long journey around to the other side of the globe.

Why did you start your blog?
We started it because lots of people told us we couldn’t or shouldn’t adventure with kids. We kicked it off with a year biking New Zealand with our two toddlers. We wanted to connect with others who had a different view and to share our own ideas, inspiration and advice to show the amazing things that are possible with kids of all ages and experience.

What makes your blog stand out against other family travel blogs?
We have a clear focus on active and adventurous travel and broad experience travelling independently and on organised trips. We’ve been publishing a long time, over 10 years. We pride ourselves on the quality of our writing, photography and videography and have won multiple awards that recognise this. We are well connected and collaborate with other digital media professionals and collectives to extend reach and influence.

What’s the best place you’ve been as a family?
Iceland made an indelible mark. Everywhere you look magic is happening in or above the ground. And you can’t put it all down to the elves! We spent seven weeks touring the country and taking cycle trips on some of its remote roads. We can confirm that the dream road was dream cycling. We also went white water rafting, glacier hiking and Icelandic horse riding. Icelandic horses are the perfect size for kids.

What’s the worst place you’ve been as a family?
We work hard to embrace anything and everything we encounter! There are no worst places – we often pull together best as a family when we are out of our depth or in challenging terrain or environments. We always figure as long as we have a tent and the kids with us we’ll be fine anywhere.

What makes the ideal family holiday?
Going somewhere new, doing something we’ve not done before, being active and outdoors. We are also pretty fond of cake.

Where haven’t you been that you’re desperate to get to?
Alaska and Greenland. Not necessarily in that order.

How do you like to work with PRs?
We love a collaborative approach. We love to bring our ideas and experience to contribute to campaigns or to shape them in a way which will appeal to our audiences and niche.

What is the one thing PRs should know about you?
You can rely upon us to deliver.

What are your favourite blogs to read?
Alastair Humphreys, Escape Artistes and Inside the Travel Lab.

Kirstie Pelling features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Cold call

Is Cold Call PR Dead?

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Most good PR professionals know how to work the phone and email, constantly pitching to journalists and editors and hopefully getting them to buy into whatever they have to say that particular day of the week. But is this style of ‘cold call’ or ‘drive by’ PR actually the most efficient or effective use of your time?

How many sales calls or email pitches do you personally ignore, cut-short, delete without a thought – before ploughing through your contact list blindly pitching in the hope that something sticks?

Here’s a hint. Journalists hate this cold approach to pitching. It is untargeted, untimely and ultimately does more to destroy your reputation than win any new friends for your clients. In some cases, persistent drive by pitching is borderline harassment. If it’s a practice you personally indulge in, you might find yourself wondering why your calls go unanswered and emails are never returned.

Hint: It’s not OK to get stroppy with a journalist because they never return your calls. If they have never really engaged with you before on a professional level – they really owe you nothing and if you continue to ‘spam’ them, your pitches will be treated as such.

So what’s the point of having a contact list if you’re not going to work it?

Well that depends on how you are going to work it.

A decent contact list should be seen as the starting point of conversation that leads to a real relationship – and make no mistake, a good PR relationship needs to be worked on.

Pick-up the phone or send an email – but before you pitch do your research, use Vuelio’s Media Database to check out your target contact’s social media profiles, scan their posts, read their articles and work out what makes them tick. Then when the time is right – contact them to ask a question and learn something new about them.

Compliment them, tell them you’ve enjoyed their work and ask them about what projects they are currently working on and if there is anything you can help them with – it’s amazing how, when you have this information to hand, great things can happen. In the perfect world you’ll have shared a cup of coffee with your contact (even if that coffee is shared on Skype) before you start pitching.

When you build relationships, phone calls get answered, emails get returned and cold call PR suddenly becomes warm call PR.

How have you nurtured your contact lists before going in for the kill and pitching?

Snapchat

Snapchat analyst confused on hot mic

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Shares in Snap continue to decline after recently announcing missed targets on growth vs estimates. So, at a time when the company should be cosying up to Wall Street and reassuring investors, the last thing that should happen is your chief bamboozles analysts.   

But that’s exactly what happened when CEO Evan Spiegel was responding a to question from Wall Street analyst Rich Greenfield of BTIG who was requesting more details on growth hacking and the platform’s push notification strategy.

The exchange, in which Spiegel suggested Greenfield ‘go for a Google’ in order to get the answers he wanted, left the analyst’s colleague Brandon Ross to exclaim loudly and presumably accidentally, ‘I didn’t even understand his response!’.

