{"id":141537,"date":"2022-11-23T11:22:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T10:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=141537"},"modified":"2022-11-23T15:28:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T14:28:30","slug":"finding-a-new-angle-how-to-break-through-a-busy-news-cycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/finding-a-new-angle-how-to-break-through-a-busy-news-cycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding a new angle: How to break through a busy news cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cost-of-living crisis<\/a>, ongoing changes in the UK Government, the invasion of Ukraine, the World Cup (Joe Lycett), the Royals \u2013 it may feel like pitches unrelated to these subjects will struggle to find a place in the UK media right now, but there is a place for every story if you find the right angle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At our recent Journalist Voices by Vuelio event, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Yolanthe Fawehinmi, Marie Claire\u2019s Ally Head and freelance journalists Hannah Ajala and Isabella Silvers shared the opportunities for PRs reaching out to the media.<\/p>\n

Before trying a tenuous link to the topics trending in the headlines when preparing to pitch, step back and switch up your strategy.<\/p>\n

Watch the full Journalist Voices by Vuelio event here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m going to be slightly controversial,\u2019 opened Ally when asked about the media\u2019s focus on particular story threads right now. \u2018Perhaps PRs think that\u2019s the case\u2026 but I don\u2019t think it is\u2019.<\/p>\n

Working on Marie Claire as health, sustainability and relationships editor, Ally has a wide-reaching remit but a very specific readership she is writing for.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are so many different publications, stories and angles out there, but it is all about getting to know the brand and what would be relevant to them,\u2019 said Ally.<\/p>\n

\u2018Marie Claire is about female empowerment, so you can put that angle on a story. Last month I got thousands of pitches with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) angles, all with backing from doctors and registered experts, but I only got one with a first-person case study. It is finding that angle. If it is an awareness month, find something people might not be aware of.\u2019<\/p>\n

The lure of national newspapers, big broadcasters and high-circulation consumer mags are tempting when working to place a story \u2013 a front page or double-page spread in the Daily Mail\/The Daily Telegraph\/The Mirror\/The Guardian is any brand or client\u2019s dream \u2013 but extend your reach beyond them. There is a whole world\u2019s worth of reporters writing for different audiences on differing topics.<\/p>\n

Breaking into the news cycle very much \u2018depends on where you are in the world,\u2019 shared We Are Black Journos<\/a> founder Hannah Ajala, who writes for publications all over the world.<\/p>\n

\u2018This year alone, I\u2019ve spent time in 15 different counties,\u2019 said Hannah. \u2018Pitching really depends on what is the main interest of the people in that country or society. Depending on religious groups, social class, what is trending – what the big story is in that country may not make global news.<\/p>\n

\u2018You can find inspiration anywhere and social media is a really great place for tapping in without having to be there – hashtags are fantastic to use. There are so many ways of finding inspiration. If you are always on the hunt for an interesting story, you can find something.\u2019<\/p>\n

And on the topic of featuring in The Telegraph, Yolanthe highlighted the importance of paying close attention to audiences and determining what they will want to read.
\n\u2018I\u2019m a features writer, so with features it is about putting a human face to a story,\u2019 Yolanthe advised.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Telegraph knows its angles and their audience is right wing – they know who they are; \u201cpull your socks up\u201d kind of readers. Work backwards from your intended audience. Over the past few months on my team, the focus has been politics, with the Government changing and the Queen\u2019s passing. Those are big Telegraph stories – we didn\u2019t write many stories outside of that. So know what the audience will need. What will dominate that publication\u2019s news cycle?\u2019<\/p>\n

For whichever story you have to pitch, there will be staff journalists, influencers and freelancers who will find your contribution useful and interesting – just be careful to tailor what you have to their unique patches and working patterns.<\/p>\n

As well as working on the branded content team at Hearst UK, Isabella freelances for the publisher and other brands including Stylist, Metro and Refinery29, and has her own newsletter called Mixed Messages. For her, pitching successfully is \u2018all about the audience and what each brand is interested in\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Queen \u2013 everyone was talking about it, but Marie Claire would have covered it differently to the Telegraph. It\u2019s all about finding what works,\u2019 shared Isabella.
\n\u2018Menopause is such a big topic, for another example \u2013 Good Housekeeping and Red write-ups would be for an older audience, but for Cosmopolitan you would want a first-person piece on early menopause. Tailor your points for each publication.\u2019<\/p>\n

The ultimate aim for the media is the same as for PRs, whatever seems at first glance to be trending and taking over the news cycle \u2013 \u2018All we want to do is create content for our audiences,\u2019 says Isabella. Whatever content you have to pitch \u2013 find the right writer and an angle that will work for them and their audience.<\/p>\n

Thank you to London Filmed for providing the AV for this event: Londonfilmed.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more on working with these journalists and advice on pitching to the media, watch the full event<\/a> and check out our write-up on how Vuelio can help<\/a> on the specifics.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cost-of-living crisis, ongoing changes in the UK Government, the invasion of Ukraine, the World Cup (Joe Lycett), the Royals \u2013 it may feel like pitches unrelated to these subjects will struggle to find a place in the UK media right now, but there is a place for every story if you find the right angle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":141536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3725,3729],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141537"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144167,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141537\/revisions\/144167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}