Listen to the hot mic action in the video below or the full exchange here.

The transcript is as follows:

Greenfield: So maybe just to be clear: What exactly is the ‘growth hacking’ that others do? If you sending push notifications is not ‘growth hacking,’ what are others doing that you consider to be growth hacking and not real DAU growth?

Spiegel: Yeah, so I think there are plenty of examples online [laughs] if you want to go for a Google. But I think the most important thing for us is that when we’re telling you about content on a service that is really highly relevant to you and from your very close friends. And I think people, as they become more aligned on push notifications to sort of relax the standards there, and I think it’s important for our business.

Greenfield: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question is from Mark Mahaney with RBC …

Brandon Ross, BTIG analyst (loudly on hot mic): I didn’t even understand his response!

At a time when your company’s share price is struggling, investor relations are paramount to enable continued growth and support in order to turn your fortunes around.

Spiegel’s convoluted answers were seen as ‘cocky’ and ‘arrogant’, as the man at the top seems irritated that he has to explain his company and policies to external parties.

In an age of rapid-growth tech start-ups and personality-driven businesses, the role of traditional Wall Street investment may seem archaic to young entrepreneurs that expect to lead the market and have their visions de facto ‘believed in’.

No matter how disruptive you are, Wall Street and financial investment is still at the heart of modern commercial ventures and the sustainability of business in the 21st Century.

Having hundreds of millions of users may be a commodity, but if those who control the purse strings don’t understand how, you’re going nowhere.

Spiegel may sound like he regrets going public with his creation, but if he wants to thrive in the future then he’ll have to play nice for now.

Blogger Spotlight: Elliott Rae, MusicFootballFatherhood.com

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Elliott Rae is the founder and editor-in-chief of MusicFootballFatherhood.com. The site covers a range of topics around fathers and their interests, with a small team of writers specializing in different areas. We caught up with Elliott who told us about his fatherhood community, the five things that help balance his work/life and being at ease with PRs.

How would you describe your blog?
MusicFootballFatherhood.com (MFF) is the UK’s first parenting and lifestyle platform for diverse fathers. It offers them a safe space to explore the roller coaster of parenthood through think-pieces, recommendations, conversations and community. We’ve been called the ‘Mumsnet for dads’ which pretty much describes what we are!

What prompted you to document your life as a father in a blog?
I started MFF when my daughter was three months old, on New Year’s Day in 2016. I had loads of questions about fatherhood and wanted to hear about others’ experiences.

I had all the normal questions that new parents have: ‘How were they managing with the lack of sleep and complete change in their lives?’ ‘How did their relationships with their partners change?’ ‘How did they adapt their working pattern to ensure they had a good work-life balance?’ All these questions were on my mind and while there were platforms out there with this content, none of the articles were written by people like me, for people like me. There was nowhere online that I felt I could read or discuss all the questions I had, so I started MFF to provide that space. Since then, the platform has grown into an established website with several contributors and a team who help me with marketing, strategy and management.

How do you help your readers in their journey as a parent?
We encourage and empower dads to be free to talk and read about things that are important to them; stuff like work-life balance, money management, relationships and, of course, music and football. We share stories from fathers through blogs, review family days out and parenting products via the #MFFrecommends series and host conversations in the community via the weekly #DaddyDebates Twitter chat.

What is a typical day in your life?
On a weekday my alarm goes off at 6.30am although I usually press snooze a couple of times so it ends up being around 6.45am when I actually get up! I then have a quick shower, change and race out the door to be at work for 8.00am.

I’ll do a day’s work (I have a very responsible corporate job) and try and get out of the office at 6pm. If I’m lucky I’ll see my daughter before she goes to bed. I’ll then usually quickly have something to eat, then work on the website for as long as I can before I get too tired! I work compressed hours which means I fit five days into four. So it’s long hours from Monday-Thursday but come Friday it’s daddy-daughter day and we have the whole weekend together as a family. This really works for me and means I can spend quality time with my family.

Fiday and the weekends are usually spent at various baby groups, birthday parties or other activities designed to make sure our daughter is tired enough to sleep come bed time!

How do you manage to balance your blogging career and being a father?
It’s tough! It takes a lot of dedication and I am tired a lot of the time but I love living life to the full which means taking advantage of every minute to do something fulfilling and productive. I’ve actually written a post about this very subject and there are 5 things that I think really help me to balance all my responsibilities.

  1. It’s about having a routine so everyone in the family knows what’s happening and who’s doing what, when. This really helps to plan stuff and makes sure I don’t double book!
  2. It’s all about teamwork! Sometimes my wife will cover for me and I’ll cover for her. It just depends what we have going on but as long as we communicate and support each other there’s always a way.
  3. It’s about being efficient. If I am writing an email or doing pretty much any other work-related activity, it’s about finding the best and quickest way to do it while still maintaining the desired quality.
  4. It’s about changing and evolving. When you have a baby for the first time it’s a massive change in your life and you need to adapt the way you do things. This doesn’t mean life stops, it’s just about doing things differently. Be smart about how you do things and anything is possible.
  5. Lastly, and sadly, I do unfortunately sometimes sacrifice sleep. I try to look after my health in general but there are the days when I get less sleep than I should so I can work on my website. I’m trying to get better!

What did you learn about yourself after becoming a parent?
Oh my gosh, so much. I think the main thing is patience. I think I was pretty patient before but parenthood really tests that and takes you to the brink, especially in the early months. I’ve learned to be self-reflective and think about my behaviour because I now have someone looking up and learning from me. It’s a massive responsibility but the greatest gift. Every time I look at my daughter I am just filled with so much love and amazement. Seeing her grow and learn is the best thing ever.

Elliott Rae and daughterWhat are the main challenges that fathers face?
I’ve got a few! I think discipline is a hard one. It’s tough to know when and how to discipline your child and it’s difficult to find that right balance between being an authoritative figure and a friend. I’m not sure anyone is really sure if they are getting it right but you just have to go with what you think is best for you and your child.

I also think work-life balance is quite difficult. Fathers often feel pressure to provide the best for their family so they work really hard to be able to do that. But that means missing out on being a present dad which can be difficult. I think there are things in place to help change this (like the Shared Parental Leave policy) but it’s difficult. I think those are the two challenges that most fathers will face but no doubt there are many more that are specific to everyone’s personal situation!

How do you like to work with PRs?
I like to work with PRs that really value the platform we have and understand what we are trying to achieve and what we stand for. I am generally flexible as to how we work with PRs but I think the main thing is just to have a nice human relationship with the PR company. Behind the platforms we are all just normal people so I really like it when I can be myself and have a laugh and joke while still being able to have serious conversations about T&Cs, expectations and money.

And how can PRs improve their blogger outreach?
Ermm, good question! I’ll talk about the experiences I‘ve had which have gone well. So where it’s worked is where the PR has taken the time to understand MFF and pitched a product or service that clearly fits with the platform. The approach has been nice and friendly but also succinct and clear about what the overall offer is. I like it when we can then work together to come up with a creative idea and then agree a fee and T&Cs. I think it’s really important with what happens after the campaign is finished too. I like to provide a report on how the campaign went and it’s always good to get feedback from the PR, this way we can both improve how we do things the next time and this usually results in us collaborating again!

What advice would you give to a new dad or dad-to-be?
To embrace it all and dive straight in! It’s so important to bond with your baby from the very beginning so my number one piece of advice is to immerse yourself in the whole experience and be as involved as you can. Even though you’ll be knackered it will be worth it in the long run because the bond you build with your child will see you through all the challenges that come in the months and years ahead.

What is it that helps you to cope when the going gets tough?
I really enjoy blogging and running MFF so I wouldn’t say things get tough in that area, if anything it’s supposed to be the stress reliever! But life can get tough sometimes and so I always make sure I take some time out. Whether that’s watching a movie or going to visit friends and having a drink, just switching off from it all for a while is really important for me.

 

Elliott Rae features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 11 August 2017

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A round-up of all the trending media, marketing and PR stories you shouldn’t have missed this week.

1. Netflix buys Millarworld

Netflix on iPad

In its first ever acquisition, streaming behemoth Netflix has acquired Glasgow-based comic-book publisher Millarworld. This opens up the door for Netflix to create a whole host of content around existing characters from Millarworld’s founder Mark Millar. The ex-Marvel man has already had cinematic hits with Kick-Ass, Wanted and Kingsman, and Netflix is keen to expand the heroverse by capitalising on Millarworld’s other characters and new stories yet to be developed.

The acquisition is suspected to be a reaction to our second story from the week:

 

2. Disney pitches its own streaming service

Disney

Nothing says convenient like having to pay for another on-demand streaming service, but Disney is nevertheless moving forward with plans to start its own, as an outlet for all of its content. The news came one day after Netflix announced its acquisition and was seen, therefore, as the motivation. However, Netflix’s original series of Marvel’s The Defenders (and their individual storylines) will remain with them, and then more details emerged which made the future of other Marvel titles and the Star Wars franchise unclear.

Disney is keen to promote a new platform for children’s entertainment and the Disney channels but its subsidiaries’ creations may still be up for grabs.

 

3. #ILiveItIBlogIt goes live this Sunday

Iliveitiblogit

John Sennett is behind the blog John’s Road to Volunteering, and this week he is launching the #ILiveItIBlogIt campaign for bloggers everywhere.

Encouraging the diversity that makes the UK blogosphere so rich and interesting, the campaign is asking for bloggers of all types to take time on Sunday to write about an experience, idea or opinion and share it using the #ILiveItIBlogIt hashtag.

Find out more information about the campaign and how to get involved here.

 

4. David Cameron snapped in unlikely scenario

A photo of former prime minister David Cameron has been delighting the internet this week as it shows him both smoking and hugging Lucy Edwards who was clad in a Corbyn coat.

The picture spawned a number of August-worthy think pieces, including an exploration into politicians who have struggled to give up smoking and the Guardian’s faux interview which includes the line:  ‘Do say: “David Cameron, absolute lad.”’

Couldn’t have even planned it ? (big Dave C in the house, shame he can’t read)

A post shared by Lucy Edwards (@laeedwards) on

5. August news too much for some

Surfing dogs

August is known as the silly season because the politicians are in recess, schools are out and everyone is on holiday. But it seems that the lighter side of the news has become too much for one BBC News presenter.

Simon McCoy struggled with his enthusiasm as he delivered a surfing dogs story. Watch his full report below:

Blogger Spotlight: Samantha Rickelton, North East Family Fun

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Samantha Rickelton is the Top 10 Family Travel Blogger responsible for North East Family Fun. Covering a range of family travel experiences with her three children, Samantha has taken some time to tell us about her lack of WIFI fears, Calella de Palafrugell in Spain and PRs encouraging creativity.

How would you describe your blog?
Our blog features the highs and lows of travelling with three children aged six, eight and 10. We cover everything from days out and wild camping in our local woods to luxury holidays and short breaks.

Why did you start your blog?
As a young parent living in a small flat with no garden, I always made it my mission to plan lots of outdoor adventures for our family. Over time, my friends and family would say I was their go-to person to ask advice for where to take their children for the next day out and mentioned that I should set up my own website. So I did! I Googled ‘how to set up a website’ and my first blog was born. North East Family Fun was established a few years later in 2013 as I decided there was a gap in the market for real and honest reviews of local days out and this has gradually evolved to cover travel experiences around the world as my blog has grown.

What makes your blog stand out against other family travel blogs?
I would like to think it’s my writing style. I have a very conversational style of writing and I think it feels as if I am chatting with friends rather than a reader. I try to weave our life stories into our reviews (for example we visited Swansea Bay recently and I was nearly traumatised as I had no phone signal or WIFI) rather than write straight reviews and think that my readers really relate to my experiences and my honesty.

What’s the best place you’ve been as a family?
The best place we’ve visited in recent years is Calella de Palafrugell in Spain. We are huge foodies and this traditional village is full of Spanish charm and has a harbour lined with superb seafood restaurants. The whole holiday was all about eating delicious food and relaxing as a family. We loved it so much we are heading back next year. Calella de Palafrugell is one of the few places I’ve been able to properly switch off.

What’s the worst place you’ve been as a family?
Oh this is a tricky one! I think I would have to say the seaside town of Bridlington in North Yorkshire. We love Scarborough and visit every year – it’s such a nostalgic place to visit and there is lots to do for families. We made the mistake of venturing a little further and trying Bridlington as an alternative one year but it just wasn’t for us. Perhaps it’s because Bridlington doesn’t hold any memories for us but we found it really tacky and grim and left after around 20 minutes.

What makes the ideal family holiday?
Our number one priority is food – it doesn’t have to be fancy but we are huge fans of eating locally. We always choose somewhere to stay based on local restaurants or food markets. We use our holiday time as a chance to unwind and beautiful locations and scenery certainly help. Finally, as I work as a full-time blogger, I do appreciate access to WIFI so I can check my emails – it doesn’t have to be constant but if I can’t connect after a couple of days, I start to get tetchy!

Where haven’t you been that you’re desperate to get to?
I have a few places on my travel bucket list. I would absolutely love to visit Iceland and relax in a natural hot spring. Everyone who has travelled there tells me it’s unforgettable. I’d also really love to visit Singapore, Japan and Canada at some point.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I always appreciate when a PR is straight from the outset about expectations and it’s helpful to know the aim of the campaign during initial discussions. After this, I really love it when a PR encourages creativity and does not place too many limitations on the type of content I can create. I like to have an email trace between myself and a PR of anything we’ve agreed and it’s super handy to receive a check list to use during campaigns featuring things like hashtags, Social Media handles and the campaign aims all in one place.

What is the one thing PRs should know about you?
We are a family of five with three children aged six, eight and 10. Please take this into consideration before contacting us. There’s nothing more frustrating than receiving an exciting invitation and then realising it is only suitable for a family of four.

What are your favourite blogs to read?
I love watching Katie Ellison’s vlogs. Katie’s editing is superb and she is a real YouTube inspiration to me. In the North East, I never miss a post from Nomipalony. Nyomi’s blog tells it how it is and there is no subject matter that’s off limits. Finally, Sprog on the Tyne is a go-to blog for many parents with smaller children across the North East. Caroline’s photography is of a professional standard and her reviews are always very thorough. I’m really pleased that Caroline has agreed to cover the Just So Festival for North East Family Fun this year and can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

Samantha Rickelton features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Should Boris Johnson be jailed? David Davis’ ex Chief of Staff thinks so

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The former Chief of Staff to David Davis has taken to Twitter in a scathing attack of the Government’s Brexit strategy.

James Chapman, who was also George Osborne’s director of communications and now works at Bell Pottinger, has roundly criticised both the Leave campaign and the Government for the way they have embarked upon Brexit. His decision to question ministers on Twitter shows another example of the social media site’s increasing role as a place for discussion with and between politicians.

One of Chapman’s more striking tweets was his suggestion that those who had been involved in the Leave campaign should be jailed: ‘Let’s be honest, if we had an effective electoral law leading Brexiteers would now be in jail. #wheresmy350maweekboris.’ His outburst drew the ire of Nigel Farage, who questioned which side Chapman was ‘really working for in the Brexit department’.

Speaking to the Guardian, Chapman explained he took to Twitter because the ‘clock is ticking’ on Brexit, and felt the fear of ‘being called saboteurs, wreckers and people defying the “will of the people”’ had left the frontbenches of the main parties ‘paralysed’.

While Chapman no longer works for the Conservatives, his close work with cabinet members shows the extent to which Brexit is dominating, and splitting, the party which is very much known for towing the line when it comes to public outcries. That this new type of politics is playing out not in the newspapers, but on social media, shows just how much times have changed.

Jamie Oliver accuses Government of lack of PR

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Celebrity chef and food campaigner Jamie Oliver has attacked the Government for its lack of PR or comms following the publication of its delayed childhood obesity plan last August.

The report, which was published during parliamentary recess, was a much scaled down version of the one previously prepared for David Cameron, which looked at recommendations regarding advertising junk food to children and supermarket discounting.

Speaking to journalists at The Sunday Times, Oliver said: ‘It was released at the same time the A-level results came out, with no marketing, no comms, no PR.’

He continued: ‘In code, that means, “We don’t give a f***”. It was unbelievable. Blatant.’

Oliver’s concerns were supported by Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, who told journalists at PR Week: ‘Mr Oliver, who knows a thing or two about PR and getting a message across, is absolutely right in his criticism of Mrs May and her utter disregard in tackling childhood obesity.’

However, sources at the Department of Health have described Oliver’s criticism as ‘completely unfounded’ and said the release of the report followed ‘standard announcement protocol’.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: ‘The launch was covered extensively by media.

‘We don’t put press releases on gov.uk, we put them on our blog – this is standard practice. News stories are often put on gov.uk if we don’t send out a usual press release, whereas we briefed this press release straight out to national media instead.’

Despite this, food campaigners have rallied around Oliver claiming the release of the story was held back intentionally until late in the day to limit media pick-up.

While childhood obesity is a major concern to Government, moves to push up the price of often ‘cheap’ junk food could be incredibly unpopular with certain sections of the population. In times of austerity and uncertainty over Brexit, is the ongoing childhood obesity crisis something that needed to be swept under the carpet to secure future support from (often) struggling families and the food industry?

Julie Creffield

Blogger Spotlight: Julie Creffield, The Fat Girls’ Guide to Running

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Julie Creffield is the Top 10 Fitness and Exercise Blogger behind The Fat Girls’ Guide to Running. The blog covers health and fitness advice for the plus-size running world as well as inspiring stories to motivate readers. Julie has told us all about promoting health and happiness, getting creative with PRs and writing something just a little bit naughty…

How would you describe your blog?
It is a mix of race reviews, rants about health and fitness, useful tips and advice, and stories of inspiration found in the plus size running world.

Why did you start your blog?
A few years into my running journey I came last in a race and by the time I got to the finish line it was gone, along with everyone else. I was angry and embarrassed, but also realised it was quite a funny story and perhaps other larger runners could relate to my journey.

What makes your blog different from other fitness blogs?
The fact that I promote health and happiness at whatever size you happen to be, it doesn’t focus on weight loss at any cost. I also think using the information and data I have from my online programmes, I am able to raise issues about the state of the health and fitness world, and women’s sport and then challenge the thinking in ways that other fitness professionals perhaps do not.

What’s the next big fitness trend going to be?
I think online coaching is going to continue to grow. Games-based workouts and communities for people to come together and participate without having to physically be there. I also think (or hope) that family-focused activities will increase too.

What piece of equipment or tech is your go-to workout companion?
My Garmin watch – I can’t run without it.

 What’s your favourite workout class or routine?
I’m loving CrossFit at the moment. Don’t get me wrong its hard as hell, but I love how it challenges me, but also challenges everyone else to rethink their views on what a body like mine can do.

What was your favourite blog post to create and why?
I loved writing How to protect your flaps, chaps and cracks in this heat just because it was fun, provocative and a little naughty. It got loads of traction and readers seemed to like it.

How do you see your blog developing in the future?
I want to tell more of the stories of the women in my community. I also think now we are starting to deliver on the ground programmes there will be a bit of a shift towards this. On a personal level I want to do more speaking gigs, I love getting in front of an audience to tell my story, making them laugh, inspiring them to make changes of their own.

What makes your blog successful?
Its honesty and the fact I don’t take myself too seriously. The fact that I like writing helps, it never feels like a chore, even when I have a back log of posts to go out.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I get approached by tons of PR companies, the ones that are enjoyable to work with are the ones who don’t send copied and pasted info out and have never read your blog; PR companies that have a budget to work properly with bloggers, that respect the time and effort it takes to build an engaged audience. I also like PR companies that are willing to discuss creative ways of working together on campaigns.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I don’t like having my time wasted. Let’s be adult and be up front about what shared value there is in any potential partnerships. But also, I am loyal and always up for helping out where I can. My favourite type of partnerships are ones that involve travel… so yes, if you need a blogger who represents the every woman to go check out a race in a far flung part of the world – I’m your girl.

What are your favourite blogs to read?
HelsBels – I love how passionate Helen is about fitness… oh and food. Mother Pukka – not fitness related, just love how stylish but also how outrageous this mum can be (and that she’s built a successful career from it).

Julie Creffield features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

 

Worried About Fake News? Trust the British

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Americans concerned about fake news are turning to the British media for their version of the truth according to recent research by The Reynolds Journalism Project.

Four of the most trusted news organisations are British, with he Economist, Reuters, BBC and the Guardian featuring in the ten most trusted news sources.

The Trusting News Report 2017 asked 9,000 respondents to name three news sources they trusted and three news sources they didn’t trust.

The Economist came out on top with 100 percent trusting their news.

Reuters and the BBC also did very well in the report with the majority of respondents stating they were trusted news sources.

The Guardian was the seventh most trusted news source, coming just behind National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

Both the Guardian and the Economist have invested heavily in the American markets with the Guardian recently winning a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Edward Snowden leaks, and the Economist able to boast of a circulation of 850,000 copies a week in North America.

Media combatants on all sides of the President Trump verses the media wars all fared pretty badly with CNN and Fox News coming out as largely untrusted.

In terms of new media publishing, the liberal-leaning Huffington Post did poorly with most respondents distrusting its news. However, Buzzfeed did even worse, falling behind the right-wing Breitbart and conspiracy-theory-fuelled Infowars news service.

Interestingly, the Daily Mail Online, the world’s most popular news website, with a huge US-based operation, wasn’t mentioned in the report.

With so much mud being thrown by politicians, journalists and social media ‘keyboard warriors’ the report hopes to shine some light on how the public actually perceive outlets in this era of fake news.

It also reminds us that certain sections of the British media really are something to be proud of and perhaps should be cherished more.

Blogger Spotlight: Jo Morgan, Resourceaholic

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Jo Morgan is the Top 10 Education Blogger who writes Resourceaholic. After spending seven years in the city, Jo retrained as a maths teacher and now shares ideas and resources on her blog to make other maths teachers’ lives easy. Here Jo told us about the recruitment crisis in education, the online maths teaching community and inspiring teachers.

How would you describe your blog?
My blog exists to make maths teachers’ lives easier. I write about my experiences in the classroom, reflecting on what works well and what I could do better. I carefully collate resources, ideas and information to support teachers, both in the UK and further afield.

Why did you start your blog?
During term time, a teacher’s workload is overwhelming and relentless – we rarely get time to reflect on our subject knowledge and think about whether we’re using the best explanations and resources. When I went on maternity leave in 2014 I took the opportunity to gather my thoughts. I started a blog to keep track of all the ideas that I wanted to try when I returned to work. Then I joined the maths teaching community on Twitter, and it was a revelation. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with ideas, advice, resources – it was amazing! I blogged about everything that inspired me. Three years later, I’m still doing that.

What’s the biggest issue facing education at the moment?
The challenges are plentiful! Speaking specifically about maths education, the recruitment and retention crisis is a huge concern. We simply can’t find suitable people to teach maths lessons. Official government measures mask the extent of the problem – in reality, many schools are really struggling to recruit and retain specialist maths teachers. This puts huge pressure on teachers, who are already buckling under the weight of a heavy workload, continuous curriculum change, serious budget constraints and challenging student behaviour.

Jo Morgan - Resourceaholic 2What’s the best thing about the education sector in the UK?
The collaboration is wonderful. In the last few years, social media has become a highly effective mechanism for sharing ideas and debating the big issues. This shift has hugely benefitted our profession. Teachers are now better able to keep up to date with research, to critically evaluate curriculum and pedagogy, to access new resources and to share best practice. In the best interests of their students, teachers now collaborate like they never could before.

What was your favourite lesson at school?
I did Politics at A level and a newly qualified teacher started teaching my class at the start of Year 13. He quickly realised that our knowledge of politics was awful, and he immediately threw his lesson plans away and started from scratch, explaining the very fundamentals of the political spectrum with expertise and enthusiasm. Suddenly I was filled with confidence and intrigue. It was probably one of the first lessons he ever taught as a qualified teacher and he’ll never know how much impact it had.

Who was your most inspiring teacher at school?
Every one of my teachers was inspiring in their own way. I had the same maths teacher for four years before he took a sabbatical – I remember him as highly knowledgeable, calm, well organised and utterly reliable. In terms of how I teach now, he was a huge inspiration to me.

What is your favourite post from your blog?
A few years ago, the Government launched the Maths Hub initiative and, perhaps understandably, it was met with a lot of scepticism from maths teachers. I went along to a hub launch event with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised when I came away buzzing with ideas. The post I wrote about this event Ideas from Shanghai set out mathematical ideas that my readers really enjoyed exploring. It generated a lot of discussion, and perhaps sparked some curiosity. It was the first post that got my blog noticed by teachers in the US.

How do you like to work with PRs?
My blog is just a hobby really… I don’t promote products unless they are free and I think they will genuinely be of interest to maths teachers and will benefit their students.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I’m on Twitter all the time!

What are your favourite blogs to read?
Tom Sherrington’s teacherhead is one of my favourite blogs about education in general. It’s fantastic. I think that subject-specific blogs are incredibly important in our profession – blogs written by history teachers about teaching history, blogs written by English teachers about teaching English and so on. These blogs make a huge difference to what happens in our schools. I love all maths teacher blogs, including Mel Muldowney’s JustMaths blog, Kris Boulton’s blog …to the real and Mark McCourt’s The Emaths blog.

Jo Morgan features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

#ILiveItIBlogIt campaign goes live this Sunday

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John Sennett is the blogger behind John’s Road to Volunteering who this week is launching the #ILiveItIBlogIt campaign for bloggers everywhere.

Celebrating diversity and individuality in blogging, the campaign aims to give bloggers a voice and unite them against stereotypes.

John believes the purpose of the blogging community is to embrace someone’s traits and flaws and the campaign will focus on individual bloggers as well as encouraging the wider community to get involved.

On Sunday 13 August, John is encouraging people to tweet, blog or vlog about a personal experience, idea or opinion which represents who they are. Using the hashtag #ILiveItIBlogIt, these unique stories will be brought together to celebrate the differences in the blogosphere.

John said: ‘To showcase diversity isn’t just how someone looks or the content they upload, but the story behind it. The places people take their photographs, how they get to those locations, the fact we don’t all have a money tree and are able to spend loads on equipment. Diversity is every inch of someone’s story, and #ILiveItIBlogIt will highlight this in a powerful message.’

At 6pm on Sunday, a short campaign video will go live on John’s Twitter account @JohnRdtoVol, featuring these 11 bloggers:

Mike
@Mike_Douglas_ mikesopenjournal.com

mikes open journal
‘Mike’s Open Journal started out as an outlet for me while I was in a particularly bad place with my mental health. Now I am delighted to share not just my struggles but also the amazing things I get to participate in.’

Charlie
@charlielfriend charliefriendofficial.com

Charlie friend and fordtography
‘I’m Charlie. Born and raised in South East London, I am a true common (arguably cockney) girl who is a completely honest oversharer that has a blog all to do with life, fashion and beauty. All the usual stuff bloggers rave about basically.’

John
@JohnRdtoVol johnsroadtovolunteering.com

John
‘The bald guy championing personal development by using his own personal story to help others succeed in life.’

Josh
@jb_new lookdwn.com

JB new
Josh Burrell is a Londoner who has been writing and blogging since 2007. He studied Journalism at university and established the blog LOOKDWN.com covering lifestyle and travel, events, food and restaurant reviews as well as social commentary and creative writing.

Sophia
@SophiaWhitham1 sophiawhitham.co.uk

Sophiawhitham1
‘I’m a 22-year-old Kings College graduate leaving the green fields of home behind and embarking on a new life in London. Sophia Whitham is a lifestyle blog in my own image, taking you on a ‘walk in my world’ from university to independence and adulthood. It is based entirely on my own journey and experiences, there’s no sugar coating of tough or embarrassing experiences and I pride myself on transparency.

Lauren + Maddy
@lols92 + @Mads_1992 twogirlssamepassions.com

lols92 and mads 1992
‘We’re Lauren & Maddy, twins who decided to start a blog together. We wanted to have a place where we can put our thoughts out there on the things we love & are interested in.’

Tajinder
@musicgeekonline musicgeekonline.co.uk

Musicgeekonline
‘I’m Tajinder, content creator and fashion enthusiast. I’m a lifestyle, fashion and music blogger with an aim to empower women, increase confidence and spread positivity.’

Kaye
@Fordtography fordtography.co.uk

Fordtography
Kaye is a freelance fashion photographer by day and a blogger by hobby.

Mario
@MetaphoricallyM metaphoricallyme.com

Metaphoricallym
‘I’m Mario El, a lifestyle and twin blogger.’

Rebecca
@r_henders rvhenderson.com

r henders
A Top 10 female PR blogger. Bright Lights Big City is a public relations and lifestyle blog with a hint of current adventures.

Kieran + Hannah
@KH_Travels khtravels.org

KH travels
‘We’re a mixed-raced travel couple with a passion for volunteering. From luxury hotels to village huts you name it we love it so long as it involves people, new experiences and new memories!’

Graduates leaving journalism for PR

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Graduate trainee journalists are leaving journalism in their droves to follow a career in PR due to “copy and paste” practices adopted by many online newsrooms.

Speaking to Press Gazette, an unnamed source said that more than half of a national newspaper’s graduate trainee intake had abandoned their careers in journalism for the PR industry in the past two years.

The main reason for this mass change of career is the culture of “ripping” news from other sources with many journalists believing the job is no longer the career they trained for.

The source said: ‘The aggression in the newsroom is fine, they know that’s coming, and you know you are going to get abuse on social media – a lot of it is drive-by stuff.

‘But what people can’t take is the culture of ripping news from everyone else because it is not what they are taught at journalism school. They are totally deskbound and dependent on other websites for stories, the choice of which is dictated by the editors.

‘The graduate trainees are all leaving and moving into PR and marketing roles. They are continually asked to do what is called a “rip” – a copy and paste and a slight re-write, and no-one wants to do them.’

According the source, many young journalists are left frustrated by their stories being ripped by rival publications who then go on to drive much more traffic to the piece than the original article.

The source continued: ‘A lot of young journalists are falling by the wayside because of this culture.’

‘The hours are tough, the abuse online is tough, holiday requests don’t get approved… and what’s disappeared is the creative part of the job that made all that worth it.’

Did you leave a career in journalism to enter the world of PR? Why did you make the move? Leave a comment below.